MPEG is a short for Moving Picture Experts Group

MPEG-4 is designed to deliver DVD (MPEG-2) quality video at lower data rates and smaller file sizes. While audio and video are at the core of the MPEG-4 specification, MPEG-4 can also support 3D objects, sprites, text and other media types. MPEG-4 allows the use of different encoding methods, for instance a keyframe can be encoded using ICT or Wavelets resulting in different output qualities.
MPEG-4 is now used in new iPod.

H.264 H.264 is the next-generation video compression technology in the MPEG-4 standard, also known as MPEG-4 Part 10. H.264 can match the best possible MPEG-2 quality at up to half the data rate. H.264 also delivers excellent video quality across the entire bandwidth spectrum — from 3G to HD and everything in between (from 40 Kbps to upwards of 10 Mbps).
MPEG-2 content at 1920x1080 traditionally runs at 12-20 Mbps, while H.264 can deliver 1920x1080 content at 7-8 Mbps at the same or better quality. H.264 provides DVD quality at about half the data rate of MPEG-2. Because of this efficiency, H.264, an ISO standard, stands to be the likely successor to MPEG-2 in the professional media industry.

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