Very Low Bit-Rate Embedded Video Coding with 3D Set Partitioning in Hierarchical Trees (3D SPIHT)

In this paper, we propose a very low bit-rate embedded video coding scheme that utilizes a three dimensional (3D) extension of the set partitioning in hierarchical trees (SPIHT) algorithm which has proved so successful in still image coding. Three-dimensional spatio-temporal orientation trees coupled with powerful SPIHT sorting and refinement renders 3D SPIHT video coder so efficient that it provides comparable performance to H.263 objectively and subjectively when operated at the bit-rates of 30K to 60K bps with minimal system complexity. Extension to color-embedded video coding is accomplished without explicit bit-allocation, and can be used for any color plane representation. In addition to being rate scalable, the proposed video coder allows multiresolutional scalability in encoding and decoding in both time and space from one bit-stream. This added functionality along with many desirable attributes, such as full embeddedness for progressive transmission, precise rate control for c..