H.264 and Dual-tree Wavelet Transform based multiple description video coding

A H.264 and dual-tree discrete wavelet transform (DDWT) based multiple description video coding algorithm is proposed to solve the transmitting error or packet loss problem due to Internet or wireless network channel failure. Each description of the proposed multiple description coding scheme consists of a base layer and an enhancement layer. First, the input image sequence is coded by a standard H.264 encoder in low bit rate to form the base layer, which is to be duplicated to each description. Then the error frames of the base layer and the input image sequence is coded by a 3D dual-tree wavelet encoder to produce four coefficient trees. After noise-shaped, these four trees are partitioned into two groups, forming the enhancement layer of related descriptions. If all descriptions are received, a high quality video can be reconstructed by a central decoder. If only one description is received, a side decoder can be used to guarantee an acceptable quality reconstructed video. The simulation results have shown that the quality of reconstructed video by the proposed algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art of multiple description video coding methods.