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This article investigates the reliability gain of broadcast (BC)/broadband (BB) cooperation for mobile scalable video streaming. A specific form of BC-BB cooperation is introduced, which is referred to as cooperative casting. The proposed system primarily utilizes a BC transmission for streaming, while BB backup transmissions are requested whenever the BC signal is not decodable. For BC deliveries in this system, a cross-layer collaboration between scalable video coding (SVC) and layered-division multiplexing is used to improve spectral efficiency by coupling their hierarchical structures. In this end, in tandem with designing the uplink requesting rules based on channel status, delivery performance of the cooperative casting is analytically evaluated in a probabilistic framework. The system design and analyses presented in this article focus on the service continuity in a mobile and time-varying channel, where the physical aspects, such as delayed unicast response and inter-carrier interference, are carefully taken into account. Compared to the standalone network transmissions, the cooperative casting is numerically verified to better prevent the delivery failures in high-speed mobile channels, especially when the SVC layer-combined (full-scale video) service is intended. Furthermore, it is also shown that relaxing the criteria for the BB stream requesting can reduce delivery failures substantially, while it increases transmission redundancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA)-enhanced scalable video coding (SVC) multicast scheme for cellular networks is proposed. This scheme combines the successive video-layer decoding in SVC with the successive interference cancellation (SIC) in NOMA, which enables a further reduction of the bottleneck effect imposed by cell-edge user equipments (UEs). Aiming at maximizing the overall video quality experienced by UEs in multiple multicast groups, the resource allocation for multiple groups and the scalable multicast scheduling within each group are formulated as a joint mixed-integer nonlinear programming problem. The formulated optimization problem is decoupled into a multi-group resource allocation (MRA) problem and multiple independent intra-group scalable multicast scheduling (IGSMS) subproblems. To solve IGSMS subproblems, we propose an optimal recursive algorithm, for which the optimal transmit power for each layer of the superposition coding needed in each iteration is derived in a closed form. The MRA problem is optimally solved via a knapsack approach. Extensive numerical results demonstrate the improved performance of the proposed NOMA-enhanced SVC multicast scheme over several baseline schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the near-optimal video layer placement in cache-enabled small-cell networks to provide on-demand video services with differential perceptual experiences. By employing scalable video coding, each video file is encoded into multiple layers, which are then stored in the local cache of small-cell base stations (SBSs). Based on the proposed caching scheme, we define the concept of average offloaded traffic (AOT), which quantitatively indicates the total amount of data traffic that can be sourced from the local cache of SBSs. Relying on stochastic geometry, we derive the expression for the successful transmission probability, based on which the closed form of AOT is obtained. Afterwards, under the cache size constraint of each SBS, the AOT maximization problem is formulated. Due to the NP-hard property of this integer programming problem, it is first relaxed into the convex form. Then, a greedy-strategy based heuristic algorithm is proposed, which can yield the near-optimal layer caching indicators. Numerical results validate our derivations and demonstrate that the proposed layer caching scheme outperforms the benchmark in terms of the AOT performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile broadcast/multicast video services have become highly demanded in mobile networks and require effective and low-complexity radio resource management (RRM) strategies. This paper proposes an RRM strategy based on multicast subgrouping and the scalable video coding (SVC) technique for multicast video delivery that focuses on reducing the search space of solutions and optimizes the aggregated data rate (ADR). The results in terms of ADR, spectral efficiency, and fairness among multicast users, along with the low complexity of the algorithm, show that this new scheme is adequate for real systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scalable video coding (SVC) is a coding paradigm that allows once-encoded video content to be used in diverse scenarios. SVC-coded videos can be transmitted and rendered at specified bitrates according to network bandwidth and end device requirements. In this paper, an adaptive bit allocation algorithm is proposed for the emerging scalable High Efficiency Video Coding (SHVC) standard. The bit budget at the group-of-pictures level is allocated according to buffer occupancy. Picture complexity, measured using the predicted mean absolute difference (MAD), buffer occupancy, and hierarchical level, is proposed for regulating the bitrate at the picture level. The MAD of the current picture is predicted using a novel mean prediction error (MPE) model, which is obtained from the advanced motion vector prediction, and the test zone search specified in SHVC and the associated reference software