Interlaced Coding in SVC

The scalable extension of AVC scalable video coding (SVC) is a current standardization project of the joint video team (JVT) of the ITU-T video coding experts group (VCEG) and the ISO/IEC moving picture experts group (MPEG). SVC has been initially designed for progressive video. However, even if progressive material is becoming the favorite format for production, broadcasting and consumers equipments, interlaced material is still widely used in the video world and will not disappear in the next few years. The specification of SVC should be finalized in 2007. Thanks to its AVC-based design and its AVC base-layer compatibility, migration from AVC to SVC equipments can be considered in a near future. In this context, interlaced support becomes an important requirement for SVC. This paper presents the main concepts for supporting interlaced coding in SVC. After a brief description of the basics of SVC, the generalizations of AVC interlaced tools are first described. Then main issues related to interlaced video scalable encoding are identified and the new mechanisms introduced in the SVC specification for raising these issues are presented. The paper also discusses related applications side and identifies several use cases illustrating the interest of interlaced support in SVC.