Image and video compression have been the object of intensive research in the last thirty years. The field is now mature as is proven by the large number of applications that make use of this technology. Digital Video Broadcasting, Digital Versatile Disc, and Internet streaming are only a few of the applications that use compression technology. Image and video standards have played a key role in this deployment. Now is time to ask: are there any new ideas that may advance the current technology? Have we reached a saturation point in image and video compression research? Although the future is very difficult to predict, this paper will try to provide a brief overview to where this exciting area is heading.

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