Coding of details in very low bit-rate video systems

In this paper, the importance of including small image features at the initial levels of a progressive second generation video coding scheme is presented. It is shown that a number of meaningful small features called details should be coded, even at very low data bit-rates, in order to match their perceptual significance to the human visual system. We propose a method for extracting, perceptually selecting and coding of visual details in a video sequence using morphological techniques. Its application in the framework of a multiresolution segmentation-based coding algorithm yields better results than pure segmentation techniques at higher compression ratios, if the selection step fits some main subjective requirements.