Introduction to Video Coding and H.264/AVC

A video signal is represented as a sequence of frames of pixels. There exists a vast amount of redundant information that can be eliminated with video compression technology so that transmission and storage becomes more efficient. To facilitate interoperability between compression at the video producing source and decompression at the consumption end, several generations of video coding standards have been defined and adapted. For low-end applications, software solutions are adequate. For high-end applications, dedicated hardware solutions are needed. This chapter gives an overview of the principles behind video coding in general and the advanced features of H.264/AVC standard in particular. It serves as an introduction to the remaining chapters; each covers an important coding tool and its VLSI architectural design of an H.264/AVC encoder.