Highly scalable, low-delay video compression

We propose a class of scalable video compression algorithms, within which compression performance may be exchanged for end-to-end delay. Each of the algorithms in this class produces a highly scalable bit stream, from which subsets may be extracted for compatibility with a wide range of display frame sizes, frame rates and bit rate constraints. Moreover, with modest end-to-end delay, the reconstructed video quality associated with any of these subsets is often superior to that obtained using an implementation of the inherently non-scalable MPEG-1 compression standard, operated with equivalent resolution and bit rate constraints. We describe scalable compressed data structures based on a layered substream abstraction, with simple, generic scaling operations, for both constant bit rate and constant distortion scaling criteria