Receiver buffer control for variable bit-rate real-time video

Lossless (or entropy) coders can substantially reduce the average bit rate by exploiting the statistical properties of the signal, but they also tend to generate highly variable bit rates. To deal with the instantaneous data rate variation buffers are needed both in the transmitter and the receiver. The authors address the issues involved in the intelligent control of the receiver buffer with particular reference to broadband integrated services digital network (BISDN) applications. The minimum receiver buffer size required to achieve operation without underflow or overflow is derived. Techniques for initializing the receive buffer properly are also described. The effects of system imperfection such as network delay and imperfect clock recovery are considered. These methods were used to control the receive buffer in an HDTV asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) BISDN experimental research prototype codec currently being developed