of SHVC. Moreover, MPE is used to determine the number of assigned bits at the coding-tree-unit level. The bit budget of each level is incorporated with the $R-\lambda $ model for computing the required quantization parameter. Experimental results reveal that the proposed method achieves accurate bitrates with enhanced and consistent visual quality and more satisfactorily controls buffer occupancy compared with the state-of-the-art approaches reported in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper focuses on the transmission of layered source information, such as scalable video coding, over heterogeneous cellular networks. Scalable transmission enables dynamic adaption of source information to the condition of user equipment (UE) devices and, thus, is suitable for cellular networks in which the transmission link quality substantially varies over space and time. Two novel transmission schemes are proposed, namely, layered digital transmission and layered hybrid digital–analog (LHDA) transmission. Leveraging tools from stochastic geometry, a comprehensive analysis is conducted focusing on three key performance metrics: outage probability, high-definition probability, and average distortion. The results show that both proposed transmission schemes can provide a scalable video experience for UE devices. For LHDA transmission, the optimal power allocation between digital and analog transmissions is also analyzed. When the proportion of frequency resource allocated to the femtotier exceeds a certain threshold, LHDA transmission is preferable by enabling continuous quality scalability, thus avoiding the cliff effect. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We propose a joint rate and power adaptation scheme to maximize the decoding quality for scalable video coding (SVC)-based video transmissions over multi-input multioutput (MIMO) systems. The rate adaptation in our proposed scheme includes selection of the best modulation and coding schemes, set of spatial channels, number of SVC layers (source coding rates), and their corresponding application layer forward error correction (APP-FEC) coding rates. The power adaptation involves the proper allocation of the power to each antenna in the MIMO system. SVC-based video transmissions require unequal error protection (UEP) for different SVC layers due to the inter-layer dependency. In most of the previous works, the bit stream of each particular SVC layer is allocated to one spatial channel and the UEP is achieved by transmitting the more important SVC layers through the spatial channels with higher channel gains. However, in our proposed scheme, the bit stream of each particular SVC layer is distributed to multiple spatial channels so that additional diversity gain can be exploited by applying APP-FEC. The UEP can also be achieved by allocating different APP-FEC coding rates on each video layer. Moreover, transmit power allocation is also effectively and jointly determined to improve the system performance. The effectiveness and favorable performance of our proposed scheme are shown by simulations with H.264 SVC traces of high-definition video clips over MIMO systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose an improved coarse-grain scalable video coding (SVC) approach based on the structural similarity (SSIM) index as the visual quality criterion, aiming at maximizing the overall coding performance constrained by user-defined quality weightings for all scalable layers. First, we develop an interlayer rate-SSIM dependency model, by investigating bit rate and SSIM relationships between different layers. Second, a reduced-reference SSIM-Q model and a Laplacian R-Q model are introduced for SVC, by incorporating the characteristics of hierarchical prediction structure in each layer. Third, based on the user-defined weightings and the proposed models, we design a rate-distortion optimization approach to adaptively adjust Lagrange multipliers for all layers to maximize the overall rate-SSIM performance of the scalable encoder. Experiments with multiple layers, different layer weightings, and various videos demonstrate that the proposed framework can achieve better rate-SSIM performance than single layer optimization method, and provide better coding efficiency as compared to the conventional SVC scheme. Subjective tests further demonstrate the benefits of the proposed scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a complexity-aware adaptive spatial preprocessing scheme for the efficient scalable video coding (SVC) by employing an adaptive prefilter for each SVC layer. According to the presented scheme, a dynamic transition region is defined between the region of interest (ROI) and background within each video frame, and then various parameters of each prefilter (such as the standard deviation, kernel matrix size, and also a number of filters for the dynamic preprocessing of a transition region between the ROI and the background) are adaptively varied. The presented scheme has proved to be very efficient because it is based on an SVC computational complexity-rate-distortion analysis, thereby adding a complexity dimension to the conventional SVC rate-distortion analysis. As a result, the encoding computational complexity resources are significantly reduced, which is especially useful for portable encoders with limited power resources. The performance of the presented adaptive spatial preprocessing scheme is evaluated and tested in detail from both computational complexity and visual