Error resilient video coding using redundant pictures

Coding of redundant pictures is supported in the latest international video coding standard H.264 (also known as MPEG-4 part 10 or AVC). This paper proposes a standard-compliant way to encode and decode redundant pictures for improved error resilience. The method is based on a combination of picture-level reference picture selection, reference picture list ordering, and a hierarchical allocation of redundant pictures, which can efficiently prevent temporal error propagation without relying on feedback information. Simulation results show that the method outperforms the optimal loss-aware rate-distortion optimized intra refresh method. The proposed algorithm has been adopted into the H.264 Joint Model.