Random access using isolated regions

Random access is a desirable feature in many video communication systems. Intra pictures is conventionally used as random access points, but correct picture content is recovered gradually within a range of pictures starting from a non-intra random access point. This paper proposes the use of the isolated regions technique for gradual decoder refresh and presents how the proposed method can be used in the upcoming ITU-T recommendation H.264, also known as MPEG-4 part 10 or advanced video coding. The presented simulations reveal that the proposed method outperforms intra-picture-based random access points in error-prone network conditions. It is also shown that the proposed method is more flexible and suits packet-based transmission better compared to progressively located intra-coded slices.