The Next Generation Video Codec - Scalable Video Coding (SVC)

In the past few years, megapixel resolution has become the mainstream specification for IP surveillance cameras. While these cameras deliver more details and better coverage than ever before, the dramatic increase in video data places greater demands on network bandwidth, recording storage, and CPU loading. Moreover, video streaming performance may be degraded due to the varying capabilities of individual clients and the bandwidth available to them. The most common approach for resolving this dilemma is to provide multiple video streams with different configuration to meet the needs of varied clients. However, with present technology, the number of different streams afforded by a camera also limits the number of different types of clients that it can serve.

This paper discusses a new technology called Scalable Video Coding (SVC) that aims to provide a more flexible, robust IP surveillance system beyond these limitations.