Robust H.264/AVC transmission with optimal mode selection and data partitioning

In this paper, two effective error-resilient tools in H.264/AVC, i.e. data partitioning with unequal loss protection (ULP) and optimal intra mode update, are combined to combat the burst packet losses. For efficient combination, the end-to-end rate-distortion optimization with respect to the distortion introduced by packet loss and the rate induced by FEC is employed. The accurate estimation of the expected end-to-end distortion is guaranteed by extending the recursive optimal per-pixel estimate (ROPE) algorithm to H.264/AVC with a Gilbert packet loss model. In addition, an adaptive algorithm is proposed to determine the parameters of ULP and intra update according to the network conditions and video characteristics in an efficient way. Simulations show that the proposed algorithm can consistently provide superior error-resilient performance. We observed more significant gain when the packet loss rate is higher or the video sequence contains high motion components.