Layer Selection in Progressive Transmission of Motion-Compensated JPEG2000 Video

MCJ2K (Motion-Compensated JPEG2000) is a video codec based on MCTF (Motion- Compensated Temporal Filtering) and J2K (JPEG2000). MCTF analyzes a sequence of images, generating a collection of temporal sub-bands, which are compressed with J2K. The R/D (Rate-Distortion) performance in MCJ2K is better than the MJ2K (Motion JPEG2000) extension, especially if there is a high level of temporal redundancy. MCJ2K codestreams can be served by standard JPIP (J2K Interactive Protocol) servers, thanks to the use of only J2K standard file formats. In bandwidth-constrained scenarios, an important issue in MCJ2K is determining the amount of data of each temporal sub-band that must be transmitted to maximize the quality of the reconstructions at the client side. To solve this problem, we have proposed two rate-allocation algorithms which provide reconstructions that are progressive in quality. The first, OSLA (Optimized Sub-band Layers Allocation), determines the best progression of quality layers, but is computationally expensive. The second, ESLA (Estimated-Slope sub-band Layers Allocation), is sub-optimal in most cases, but much faster and more convenient for real-time streaming scenarios. An experimental comparison shows that even when a straightforward motion compensation scheme is used, the R/D performance of MCJ2K competitive is compared not only to MJ2K, but also with respect to other standard scalable video codecs

Motion Scalability for Video Coding with Flexible Spatio-Temporal Decompositions

PhDThe research presented in this thesis aims to extend the scalability range of the wavelet-based video coding systems in order to achieve fully scalable coding with a wide range of available decoding points. Since the temporal redundancy regularly comprises the main portion of the global video sequence redundancy, the techniques that can be generally termed motion decorrelation techniques have a central role in the overall compression performance. For this reason the scalable motion modelling and coding are of utmost importance, and specifically, in this thesis possible solutions are identified and analysed. The main contributions of the presented research are grouped into two interrelated and complementary topics. Firstly a flexible motion model with rateoptimised estimation technique is introduced. The proposed motion model is based on tree structures and allows high adaptability needed for layered motion coding. The flexible structure for motion compensation allows for optimisation at different stages of the adaptive spatio-temporal decomposition, which is crucial for scalable coding that targets decoding on different resolutions. By utilising an adaptive choice of wavelet filterbank, the model enables high compression based on efficient mode selection. Secondly, solutions for scalable motion modelling and coding are developed. These solutions are based on precision limiting of motion vectors and creation of a layered motion structure that describes hierarchically coded motion. The solution based on precision limiting relies on layered bit-plane coding of motion vector values. The second solution builds on recently established techniques that impose scalability on a motion structure. The new approach is based on two major improvements: the evaluation of distortion in temporal Subbands and motion search in temporal subbands that finds the optimal motion vectors for layered motion structure. Exhaustive tests on the rate-distortion performance in demanding scalable video coding scenarios show benefits of application of both developed flexible motion model and various solutions for scalable motion coding

MASCOT : metadata for advanced scalable video coding tools : final report

The goal of the MASCOT project was to develop new video coding schemes and tools that provide both an increased coding efficiency as well as extended scalability features compared to technology that was available at the beginning of the project. Towards that goal the following tools would be used: - metadata-based coding tools; - new spatiotemporal decompositions; - new prediction schemes. Although the initial goal was to develop one single codec architecture that was able to combine all new coding tools that were foreseen when the project was formulated, it became clear that this would limit the selection of the new tools. Therefore the consortium decided to develop two codec frameworks within the project, a standard hybrid DCT-based codec and a 3D wavelet-based codec, which together are able to accommodate all tools developed during the course of the project

State-of-the-Art and Trends in Scalable Video Compression with Wavelet Based Approaches

