Forward Error Protection for low-delay packet video

Abstract

We study different forward error correction (FEC) codes for packet video streaming over erasure channels with strict delay constraints. Our study includes traditional maximum distance separable (MDS) codes and streaming burst erasure codes with optimal delay performance. We develop a continuous-times model to calculate burst error correction capabilities of these codes with a delay constraint. Our analysis also incorporates Systematic Lossy Error Protection (SLEP) that achieves stronger error protection in exchange for a slight drop in video quality when error correction is needed. We provide simulation results for transmitting H.264/AVC encoded video over a bursty packet erasure channel and show that the combination of streaming erasure codes and SLEP greatly outperforms conventional MDS FEC for video streaming with a tight delay constraint.