A Comparative Evaluation of Video Codecs for rPPG-based Heart Rate Estimation

Remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) is a non-invasive technology that can be used to extract heart rate (HR) from video data. Video codecs are typically used for compressing video, which allows for efficient data storage, but could negatively impact the accuracy of HR estimation. To date, only limited number of studies investigate the impact of video codecs on rPPG-based HR estimation. In this paper, we present a comprehensive comparative evaluation of video codecs for rPPG-based HR estimation. Several factors being compared include video encoders, video containers, quality rate mode, and resolution. Experimental results using in-house dataset show that the lossy encoder like VP9 yield good performance nearly similar to the lossless counterparts. Additionally, the.avi container is preferable because it can contain all encoders tested except x265 (HEVC). Varying the resolution significantly affects the file size and accuracy of HR estimation. This study provides useful information for the creation of rPPG dataset and development of rPPG algorithm.