Bit rate transcoding of H.264 encoded movies by dropping frames in the compressed domain

A new technique for controlling the bit-rate of H.264 encoded sequences is presented. The technique achieves bit-rate control by dropping frames directly in the compressed domain. The dropped frames are carefully selected so as to either eliminate or cause non perceptible drift errors in the decoder. The technique suits well for H.264 encoded sequences such as movies and tv news, which are transmitted over wireless networks.