NEXT GENERATION SCALABLE VIDEO CODING

Background

Scalability in video coding refers to encoding of video in such a way that the resulting video stream can be useful at different bitrates. Video can be reconstructed at a basic quality from a smaller part of the bitstream (base layer) whereas better qualities can be achieved by including one or more enhancement layers. The quality may refer to resolution, frame rate or noise ratio. Scalability can be used in various applications, such as broadcast, multi-point video conferencing, and adaptive video streaming over links with varying bandwidth. The existing state-of-the-art scalable video standard is based on H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC. The new High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) effort in MPEG and ITU targets an even better efficiency than H.264 and there are plans to address scalable extensions in the near future.

Task

The objective of this thesis is to study scalable video coding technologies in the context of HEVC. The goal is to understand scalable aspects of HEVC, investigate how known scalability tools apply, and to possibly develop new such tools. The thesis will contain a theoretical study, design and implementation, and a technical report.

Competence

We are looking for a bright M.Sc. student with interests in research, video coding and programming. You should have good programming skills in C and/or C++. Knowledge of video/image/signal processing and compression algorithms is a plus.

Ericsson Research – Visual Technology

The thesis work will be done at the Visual Technology unit at Ericsson Research in Kista outside Stockholm. The unit is responsible for research related to video & image coding, quality and processing for multimedia communication and distribution.

Applications should contain the following documents: a short personal letter, recent grades (undergraduate and master studies) and a CV. Candidates are invited to send their applications as soon as possible.

Apply online before 2011-08-21 by following the link below. Applications by e-mail are not accepted.

Contact persons

Andrey Norkin, Ph. D.
Senior Researcher

Kenneth Andersson, Ph. D.
Senior Researcher

Per Fröjdh. Ph.D.
Manager, Visual Technology