Video sequences are major sources of traffic for broadband ISDN networks, and video compression is fundamental to the efficient use of such networks. We present a novel neural method to achieve real-time adaptive compression of video. This tends to maintain a target quality of the decompressed image specified by the user. The method uses a set of compression/decompression neural networks of different levels of compression, as well as a simple motiondetection procedure. We describe the method and present experimental data concerning its performance and traffic characteristics with real video sequences. The impact of this compression method on ATM-cell traffic is also investigated and measurement data are provided.