System modeling and implementation of a generic video codec

The rapidly emerging and increasing complexity of video coding standards require a new design paradigm. This paper describes a modular, scalable, extensible simulation and design methodology for system-level design of video codecs. Video codec dataflow is modeled by synchronous dataflow, and implemented in a heterogeneous CAD framework. As a result, generic video codec is decomposed into basic modules. Each module is easy to interface and extend. Any video codec standard (e.g., H.263+ or MPEG-4) can be mapped on that basis and be retargeted for various architectures including DSPs and ASIPs. We develop module libraries for video codecs which can be dynamically linked to an extensible framework for simulation and algorithm development. Some parts of the basic modules can be mixed with other domain modules which may have different interaction semantics especially for hardware design and retargeting purposes. We based our framework on the Ptolemy software environment