About MPEG

MPEG is the name of a family of digital audio and video standards specified by the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group. MPEG standards include several keyframe-based compression methods. It requires significant processing power and time to generate MPEG files from other video formats.

MPEG‑1: Used for the Internet and CD‑ROM, providing picture quality comparable with VHS quality at quarter-screen frame size.
MPEG‑2: Delivers higher quality video than MPEG‑1. A specific form of MPEG‑2 was chosen as the standard for compressing video for DVD video. This standard is called DVD‑compliant MPEG‑2. MPEG‑2 compression is also used in HDV, and supported in the Blu-ray Disc and HD‑DVD formats.
MPEG‑4: Includes many of the features of MPEG‑1 and MPEG‑2, and adds support for interactivity. It offers better compression and reduces file size while maintaining the same perceptual quality level as MPEG‑2. MPEG‑4 part 10 (H.264, AVC) is used by the Blu-ray Disc and HD‑DVD formats. For more information about MPEG-4, see “Overview of the MPEG-4 standard” at www.chiariglione.org/mpeg/standards/mpeg-4/mpeg-4.htm.

The Adobe Media Encoder offers some MPEG presets to optimize the output quality for various project types. If you’re experienced with MPEG encoding, you can further fine-tune projects for specific playback situations by customizing the presets in the Export Settings dialog box.

In After Effects, you can create MPEG‑2 and MPEG‑2 DVD video. In Adobe Premiere Pro, you can create various types of MPEG video by using the File > Export > Media command. Also, in Adobe Premiere Pro you can export directly to DVD‑compliant video by using the File > Adobe Dynamic Link > Send To Encore command. Any video you send to Encore is automatically transcoded to MPEG‑2 if it isn’t already in that format.

After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro add metadata to MPEG‑2 files that Encore can read for aid in authoring and building DVDs. This metadata enables Encore to multiplex audio and video, automatically generate DVD chapter points, and open clips in the applications from which they were rendered. For more information, see Encore Help.