Adaptive multiple description mode selection for error resilient video communications

Streaming video applications must be able to withstand the potentially harsh conditions present on best-effort networks like the Internet, including variations in available bandwidth, packet losses, and delay. Multiple description (MD) video coding is one approach that can be used to reduce the detrimental effects caused by transmission over best-effort networks. In a multiple description system, a video sequence is coded into two or more complementary streams in such a way that each stream is independently decodable. The quality of the received video improves with each received description, and the loss of any one of these descriptions does not cause complete failure. A number of approaches have been proposed for MD coding, where each provides a different tradeoff between compression efficiency and error resilience. How effectively each method achieves this tradeoff depends on network conditions as well as on the characteristics of the video itself. This thesis proposes an adaptive MD coding approach that adapts to changing conditions through the use of MD mode selection. The encoder in this system is able to accurately estimate the expected end-to-end distortion, accounting for both compression and packet-loss-induced distortions, as well as for the bursty nature of channel losses and the effective use of multiple transmission paths.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Heng, Brian A., 1977-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Jae S. Lim.

• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34463

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/34463