A simple technique for SNR-scalable video coding using macroblock spiral re-ordering

Scalable representation of video mostly consists of some layers that may correspond to various spatial and temporal resolution. In order to match exactly the channel throughput, fine granularity scalability may be used. It is usually achieved by quality (SNR) scalability that scales the bit-stream of an enhancement layer. In this paper, a very simple and straightforward technique of fine granularity scalability is considered. It consists in partitioning of a stream of encoded macroblocks. The new issue is re-ordering of macroblocks according to the spiral scan prior to compression. This re-ordering improves subjective video quality perceived by a viewer that watches scaled video. The advantages of such a technique are: simplicity of the scheme and preservation of the standard bitstream syntax.