H.263 is a video compression standard designed for low-bitrate communication, primarily used in video conferencing and streaming applications. Developed in the late 1990s, it provides efficient encoding of video data, allowing for smoother transmission over limited bandwidth connections. The standard is part of the ITU-T series of video coding standards and is an improvement over earlier formats like H.261. H.263 supports various bitrates and resolutions, making it versatile for different applications, including mobile video and internet streaming. Its efficiency has made it a foundational technology in the evolution of video codecs.