Efficient algorithms for optimal video transmission

This paper addresses the problem of sending an MPEG-encoded video stream over a channel of limited bandwidth. When there is insufficient bandwidth available for the rate at which the sequence was encoded, some data must be dropped. In this paper we give fast algorithms to determine a prioritization of the data that optimizes the visual quality of the received video sequence in the sense that the maximum gap of unplayable frames is minimized. Our results are obtained in a new model of encoded video data that is applicable to MPEG and other encoding technologies. The model identifies a certain key relationship between the play order and dependence order of frames that allows fast determination of optimal send orders by dynamic programming.