H.264/AVC Standard
Benny Bing · 2015
This chapter covers several important aspects of H.264/MPEG-4 advanced video coding (AVC) video coding standard. H.264 defines the syntax and semantics of the bitstream (i.e., the coded video representation) and the processing that the decoder requires. It offers a number of error resilience methods, which improve the reliability in compressed video delivery. These methods typically require overhead bits to be added by the encoder. Rate distortion optimization (RDO) in the variable bit rate (VBR) mode provides better video quality for higher quality videos but the encoded video is typically larger in size and the encoding time is longer. Thus, RDO is well suited for broadcasting of prerecorded high-quality videos but should be avoided for low delay applications. The H.264 entropy coding incorporates context modeling to offer a high degree of statistical adaptivity when coding the video content.