Sprite-based video coding using on-line segmentation

We address the problem of on-line sprite-based video coding in cases where scene segmentation is not available a priori or transmission of such segmentation information cannot be afforded due to low bit rate requirements. We propose an on-line segmentation method that can be integrated into an MPEG4 on-line sprite based video codec. The proposed method uses macroblock types as well as motion compensated residuals to perform the on-line segmentation. It produces a background mosaic without requiring a priori foreground-background segmentation information. Our results demonstrate the coding efficiency and functionality benefits of the proposed approach