Drift reduction in predictive video transmission using a distributed source coded side-channel

Abstract

Predictive video codecs such as MPEG and H.26x are very susceptible to prediction mismatch between encoder and decoder or "drift" when there are packet losses, leading to a significant reduction in the decoded quality. In this paper, we propose a method to reduce the drift in these codecs by sending extra information over a side-channel. Using principles from distributed source coding, we send another description of the video sequence (at a lower rate) over the side-channel which can correct for errors in the decoded frame and thereby mitigate the drift. Simulation results using our techniques show significant gains in performance over conventional error protection schemes such as Forward Error Correction codes under reasonable latency constraints.