A low-cost unrestricted fast playback scheme for video streaming

In this brief, we propose a low cost fast-forward and fast-backward playback scheme for video streaming applications. By reshaping the ordinary linear encoded group-of-pictures (GOP) structure into a hierarchical structure, the transmission overhead caused by frame dependencies can be reduced. The resulting video streaming system can provide all directions video playback with any speed-up factor. A set-top box architecture that supports the binary tree structured GOP playback is also described.