presentation quality points of view, further comparing it with the joint scalable video model reference software (JSVM 9.19) and demonstrating significant improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A fast mode decision algorithm for efficient implementation of the scalable video coding (SVC) extension of H.264/AVC is described. SVC incorporates interlayer prediction, a new tool that exploits as much lower layer information as possible in order to improve the coding efficiency of the enhancement layer. However, it also greatly increases the computational complexity. A fast mode selection algorithm that exploits the correlation of a macroblock in the enhancement layer and both the colocated macroblocks in the base layer and neighboring macroblocks in the enhancement layer is proposed. The algorithm examines the level of picture details and motion activity, and utilizes the mode information of the base layer to make faster enhancement layer decisions and thus save coding time. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm reduces encoding by up to 84% compared with the JSVM 9.18 implementation. This is achieved without any noticeable degradation in rate distortion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Spatially scalable video coding (SSVC) provides an efficient way to transmit one video at different resolutions. Based on the emerging High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), we propose an SSVC scheme to support both single-loop (SL) and multiloop (ML) solutions by enabling different interlayer prediction mechanisms. Specifically, we employ two interlayer prediction modes: quadtree-based prediction mode (Q-mode) and learning-based prediction mode (L-mode). The Q-mode is investigated to exploit the interlayer redundancy based on the quadtree coding structure of HEVC. Due to the high correlation between layers, Q-mode utilizes the coded information from the base layer quadtree, including coding unit split, prediction unit partition, motion information, and partial texture information of transform unit, to predict the enhancement layer quadtree. By enabling Q-mode, we provide a basic SL solution for low complexity applications. Besides the correlation explored in Q-mode, we employ an extra L-mode to further improve the coding performance. In L-mode, the temporal-spatial correlation is exploited simultaneously by visual patch-based learning and mapping at pixel level. This helps us achieve more accurate prediction signals based on the coarse base layer reconstruction within an ML structure. Experimental results show the effectiveness of our SSVC scheme compared with the simulcast case and other HEVC-based SSVC schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Ultra-high definition (UHD) which has 4 to 16 times as many pixels as existing high definition (HD) is expected as a next generation video format. To deliver UHD and HD videos simultaneously in the communications-broadcasting convergence environment, scalable video coding (SVC) is a highly attractive solution. We propose an improved scalable video coding method to achieve high coding efficiency particularly for UHD and HD videos. The basic idea is to allow large block size beyond the block size of 16x16 pixels in H.264/AVC SVC, which results in more efficient inter-layer prediction and syntax elements coding. The experimental results show that it achieves an average 5.34% reduction in BD-rate relative to H.264/AVC SVC. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Temporal scalability is supported in scalable video coding (SVC) by means of hierarchical prediction structures, where the higher layers can be ignored for frame rate reduction. Nevertheless, this kind of scalability is not totally exploited by the rate control (RC) algorithms since the hypothetical reference decoder (HRD) requirement is only satisfied for the highest frame rate substream of every dependence (spatial or coarse grain scalability) layer. In this paper, we propose a novel RC approach that aims to deliver several HRD-compliant temporal resolutions within a particular dependence layer. Instead of using the common SVC encoder configuration consisting of a dependence layer per each temporal resolution, a compact configuration that does not require additional dependence layers for providing different HRD-compliant temporal resolutions is proposed. Specifically, the proposed framework for rate-controlled SVC uses a set of virtual buffers within a dependence layer so that their levels can be simultaneously controlled for overflow and underflow prevention while minimizing the reconstructed video distortion of the corresponding substreams. This in-layer multibuffer approach has been built on the top of a baseline H.264/SVC RC algorithm for variable bit rate applications. The experimental results show that our proposal achieves a good performance in terms of mean quality, quality consistency, and buffer control using a reduced number of layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A joint model of scalable video coding (SVC) uses exhaustive mode and motion searches to select the best prediction mode and motion vector for each macroblock (MB) with high coding efficiency at the cost of computational complexity. If major characteristics of a coding MB such as the complexity of the prediction mode and the motion property can be identified and used in adjusting motion estimation (ME), one can design an algorithm that can adapt coding parameters to the video content. This way, unnecessary mode and motion searches can be avoided. In this paper, we propose a content-adaptive ME for SVC, including analyses of mode complexity and motion property to assist mode and motion searches. An experimental analysis is performed to study interlayer and spatial correlations in the coding information. Based on the correlations, the motion and mode characteristics of the current MB are identified and utilized to adjust each step of ME at the enhancement layer including mode decision, search-range selection, and prediction direction selection. