Multiple description coding: compression meets the network

This article focuses on the compressed representations of pictures. The representation does not affect how many bits get from the Web server to the laptop, but it determines the usefulness of the bits that arrive. Many different representations are possible, and there is more involved in their choice than merely selecting a compression ratio. The techniques presented represent a single information source with several chunks of data ("descriptions") so that the source can be approximated from any subset of the chunks. By allowing image reconstruction to continue even after a packet is lost, this type of representation can prevent a Web browser from becoming dormant.