A multimedia compression system for generating frame rate scalable data in the case of video, and, more generally, universally scalable data Universally scalable data is scalable across all of the relevant characteristics of the data. In the case of video, these characteristics include frame rate, resolution, and quality. The scalable data generated by the compression system is comprised of multiple additive layers for each characteristic across which the data is scalable. In the case of video, the frame rate layers are additive temporal layers, the resolution layers are additive base and enhancement layers, and the quality layers are additive index planes of embedded codes. Various techniques can be used for generating each of these layers (e.g., Laplacian pyramid decomposition or wavelet decomposition for generating the resolution layers; tree structured vector quantization or tree structured-scalar quantization for generating the quality layers). The compression system further provides for embedded inter-frame compression in the context of frame rate scalability, and non-redundant layered multicast network delivery of the scalable data.