Optimal intra/inter mode switching for robust video communication over the Internet

Robustness to packet loss is a critical requirement in video coding for transmission over the Internet. We propose an intra/inter mode switching scheme to stop error propagation, while optimizing the compression efficiency. The encoder computes the expected distortion at the decoder precisely per pixel, while accounting for quantization, packet loss rate, and effect of error concealment. The distortion estimate is incorporated within an overall rate-distortion framework to optimally select the coding mode of each macroblock. Simulation results demonstrate the accuracy of the estimate, and show that substantial gains in PSNR can be achieved over state-of-the-art RD and non-RD based mode-switching approaches for transmission over networks with packet loss.