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can significantly reduce the computational complexity of SVC while maintaining nearly the same rate distortion performance as the original encoder. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, we present a theoretical analysis of the distortion in multilayer coding structures. Specifically, we analyze the prediction structure used to achieve temporal, spatial, and quality scalability of scalable video coding (SVC) and show that the average peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of SVC is a weighted combination of the bit rates assigned to all the streams. Our analysis utilizes the end user's preference for certain resolutions. We also propose a rate–distortion (R–D) optimization algorithm and compare its performance with that of a state-of-the-art scalable bit allocation algorithm. The reported experiment results demonstrate that the R–D algorithm significantly outperforms the compared approach in terms of the average PSNR. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To satisfy the requirement of application heterogeneities, the latest H.264/AVC based video coding standard called scalable video coding additional includes temporal, SNR, and spatial scalabilities for frame rate, quality, and frame resolution adaptation. However, these inclusions significantly increase chip design difficulties such as decoding time, memory bandwidth, and area cost. This paper presents an H.264/AVC scalable high profile decoder realization with several optimization techniques to provide high throughput video decoding. For decoding flow, this paper proposes an one-pass macroblock-based quality layer decoding flow for SNR scalability and 71% of external memory bandwidth and 66% of macroblock processing cycles can be saved. For texture padding in interlayer intra prediction, the modified padding flow can save 26% of decoding time. For interlayer predictor design, this paper proposes a centralized concept for accumulation-based calculation of corresponding spatial position, simplified poly-phase interpolator, and efficient motion vector generator to save area cost and decoding time. Furthermore, the residual reconstruction path with the parallel-pipeline architecture is also proposed to cope with the additional decoding complexity and thus leads to 54% of gate count savings compared to the traditional serial-pipeline architecture. Finally, the proposed H.264/AVC scalable high profile decoder design is implemented with 90 nm CMOS technology and it costs 542 k gate count and 39.66 Kbytes on-chip memory while is capable to decode 60 frames/s for CIF+SD480p+HD1080p resolution with three quality layers at 135 MHz operating frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In conventional wireless systems with layered architectures, the physical (PHY) layer equally treats all data streams from the upper layers and applies the same modulation and coding schemes to them. Newer systems such as Digital Video Broadcast start to introduce hierarchical modulation schemes with SuperPosition Coding (SPC) and support data streams of different priorities. However, SPC requires specialized hardware and has high complexity, which is not desirable for handheld devices. In this paper, we propose scalable modulation (s-mod) by reusing the current mainstream modulation schemes with software-based bit remapping. The performance evaluation has shown that s-mod can achieve the same and, in some cases, even better performance than SPC with much lower complexity. We further propose how to optimize the configuration of the PHY-layer s-mod and coding schemes to maximize the utility of video streaming with scalable video coding (SVC). Simulation results demonstrate substantial performance gains using s-mod and cross-layer optimization, indicating that s-mod and SVC are a good combination for video transmission in wireless networks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper introduces a video coding scheme called Realistic Multi-view Scalable Video Coding (RMSVC), which is designed for the future ubiquitous environment. Unlike most video coding schemes that support only 2D or 3D displays, the proposed RMSVC coding scheme can support realistic services, such as 3D television, stereoscopic display, variablesized 2D displays, etc., and can efficiently deliver realistic video data in the ubiquitous environment that mixes various terminals and networks. In this paper, the proposed RMSVC scheme is designed and implemented by integrating the structures of Multi-view Video Coding (MVC) and Scalable Video Coding (SVC) schemes, and then shows in a simulation the possibility of realizing RMSVC. In addition, this paper proposes a layered prediction structure for the proposed RMSVC scheme. The simulation results show that the proposed structure remarkably improves the performance of random access while maintaining very similar coding efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]