MPEG stands for the Moving Picture Experts Group, a working group that develops standards for compressing and encoding audio and video. Established in 1988, MPEG has created several widely used formats, including MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4. These formats help reduce the file size of multimedia content, making it easier to store and transmit over the internet. MPEG standards are essential for various applications, such as streaming video, digital television, and video conferencing. By using these compression techniques, users can enjoy high-quality audio and video while minimizing bandwidth usage, which is crucial for efficient data transfer in today's digital world.