Complexity-Constrained H.264 Video Coding in Wireless Environment

Nowadays, real-time video applications on portable devices became more and more popular. In this paper, we propose a novel joint computation-rate-distortion optimization algorithm for H.264/AVC-based wireless video communications through handheld devices under power constraint. Firstly, we propose a computation resources (CR) allocation model, which is based on virtual computation resources buffer (VCB) and employs the previous method for computation consumption quantitative measurement to facilitate the optimal allocation of constrained CR for each frame. Secondly, in order to meet the allocated CR, we develop an encoder based on complexity adjustable motion estimation (ME) and inter mode decision (MD). The proposed algorithm takes end-to-end distortion into consideration to address the distortion caused by packet loss. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can minimize the end-to-end distortion in the environments with both packet loss and power constraint.