On the Typology of Basic Locative Constructions in Sinitic Languages

Session 7This paper aims to study the Basic Locative Constructions (BLCs) in Cantonese and Shanghainese by using a standardized picture elicitation method. Results show that BLCs in both Cantonese and Shanghainese adopt 4 strategies: locative copular, locative inversion, postural verbs and resultative complements. The latter two strategies are less frequently used, if not unacceptable, in Mandarin BLCs. The results suggest that the position of Southern Sinitic languages differs quite substantially from Mandarin in spatial typology. Moreover, locative inversion and resultative complements are strategies previously unaccounted for in existing typological frameworks. This experimental work endeavours to further our understanding of Sinitic typology and the typology of spatial language in general.published_or_final_versio

A multiresolution two-layer video codec for networking applications

We propose an improved multiresolution two-layer video codec that can operate at a base layer of 64 kbps and a variable bit rate second layer (VBR). The basic idea is to use a multiresolution technique to reduce the original CIF format video to the QCIF format. The low-resolution video is then encoded with an improved H.261 codec. To reduce the bit rate of the second layer, the residuals are encoded with the discrete cosine transform (DCT) using perceptually weighted quantization step sizes. Simulation results show that the Miss America sequence can be transmitted at 64 kbps in the CIF format with a reasonably good picture quality. For a good picture quality, the second layer would typically require 190 kbps.published_or_final_versio

An adaptive multiresolution modification of the H.263 video coding algorithm

An adaptive multiresolution approach for video coding is presented. The algorithm uses the information content to determine the resolution of the video to be encoded. An important advantage of the algorithm is that the codec can maintain a very stable frame rate with reasonable image quality during scene change and provide better quality video when the motion is less rapid. Simulation results show that the modified H.263 coder, using the proposed algorithm, can maintaining better image quality and a more steady frame rate than the TMN 5 algorithm at low bit-rate.published_or_final_versio

Buffer control algorithm for low bit-rate video compression

In this paper, a new buffer control algorithm for motion-compensated hybrid DPCM/DCT coding (like H.261 and MPEG-1 I pictures) is presented. The algorithm uses the bit allocation algorithm to determine the quantization scale factor of each macroblock under a given target bit rate. An important advantage of the algorithm is that it has precise control of the buffer and avoids buffer overflow events which is a severe problem in low bit rate video coder. Furthermore, the coder is able to allocate bits to the picture as a whole, resulting in better rate-distortion trade-off. Simulation results show that the H.261 coder, using the proposed algorithm, can achieve a higher PSNR and better visual quality than codec using conventional buffer control algorithm.published_or_final_versio

A modified H.263 algorithm using bit allocation buffer control algorithm

Buffer control is an important problem in very low bitrate video coding. In a recent work [ 111, the authors had proposed a new buffer control algorithm for motion-compensated hybrid DPCMiDCT coding. The algorithm is based on the use of bit allocation algorithm to determine the quantization scale factors in such coder to meet a given target bit rate. Simulation results showed that, using the proposed algorithm, the H.261 coder can achieve a higher PSNR and better visual quality than the coder using traditional buffer control algorithm. In this paper, we apply this buffer control algorithm to a modified version of the H.263 algorithm for very low bit-rate video coding. Comparing the performance of the modified H.263 codec with the TMN5 model also shows that better visual quality can be obtained at comparable PSNR values.published_or_final_versio

The compression issues of panoramic video

The paper proposes efficient data compression techniques for panoramic video. Panoramic videos have been used as a means for representing dynamic scenes or paths along a static environment. They allow the user to change viewpoints interactively at a point in time or space. High-resolution panoramic videos, while desirable, consume a significant amount of storage and bandwidth for transmission, and make real-time decoding very computationally intensive. A high performance MPEG-like compression algorithm, which takes into account the random access requirements and the redundancies of the panoramic video, is presented. The transmission aspects of panoramic video over cable network, LAN and Internet are also briefly discussed.published_or_final_versio

The application of nonlinear filter banks to efficient rendering and progressive transmission of light fields

This paper studies the application of perfect reconstruction nonlinear filter banks (NFB) to the efficient rendering and progressive transmission of light fields. The reference pictures in the conventional disparity-compensated prediction encoder is decomposed using the NFB to reduce the amount of main memory needed to support fast rendering. The NFB has very low arithmetic complexity for reconstruction and small filter support which considerably simplifies the random access operations. It can also be applied to the predicted light field images to support progressive transmission. Different prediction and reconstruction strategies are also investigated to achieve different tradeoffs between memory requirement and decoding speed.published_or_final_versio

A new fast motion estimation algorithm using hexagonal subsampling pattern and multiple candidates search

In this paper we present a fast algorithm to reduce the computational complexity of block motion estimation. The reduction is obtained from the use of a new hexagonal subsampling pattern and the domain decimation method introduced by Cheng and Chan (see Proc. IEEE ICASSP, vol.4, p.2313, 1996). The multiple candidates search method is also introduced to improve the robustness of the algorithm. Computer simulation shows that the performance is very close to that of the full search.published_or_final_versio

Data compression and transmission aspects of panoramic videos

Panoramic videos are effective means for representing static or dynamic scenes along predefined paths. They allow users to change their viewpoints interactively at points in time or space defined by the paths. High-resolution panoramic videos, while desirable, consume a significant amount of storage and bandwidth for transmission. They also make real-time decoding computationally very intensive. This paper proposes efficient data compression and transmission techniques for panoramic videos. A high-performance MPEG-2-like compression algorithm, which takes into account the random access requirements and the redundancies of panoramic videos, is proposed. The transmission aspects of panoramic videos over cable networks, local area networks (LANs), and the Internet are also discussed. In particular, an efficient advanced delivery sharing scheme (ADSS) for reducing repeated transmission and retrieval of frequently requested video segments is introduced. This protocol was verified by constructing an experimental VOD system consisting of a video server and eight Pentium 4 computers. Using the synthetic panoramic video Village at a rate of 197 kb/s and 7 f/s, nearly two-thirds of the memory access and transmission bandwidth of the video server were saved under normal network traffic.published_or_final_versio

Image-based rendering and synthesis

Multiview imaging (MVI) is currently the focus of some research as it has a wide range of applications and opens up research in other topics and applications, including virtual view synthesis for three-dimensional (3D) television (3DTV) and entertainment. However, a large amount of storage is needed by multiview systems and are difficult to construct. The concept behind allowing 3D scenes and objects to be visualized in a realistic way without full 3D model reconstruction is image-based rendering (IBR). Using images as the primary substrate, IBR has many potential applications including for video games, virtual travel and others. The technique creates new views of scenes which are reconstructed from a collection of densely sampled images or videos. The IBR concept has different classification such as knowing 3D models and the lighting conditions and be rendered using conventional graphic techniques. Another is lightfield or lumigraph rendering which depends on dense sampling with no or very little geometry for rendering without recovering the exact 3D-models.published_or_final_versio