Joint mode selection and unequal error protection for bitplane coded video transmission over wireless channels

In this paper, we study joint source channel coding for bitplane based video coding over wireless channels. We consider using frame-level intra-mode to stop error propagation and using unequal error protection (UEP) to combat channel errors. Our focus is on how to optimally select coding modes and find UEP solutions for bitplane based video coding. In particular, we propose an overall end-to-end rate–distortion (R–D) function, which considers not only the source distortion and the channel distortion introduced in the current frame but also the propagated channel distortion from the previous frames. Based on this end-to-end R–D function, we are able to find the optimal solutions for both mode selection and UEP so that an optimal tradeoff between efficiency and robustness can be achieved. Experimental results demonstrate the significant performance gain. 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.