Performance vs. complexity in scalable video coding for embedded surveillance applications

In this paper, we explore the complexity-performance trade-offs for camera surveillance applications. For this purpose, we propose a Scalable Video Codec (SVC), based on wavelet transformation in which we have adopted a t+2D architecture. Complexity is adjusted by adapting the configuration of the lifting-based motion-compensated temporal filtering (MCTF). We discuss various configurations and have found an SVC that has a scalable complexity and performance, enabling embedded applications. The paper discusses the trade-off of coder complexity, e.g. motion-compensation stages, compression efficiency and end-to-end delay of the video coding chain. Our SVC has a lower complexity than H.264 SVC, but the quality performance at full resolution is close to H.264 SVC (within 1 dB for surveillance type video at 4CIF, 60Hz) and at lower resolutions sufficient for our video surveillance application.

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