Very low-bit-rate segmentation-based video coding using contour and texture prediction

The most efficient video coding standard for low bit rates (around 64 kb/s) is the H.261 algorithm recommended by ITU-TS. However, in certain applications such as mobile audiovisual communications and videophone through PSTN, the available transmission bandwidth is very limited. Therefore codecs working at very low bit rates are required. The paper presents a segmentation-based video coding algorithm that can work at rates as low as 10 kb/s. A novel representation of the contour information using a number of control points is proposed to estimate the contour shapes and locations from the previous frame by using the motion information. The texture parameters are also predicted and only the residual values are entropy coded. In addition two novel postprocessing techniques for edge-profile smoothing and jagged-edge rectification are described