Structured design of standard-compatible error-resilient video coding, with application to H.263

Abstract

Many methods for video transmission error control have been proposed recently, especially in relation to transmission over bursty-error channels. However, a thorough, structural taxonomical framework for analysis and design of such methods seems lacking. Such a framework helps clarity in thought and aids in inspiring new error control methods or combinations thereof. We present a framework for classification of the various transmission error control techniques. We then consider error control for H.263. Several techniques are presented from the viewpoint of the proposed analysis framework and they illustrate how different techniques can be integrated coherently to achieve enhanced error resilience in the overall system. In particular, we employ slotted multiplexing at the multiplex level to reduce synchronization errors in variable-length coded data and to randomize the locations of the remaining error-corrupted image areas. At the source level, we introduce two standard-compatible schemes, called length-based intra refresh and motion vector pairing, respectively, which further limit spatial-temporal error propagation.