The Moving Pictures Expert Group within the International Organization of Standardization (ISO/MPEG) has developed, and is presently developing, a series of audiovisual standards. Its audio coding standard MPEG Phase 1 is the first international standard in the field of high quality digital audio compression and has been applied in many areas, both for consumer and professional audio. Typical application areas for digital audio are in the fields of audio production, program distribution and exchange, digital sound broadcasting, digital storage, and various multimedia applications. This paper will describe in some detail the main features of MPEG Phase 1 coders. As a logical further step in digital audio a multichannel audio standard MPEG Phase 2 is being standardized to provide an improved stereophonic image for audio-only applications including teleconferencing and for improved television systems. The status of this standardization process will be covered briefly.