Effect of Video Streaming Space–Time Characteristics on Quality of Transmission over Wireless Telecommunication Networks

The spate in popularity of multimedia applications has led to the need for optimization of bandwidth allocation and usage in telecommunication networks. Modern telecommunication networks should by their definition be able to maintain the quality of different applications with different Quality of Service (QoS) levels. QoS requirements are generally dependent on the parameters of network and application layers of the OSI model. At the application layer QoS depends on factors such as resolution, bit rate, frame rate, video type, audio codecs, etc. At the network layer, distortions such as delay, jitter, packet loss, etc. are introduced. This paper presents simulation results of modeling video streaming over wireless communications networks. The differences in spatial and time characteristics of the different subject groups were taken into account. Analysis of the influence of bit error rate (BER) and bit rate for video quality is also presented. Simulation showed that different video subject groups affect the perceived quality differently when transmitted over networks. We show conclusively that in a transmission network with a small error probabilities (BER = 10-6, BER = 10-5), the minimum bit rate (128 kbps) guarantees an acceptable video quality, corresponding to MOS > 3 for all types of frames

Coding overcomplete representations of audio using the MCLT

We propose a system for audio coding using the modulated complex lapped transform (MCLT). In general, it is difficult to encode signals using overcomplete representations without avoiding a penalty in rate-distortion performance. We show that the penalty can be significantly reduced for MCLT-based representations, without the need for iterative methods of sparsity reduction. We achieve that via a magnitude-phase polar quantization and the use of magnitude and phase prediction. Compared to systems based on quantization of orthogonal representations such as the modulated lapped transform (MLT), the new system allows for reduced warbling artifacts and more precise computation of frequency-domain auditory masking functions

Rate Distortion Analysis and Bit Allocation Scheme for Wavelet Lifting-Based Multiview Image Coding

This paper studies the distortion and the model-based bit allocation scheme of wavelet lifting-based multiview image coding. Redundancies among image views are removed by disparity-compensated wavelet lifting (DCWL). The distortion prediction of the low-pass and high-pass subbands of each image view from the DCWL process is analyzed. The derived distortion is used with different rate distortion models in the bit allocation of multiview images. Rate distortion models including power model, exponential model, and the proposed combining the power and exponential models are studied. The proposed rate distortion model exploits the accuracy of both power and exponential models in a wide range of target bit rates. Then, low-pass and high-pass subbands are compressed by SPIHT (Set Partitioning in Hierarchical Trees) with a bit allocation solution. We verify the derived distortion and the bit allocation with several sets of multiview images. The results show that the bit allocation solution based on the derived distortion and our bit allocation scheme provide closer results to those of the exhaustive search method in both allocated bits and peak-signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR). It also outperforms the uniform bit allocation and uniform bit allocation with normalized energy in the order of 1.7–2 and 0.3–1.4 dB, respectively

SENSAREA, a general public video editing application

International audienceIn this demonstration, we present an advanced prototype of a novel general public software application that provides the user with a set of interactive tools to select and accurately track multiple objects in a video. The originality of the proposed software is that it doesn't impose a rigid modus operandi and that automatic and manual tools can be used at any moment for any object. Moreover, it is the first time that powerful video object segmentation tools are integrated in a friendly, industrial and non commercial application dedicated to accurate object tracking. With our software, special effects can be applied to the tracked objects and saved to a video file, and the object masks can also be exported for applications that need ground truth data or that want to improve the user experience with clickable videos

Shot Classification in Broadcast Soccer Video

In this paper, we present an effective hierarchical shot classification scheme for broadcast soccer video. We first partition a video into replay and non-replay shots with replay logo detection. Then, non-replay shots are further classified into Long, Medium, Close-up or Out-field types with color and texture features based on a decision tree. We tested the method on real broadcast FIFA soccer videos, and the experimental results demonstrate its effectiveness.

Innovating Contract Practices: Merging Contract Design with Information Design

The work and expertise of contracts professionals are vital to the operations of modern organizations and the global economy. Strategic planning as well as everyday transactions can be conceived, developed, secured, and implemented through contractual relationships. This accelerating importance and functionality of contracts is not matched, however, by their traditional format or drafting process. Indeed, their mission-critical value is not fully appreciated by decision makers. Many opportunities offered by contracts remain unexplored if contracts are seen merely as legal tools needed only in case a dispute arises. A fresh approach to contracts and contracting is called for. Drawing on the Authors’ research into user-centered contract design, contract visualization, and proactive contracting, this paper explores how contract practices can be innovated. The early results of our work in progress indicate that information design, embedded into contract design, has the potential to change fundamentally the way organizations define, shape and manage their trading relationships, offering unexplored opportunities for both research and practice

Innovating Contract Practices: Merging Contract Design with Information Design

The work and expertise of contracts professionals are vital to the operations of modern organizations and the global economy. Strategic planning as well as everyday transactions can be conceived, developed, secured, and implemented through contractual relationships. This accelerating importance and functionality of contracts is not matched, however, by their traditional format or drafting process. Indeed, their mission-critical value is not fully appreciated by decision makers. Many opportunities offered by contracts remain unexplored if contracts are seen merely as legal tools needed only in case a dispute arises. A fresh approach to contracts and contracting is called for. Drawing on the Authors’ research into user-centered contract design, contract visualization, and proactive contracting, this paper explores how contract practices can be innovated. The early results of our work in progress indicate that information design, embedded into contract design, has the potential to change fundamentally the way organizations define, shape and manage their trading relationships, offering unexplored opportunities for both research and practice

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