Objective
Action COST 211ter is a follow-up project of COST 211 and COST 211bis dealing with redundancy reduction techniques for video signals. COST 211ter is focusing on highly efficient coding schemes for multimedia services and low bit rates applications.
The objectives are to undertake and co-ordinate research and development work with the aim of applying redundancy techniques to the digital transmission and storage of video signals.
As in the previous COST 211 Actions, special efforts are made to contribute to standardisation bodies: Project COST 211ter is actively contributing to the work in ITU-T, ETSI NA5/VCM, ISO MPEG-4 and is working in very close co-operation with the European project ACTS MoMuSys (Mobile Multimedia System) : joint meetings, distribution of contributions, proposals for the formal subjective tests in ISO MPEG-4, etc.
Currentstatus
The COST 211ter MC asked for and obtained a two year extension of its project and is presently scheduled until the end of 1997.
The work plan for the extension is covering the following items :
* proposals to the ISO MPEG-4 tests,
* software test model for demonstration of MPEG-4 functionalities,
* Real Time demonstrators and field trials of H324 codecs.
For the time being, the two following subgroups are contributing to the activity of the COST 211ter :
* simulation subgroup on coding algorithms for very low bit rates and high compression ratios,
* Real Time Video Applications (RTVA) subgroup on implementation of demonstrators.
Simulation subgroup
During the period June 1995 to May 1996 the work in the Simulation Subgroup focused mainly on proposals to the ISO Moving Picture Experts Group phase 4 (MPEG-4) competitive tests in November 1995.
Several segmentation-based approaches for improving video quality at very low bit rates were presented and discussed in the Simulation Subgroup. These schemes employ segmentation of video sequences based either on motion or on change detection between frames or based on morphological segmentation in one or more frames. Currently the COST 211ter group is concentrating on combining concepts of the different approaches.
The COST 211ter group will continue to refine and optimise the compression algorithms developed in the group for very low bit rate video applications. With respect to the developments in the MPEG-4 standardisation body, the COST 211ter Simulation Subgroup activities have been extended towards the definition of a "Basic Video Coding Structure". This structure defines intermediate formats with the aim of performing basic core experiments and defining a common software platform. This basic structure allows the integration of various compression tools into one common coding scheme and provides a test bed for the development of a MPEG-4 descriptive syntactic language (MSDL).
Real-Time Video Applications subgroup
The COST 211ter "RTVA" Real-Time Video Applications subgroup was created in June 1995 and its objectives were the following :
- real-time implementations of H324 and more precisely of H263, H223, H245 and eventually G723,
- software implementations as far as possible,
- field trials.
Two other objectives had been defined and may be studied in a second step:
- video bit rate adaptor and interworking between ISDN and PSTN,
- error detection and error concealment in a mobile environment,
The time schedule which had been defined was the following :
- end of 1995 for the test of real-time connections with H263,
- beginning of 1996 for the test of real-time connections with H324.
Several companies are involved in this group: British Telecom, KPN Research, Telefonica, Thomson Multimedia, Philips-LEP, Telenor Fraunhofer Gesellschaft Institute for Integrated Circuits, France Telecom-CNET. Regular telephone 'meetings' and the COST reflector allow the partners to discuss technical problems and implementations and to exchange information or bit streams.
Some tests have been successfully performed between several partners.
Tests of H324 are performed in several steps:
- exchanges of bit streams for the different parts of the H324 standard: H223, H263, H245 bit streams,
- real-time connections: first H223 without any media, then with one or several media, then with H245 with or without any media.
Some H223 and H263 bit streams have been exchanged on the reflector with success. Some real-time connections have been successfully performed, but only with H223 bit-streams. Only H245 bit streams could be pushed on the reflector to be tested on the very near future. On another side the retransmission mechanism in the H223 sub-channel devoted to video has not been tested yet. The time schedule has been a little delayed in comparison with that one forecast at the beginning.
The high degree of interest in this field is largely confirmed by the numerous activities that are growing in other similar groups for the H324 implementation (ITU, IMTC) . This European group has enabled several European companies to correctly implement H324. The interpretation of this very complex standard is much easier.
The interest in the mobile environment has been highlighted by several partners but the major today objective is focused on the H324 implementation.
This group should collaborate with the ITU H324 test group or the IMTC H324 test group with the aim of defining test procedures.
Workplanned
Action COST 211ter is actively contributing to the work in ITU-T, ETSI NA5/VCM, ISO MPEG-4 and is working in very close co-operation with the European project ACTS MoMuSys (Mobile Multimedia System):
Joint meetings, distribution of contributions, proposals for the formal subjective tests in ISO MPEG-4, etc.
Other information
COST 211ter is currently studying the organisation of a workshop in late-1996/early-1997.
The scope of this workshop should address the following issues:
- show potential users results of RTVA work (software real time implementation of audiovisuals coding schemes)
- show what might be the work items for a further project
- show the results of simulation and RTVA sub groups
- focus on demos.
The participants should be not only technical experts, but also potential users of these technologies.
Programme(s)
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
Data not availableCoordinator
75015 Paris
France