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The distributed source coding theory teaches that efficient compression can be achieved by exploiting the correlation between encoded sources at the decoder only. A critical issue in this coding paradigm is how to accurately estimate the correlation statistics at the decoder. This paper proposes a novel correlation channel estimation method designed for generic layered Wyner-Ziv (WZ) coding. Driven by real-life applications, i.e., video coding, the correlation noise is assumed to be memoryless zero-mean Laplacian with a block-stationary behavior. Unlike existing methods, the proposed technique derives a novel maximum likelihood estimate of the noise scaling parameter per stationarity block. Adhering to layered coding, the derived estimate is successively refined as more stages are decoded. The Crámer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) for our estimator is derived and the mean squared error performance of the proposed successive refinement algorithm is evaluated through simulations. Apart from achieving an accuracy close to the derived CRLB, the proposed algorithm is shown to yield a WZ rate-distortion performance approaching the ideal but unrealistic scenario where the decoder knows a priori the correlation statistics. Moreover, the proposed technique has been integrated into our latest WZ video codec for wireless capsule endoscopy. Experimentation reveals that the proposed method delivers improved compression performance compared to state-of-the-art techniques, while simultaneously reducing the overall decoding complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aspiring to provide robust low-complexity encoding for video, this work presents a hash-based transform domain distributed video codec, featuring a novel maximum likelihood motion compensation technique to generate high quality side information at the decoder. A simple hash is employed to perform overlapped block motion estimation at the decoder, which produces a set of temporal predictors on a pixel basis. For every pixel position, maximum likelihood motion compensation, based on an online estimate of the conditional dependencies between the temporal predictors and the original frame, combines the cluster of temporal predictors into a single value to serve as decoder-generated side information. Efficient low-density parity-check accumulate channel codes refine the side information in the transform domain. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system advances over our previous hash-based distributed video coding architectures, delivering state-of-the-art distributed coding performance, in particular for sequences organized in large groups of pictures or containing highly irregular motion. Notwithstanding the presence of a hash, the presented distributed video codec successfully maintains low encoder complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real-time data delivery over best-effort error-prone packet networks has invigorated the study of robust coding schemes, such as scalable multiple description coding (SMDC). In this context, the paper introduces a novel generic symmetric scalable multiple description quantizer (SSMDSQ) which generates perfectly balanced source descriptions. Novel embedded index assignments are proposed which are used to realize high, as well as medium-to-low redundancy SSMDSQs. Compared to existing designs, it is shown that the proposed quantizer constructions exhibit superior distortion-rate (D-R) performance. Moreover, this paper describes an innovative extension of the Lloyd-Max algorithm in order to optimize symmetric and asymmetric scalable multiple description quantizers. For a family of Generalized Gaussian (GG) source distributions, the proposed optimization algorithm yields on average a significant D-R performance gain over unoptimized quantizers. Furthermore, anchored in the designed SSMDSQs, an SMDC framework is established to realize packet-based transmission over erasure channels. In this framework, transmission strategies are determined for scenarios wherein the average packet loss rate over the transmission link is (a) unknown and (b) can be estimated at the encoder. For both scenarios, SMDC packetized transmission is simulated for a family of GG distributions. Experimental results confirm that, compared to contemporary schemes, the designed quantizer constructions (with or without optimization) account for a significant average gain in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for a wide range of packet loss rates. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the context of low-cost video encoding, distributed video coding (DVC) has recently emerged as a potential candidate for uplink-oriented applications. This paper builds on a concept of correlation channel (CC) modeling, which expresses the correlation noise as being statistically dependent on the side information (SI). Compared with classical side-information-independent (SII) noise modeling adopted in current DVC solutions, it is theoretically proven that side-information-dependent (SID) modeling improves the Wyner–Ziv coding performance. Anchored in this finding, this paper proposes a novel algorithm for online estimation of the SID CC parameters based on already decoded information. The proposed algorithm enables bit-plane-by-bit-plane successive refinement of the channel estimation leading to progressively improved accuracy. Additionally, the proposed algorithm is included in a novel DVC architecture that employs a competitive hash-based motion estimation technique to generate high-quality SI at the decoder. Experimental results corroborate our theoretical gains and validate the accuracy of the channel estimation algorithm. The performance assessment of the proposed architecture shows remarkable and consistent coding gains over a germane group of state-of-the-art distributed and standard video codecs, even under strenuous conditions, i.e., large groups of pictures and highly irregular motion content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many of the distributed video coding (DVC) systems described in the literature make use of a feedback channel from the decoder to the encoder to determine the rate. However, the number of requests through the feedback channel is often high, and as a result the overall delay of the system could be unacceptable in practical applications. As a solution, feedback-free DVC systems have been proposed, but the problem with these solutions is that they incorporate a difficult trade-off between encoder complexity and compression performance. Recognizing that a limited form of feedback may be supported in many video-streaming scenarios, in this paper we propose a method for constraining the number of feedback requests to a fixed maximum number of N requests for an entire Wyner-Ziv (WZ) frame. The proposed technique estimates the WZ rate at the decoder using information obtained from previously decoded WZ frames and defines the N requests by minimizing the expected rate overhead. Tests on eight sequences show that the rate penalty is less than 5% when only five requests are allowed per WZ frame (for a group of pictures of size four). Furthermore, due to improvements from previous work, the system is able to perform better than or similar to DISCOVER even when up to two requests per WZ frame are allowed. The practical usefulness of the proposed approach is studied by estimating end-to-end delay and encoder buffer requirements, indicating that DVC with constrained feedback can be an important solution in the context of video-streaming scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distributed video coding (DVC) is a video coding paradigm that allows for a low-complexity encoding process by exploiting the temporal redundancies in a video sequence at the decoder side. State-of-the-art DVC systems exhibit a structural coding delay since exploiting the temporal redundancies through motion-compensated interpolation requires the frames to be decoded out of order. To alleviate this problem, we propose a system based on motion-compensated extrapolation that allows for efficient low-delay video coding with low complexity at the encoder. The proposed extrapolation technique first estimates the motion field between the two most recently decoded frames using the Lucas–Kanade algorithm. The obtained motion field is then extrapolated to the current frame using an extrapolation grid. The proposed techniques are implemented into a novel architecture featuring hybrid block-frequency Wyner–Ziv coding as well as mode decision. Results show that having references from both temporal directions in interpolation provides superior rate-distortion performance over a single temporal direction in extrapolation, as expected. However, the proposed extrapolation method is particularly suitable for low-delay coding as it performs better than H.264/AVC intra, and it is even able to outperform the interpolation-based DVC codec from DISCOVER for several sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]