Optimal solution for SVC-based video transmission over a realistic mimo channel using precoder designs

In this paper we propose a novel scheme for SVC-based video transmission over MIMO channels using precoder solutions. On the one hand, H.264/SVC codec ensures spatial, temporal and quality scalabilities and provides an intrinsic hierarchy over transmitted bitstreams. On the other hand, precoder designs, which decouple a MIMO channel into parallel and independent SISOsub-channels, offer a high BER performance with a hierarchy over the sub-channels. The proposed scheme exploits the scalability of the H.264/SVC codec jointly with four precoder solutions providing an UEP without any surplus redundancy. Besides, some of these precoders such as QoS and E-d_min allow a high flexibility on the power allocation across the sub-channels. This scalability is used to analytically draw the bandwidth allocation problem for H.264/SVC transmission over MIMO channels. The solution of this problem allows an optimal selection of each transmission bloc parameter approaching the optimal solution in term of Rate Distortion (RD) criterion. The simulation results show the performance of the proposed scheme over both statistical and realistic MIMO channels. Moreover, the accuracy of these precoder solutions against the Channel Estimation (CE) errors is investigated in different user mobility speeds.