3noScalable Video Coding (SVC) differs form traditional single point approaches mainly because it allows to encode in a unique bit stream several working points corresponding to different quality, picture size and frame rate. This work describes the current state-of-the-art in SVC, focusing on wavelet based motion-compensated approaches (WSVC). It reviews individual components that have been designed to address the problem over the years and how such components are typically combined to achieve meaningful WSVC architectures. Coding schemes which mainly differ from the space-time order in which the wavelet transforms operate are here compared, discussing strengths and weaknesses of the resulting implementations. An evaluation of the achievable coding performances is provided considering the reference architectures studied and developed by ISO/MPEG in its exploration on WSVC. The paper also attempts to draw a list of major differences between wavelet based solutions and the SVC standard jointly targeted by ITU and ISO/MPEG. A major emphasis is devoted to a promising WSVC solution, named STP-tool, which presents architectural similarities with respect to the SVC standard. The paper ends drawing some evolution trends for WSVC systems and giving insights on video coding applications which could benefit by a wavelet based approach.partially_openpartially_openADAMI N; SIGNORONI. A; R. LEONARDIAdami, Nicola; Signoroni, Alberto; Leonardi, Riccard

Wavelet-based video coding: optimal use ofmotion information for the decoding of spatially scaled video sequences

In this paper we discuss the how to best handle motion vectors in spatially scalable wavelet-based video decoders. Motion vectors with full resolution are normally included in the bit-steams relative to spatially scaled version of a video sequence. When a low-resolution version of the original sequence is received, the decoder must scale the motion vectors accordingly. We will show that the motion vector scaling (truncation) is not the best solution and that better results can be obtained by interpolating the subsampled sequence to full resolution using of the wavelet synthesis low-pass filter. We illustrate the results of experiments carried out with an in-band wavelet-based fully scalable coder that performs spatial analysis, followed by temporal filtering. Emphasis is given to the computation of the Overcomplete DWT in the spatially scalable scenario. 1

A fully scalable wavelet video coding scheme with homologous inter-scale prediction

In this paper, we present a fully scalable wavelet-based video coding architecture called STP-Tool, in which motion-compensated temporal-filtered subbands of spatially scaled versions of a video sequence can be used as a base layer for inter-scale predictions. These predictions take place in a pyramidal closed-loop structure between homologous resolution data, i.e., without the need of spatial interpolation. The presented implementation of the STP-Tool architecture is based on the reference software of the Wavelet Video Coding MPEG Ad-Hoc Group. The STP-Tool architecture makes it possible to compensate for some of the typical drawbacks of current wavelet-based scalable video coding architectures and shows interesting objective and visual results even when compared with other wavelet-based or MPEG-4 AVC/H.264-based scalable video coding systems

Fully Scalable Video Coding Using Redundant-Wavelet Multihypothesis and Motion-Compensated Temporal Filtering

In this dissertation, a fully scalable video coding system is proposed. This system achieves full temporal, resolution, and fidelity scalability by combining mesh-based motion-compensated temporal filtering, multihypothesis motion compensation, and an embedded 3D wavelet-coefficient coder. The first major contribution of this work is the introduction of the redundant-wavelet multihypothesis paradigm into motion-compensated temporal filtering, which is achieved by deploying temporal filtering in the domain of a spatially redundant wavelet transform. A regular triangle mesh is used to track motion between frames, and an affine transform between mesh triangles implements motion compensation within a lifting-based temporal transform. Experimental results reveal that the incorporation of redundant-wavelet multihypothesis into mesh-based motion-compensated temporal filtering significantly improves the rate-distortion performance of the scalable coder. The second major contribution is the introduction of a sliding-window implementation of motion-compensated temporal filtering such that video sequences of arbitrarily length may be temporally filtered using a finite-length frame buffer without suffering from severe degradation at buffer boundaries. Finally, as a third major contribution, a novel 3D coder is designed for the coding of the 3D volume of coefficients resulting from the redundant-wavelet based temporal filtering. This coder employs an explicit estimate of the probability of coefficient significance to drive a nonadaptive arithmetic coder, resulting in a simple software implementation. Additionally, the coder offers the possibility of a high degree of vectorization particularly well suited to the data-parallel capabilities of modern general-purpose processors or customized hardware. Results show that the proposed coder yields nearly the same rate-distortion performance as a more complicated coefficient coder considered to be state of the art