Robust System and Cross-Layer Design for H.264/AVC-Based Wireless Video Applications

H.264/AVC is an essential component in emerging wireless video applications, thanks to its excellent compression efficiency and network-friendly design. However, a video coding standard itself is only a single component within a complex system. Its effectiveness strongly depends on the appropriate configuration of encoders, decoders, as well as transport and network features. The applicability of different features depends on application constraints, the availability and quality of feedback and cross-layer information, and the accessible quality-of-service (QoS) tools inmodern wireless networks.We discuss robust integration of H.264/AVC in wireless real-time video applications. Specifically, the use of different coding and transport-related features for different application types is elaborated. Guidelines for the selection of appropriate coding tools, encoder and decoder settings, as well as transport and network parameters are provided and justified. Selected simulation results show the superiority of lower layer error control over application layer error control and video error resilience features.