A Distortion Optimal Rate Allocation Algorithm for Transmission of Embedded Bitstreams over Noisy Channels.

We propose a distortion optimal rate allocation algorithm for robust transmission of embedded bitstreams over noisy channels. The algorithm is based on the backward application of a Viterbi-like algorithm to a search trellis, and can be applied to both scenarios of fixed and variable channel packet length problems, referred to as FPP and VPP, respectively. For the VPP, the complexity of the algorithm is comparable to the well-known dynamic programming approach of Chande and: Farvardin. For the FPP, where no low-complexity algorithm is known, the complexity of the proposed algorithm is O(N[sup2]), where N is the number of transmitted packets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]