Rate-Distortion-Efficient Video Compression Using a 3-D Head Model

In this paper we combine model-based video synthesis with block-based motion-compensated prediction (MCP). Two frames are utilized for prediction where one frame is the previous decoded one and the other frame is provided by a model-based coder. The approach is integrated into an H.263-based video codec. Rate-distortion optimization is employed for the coding control. Hence, the coding efficiency does not decrease below H.263 even if the modelbased coder cannot describe the current scene. On the other hand, if the objects in the scene correspond to the model-based coder, significant gains in coding efficiency can be obtained compared to TMN-10, the test model of the H.263 standard. This is verified by experiments with natural head-and-shoulder sequences. Bit-rate savings of about 35 % are achieved at equal average PSNR. When encoding at equal bit-rate, significant improvements in terms of subjective quality are visible.