ITU and ISO/IEC standards are now widely accepted in the picture/video coding field. This book gives an authoritative explanation of picture and video coding algorithms, working from basic principles through to the advanced video compression systems now being developed. One of its main objectives is to describe the reasons behind the introduction of a standard codec for a specific application and its chosen parameter. This book will enable readers to appreciate the fundamentals needed to design a video codec for any given application and should prove to be a valuable resource for engineers working in this field.