Sliding-window packetization for unequal loss protection based multiple description coding

Unequal loss protection (ULP) for transmitting embedded bitstream over packet erasure networks has been extensively studied. However, most of the existing works focused on rate−distortion optimization of individual encoding unit, e.g., a group of pictures (GOP), which may lead to noticeable video quality variations due to varying channel conditions. In this paper, a novel sliding−window packetization scheme is proposed, which combat bursty packet loss through GOP interleaving. Two levels of rate allocation are introduced: intra−GOP rate allocation minimizes the distortion of individual GOP, and provides hybrid FEC/retransmission packet loss recovery; while inter−GOP rate allocation intends to reduce video quality fluctuations by adaptively allocating bandwidth according to video signal characteristics. Through this way, more consistent video quality can be achieved under various packet loss probability, as verified by our experimental results.