The scalable video coding is the extension of H.264/AVC. The features in scalable video coding, are the standard features in H.264/AVC and some features which is supporting the scalability of the encoder. Those features add more complexity in SVC encoder. In this paper, complexity evaluation of scalable video coding has been performed. Different scalable configurations were evaluated in which the encoding time and the encoded video quality have been measured. Various scalable configurations with various GOPs, frame rates, QP value, have been implemented and evaluated, which shows the scalability of video coding for various conditions. Based on these results, a low complexity algorithm has been proposed. Results show that the proposed algorithm maintained the image quality (around 0.1 dB differences) while reducing the encoding time (around 30%).

Abstract — A scalable video stream can accommodate various forms of network diversity. Scalability can be provided by H.264 SVC (scalable video coding) extension, which is an amendment to the H.264/AVC (advanced video coding) standard. Among various types of scalability, temporal scalability is easily implemented using hierarchical B structure, but the increase in decoding complexity inhibits a flexible streaming service for low-performance devices like mobile phone. In this paper, we present two ways of increasing temporal scaling by realizing non-dyadic temporal scalability with low complexity. Both methods are shown to be easily merged into the standard, H.264 SVC extension. We have observed that, at the expense of a small amount of additional data, the decoding complexity can be reduced by up to 35%, offering a more flexible streaming service for mobile devices. Index Terms — Video codec, H.264, AVC, low-complexity, mobile device, scalable video.