Combined Source and Channel Strategies for Optimized Video Communications

ISBN 978-953-7619-70-

Optimized Scalable Image and Video Transmission for MIMO Wireless Channels

In this chapter, we focus on proposing new strategies to efficiently transfer a compressed image/video content through wireless links using a multiple antenna technology. The proposed solutions can be considered as application layer physical layer (APP-PHY) cross layer design methods as they involve optimizing both application and physical layers. After a wide state-of-the-art study, we present two main solutions. The first focuses on using a new precoding algorithm that takes into account the image/video content structure when assigning transmission powers. We showed that its results are better than the existing conventional precoders. Second, a link adaptation process is integrated to efficiently assign coding parameters as a function of the channel state. Simulations over a realistic channel environment show that the link adaptation activates a dynamic process that results in a good image/video reconstruction quality even if the channel is varying. Finally, we incorporated soft decoding algorithms at the receiver side, and we showed that they could induce further improvements. In fact, almost 5 dB peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) improvements are demonstrated in the case of transmission over a Rayleigh channel

Error relilient video communications using high level M-QAM. Modelling and simulation of a comparative analysis of a dual-priority M-QAM transmission system for H.264/AVC video applications over band-limited and error-phone channels.

An experimental investigation of an M level (M = 16, 64 and 256) Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) transmission system suitable for video transmission is presented. The communication system is based on layered video coding and unequal error protection to make the video bitstream robust to channel errors. An implementation is described in which H.264 video is protected unequally by partitioning the compressed data into two layers of different visual importance. The partition scheme is based on a separation of the group of pictures (GoP) in the intra-coded frame (I-frame) and predictive coded frame (P frame). This partition scheme is then applied to split the H.264-coded video bitstream and is suitable for Constant Bit Rate (CBR) transmission. Unequal error protection is based on uniform and non-uniform M-QAM constellations in conjunction with different scenarios of splitting the transmitted symbol for protection of the more important information of the video data; different constellation arrangements are proposed and evaluated to increase the capacity of the high priority layer. The performance of the transmission system is evaluated under Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) and Rayleigh fading conditions. Simulation results showed that in noisy channels the decoded video can be improved by assigning a larger portion of the video data to the enhancement layer in conjunction with non-uniform constellation arrangements; in better channel conditions the quality of the received video can be improved by assigning more bits in the high priority channel and using uniform constellations. The aforementioned varying conditions can make the video transmission more successful over error-prone channels. Further techniques were developed to combat various channel impairments by considering channel coding methods suitable for layered video coding applications. It is shown that a combination of non-uniform M-QAM and forward error correction (FEC) will yield a better performance. Additionally, antenna diversity techniques are examined and introduced to the transmission system that can offer a significant improvement in the quality of service of mobile video communication systems in environments that can be modelled by a Rayleigh fading channel

Hierarchical colour-shift-keying aided layered video streaming for the visible light downlink

Colour-shift keying (CSK) constitutes an important modulation scheme conceived for the visible light communications (VLC). The signal constellation of CSK relies on three different-color light sources invoked for information transmission. The CSK constellation has been optimized for minimizing the bit error rate, but no effort has been invested in investigating the feasibility of CSK aided unequal error protection (UEP) schemes conceived for video sources. Hence, in this treatise, we conceive a hierarchical CSK (HCSK) modulation scheme based on the traditional CSK, which is capable of generating interdependent layers of signals having different error probability, which can be readily reconfigured by changing its parameters. Furthermore, we conceived an HCSK design example for transmitting scalable video sources with the aid of a recursive systematic convolutional (RSC) code. An optimization method is conceived for enhancing the UEP and for improving the quality of the received video. Our simulation results show that the proposed optimized-UEP 16-HCSK-RSC system outperforms the traditional equal error protection scheme by ~ 1.7 dB of optical SNR at a peak signal-to-noise ratio of 37 dB, while optical SNR savings of up to 6.5 dB are attained at a lower PSNR of 36 dB