In this study, a new method is proposed to protect video data through partial encryption. Unlike previous methods, the bit rate of the encrypted portion can be controlled. In order to accomplish this task, a simple model for the time to break the partial encryption by a chipertext-only attack is defined. Then, the encrypted bit budget distribution strategy maximizing the time subject to the bitrate constraint is found. An algorithm to estimate the model parameters is constructed and it isthen implemented over an MPEG-4 natural video codec together with the bit budget distribution strategy. The encoder is tested with various image sequences and the output is analyzed. In addition to the developed video encryption method, a file format is defined to store encryption related side information.

The imminent inception of third-generation (3G) mobile communication networks offers an unprecedented opportunity for the development of video streaming applications through wireless Internet access. Different design challenges exist in implementing video streaming connections spanning both wired and wireless domains. A split-domain TCP-friendly streaming video transmission protocol is presented based on adaptive rate encoding in the MPEG-4 video format. Network simulations are conducted to demonstrate the benefits and viability of such a video streaming scheme over existing options. Further feature enhancements and refinements are necessary for the proposed protocol to achieve its full potential.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the possibilities of creating a MPEG-4-compatible set-top box for IP-networks based on open standards. Existing alternatives for transporting MPEG-4 over IP are evaluated and ISMA is found to be an important actor within the area. ISMA is a non-profit corporation formed to provide a forum for the creation of specifications that define an interoperable implementation for streaming rich media over IP-networks. Two different designs based on ISMA's recommendation are constructed and evaluated. The designs have different levels of complexity and the more complex design is found to be better due to its extended functionality. During the design process a number of problems related to this kind of set-top box are discovered. It is believed, however, that many of these problems will be solved within the near future.

Computer animated faces have found their way into a wide variety of areas. Starting from entertainment like computer games, through television and films to user interfaces using “talking heads”. Animated faces are also becoming popular in web applications in form of human-like assistants or newsreaders. This thesis presents a few aspects of dealing with human face animations, namely: editing, playing and transmitting such animations. It describes a standard for handling human face animations, the MPEG-4 Face Animation, and shows the process of designing, implementing and evaluating applications compliant to this standard. First, it presents changes introduced to the existing components of the Visage|toolkit package for dealing with facial animations, offered by the company Visage Technologies AB. It also presents the process of designing and implementing of an application for editing facial animations compliant to the MPEG-4 Face Animation standard. Finally, it discusses several approaches to the problem of streaming facial animations over the Internet or the Local Area Network (LAN).

The imminent inception of third-generation (3G) mobile communication networks offers an unprecedented opportunity for the development of video streaming applications through wireless Internet access. Different design challenges exist in implementing video streaming connections spanning both wired and wireless domains. A split-domain TCP-friendly streaming video transmission protocol is presented based on adaptive rate encoding in the MPEG-4 video format. Network simulations are conducted to demonstrate the benefits and viability of such a video streaming scheme over existing options. Further feature enhancements and refinements are necessary for the proposed protocol to achieve its full potential.

We propose a novel approach for segmentation of human objects, including face and body, in image sequences. In modern video coding techniques, e.g., MPEG-4 and MPEG-7, human objects are usually the main focus for multimedia applications. We combine temporal and spatial information and employ a neuro-fuzzy mechanism to extract human objects. A fuzzy self-clustering technique is used to divide the video frame into a set of segments. The existence of a face within a candidate face region is ensured by searching for possible constellations of eye-mouth triangles and verifying each eye-mouth combination with the predefined template. Then rough foreground and background are formed based on a combination of multiple criteria. Finally, human objects in the base frame and the remaining frames of the video stream are precisely located by a fuzzy neural network which is trained by a SVD-based hybrid learning algorithm. Through experiments, we compare our system with two other approaches, and the results have shown that our system can detect face locations and extract human objects more accurately.

This dissertation deals with (a) fine granularity video compression technique and (b) its application to robust video transmission over wireless Internet. First, two wavelet-domain motion estimation algorithms, HMRME (Half-pixel Multi-Resolution Motion Estimation) and HSDD (Hierarchical Sum of Double Difference Metric), have been proposed to give wavelet-based FGS (Fine Granularity Scalability) video encoder with either low-complexity or high-performance features. Second, a VLSI-friendly high-performance embedded coder ABEC (Array-Based Embedded Coder) has been built to encode motion compensation residue as bitstream with fine granularity scalability. Third, the analysis of loss-rate prediction over Gilbert channel with loss-rate feedback, and several optimal FEC (Forward Error Correction) assignment schemes applicable for any real-time FGS video transmission system will be presented in this dissertation. In addition to those theoretical works mentioned above, for future study on embedded systems for wireless FGS video transmission, an initiative FPGA-based MPEG-4 video encoder has also been implemented in this work.

In this thesis, we proposed the series methods of moving object segmentation and object application. These methods are the moving object segmentation method in wavelet domain, double change detection method, global motion estimation method, and the moving object segmentation in the motion background. First, we proposed the Video Object Segmentation Method in Wavelet Domain. We use the Change Detection Method with the different thresholds in four wavelet sub-bands. The experiment results show that we obtain further object shape information and more accurately extracting the moving object. In the double change detection method, we proposed the method for moving object segmentation using three successive frames. We use change detection method twice in wavelet domain. After applying the Intersect Operation, we obtain the accurately moving object edge map and further object shape information. Besides, we proposed the global motion estimation method in motion scene. We propose a novel global motion estimation using cross point for the reconstruction of background scene in video sequences. Due to the robust character and limit number of cross points, we can get the Affine parameters of global motion in video sequences efficiency. At last, we proposed the object segmentation method in motion scene. We use the motion estimation method to estimate the global motion between the consecutive frames. We reconstruct a wide scene background without moving objects by the consecutive frames. At last, the moving objects will be segmented easily by comparing the object frame and the relative part in wide scene background. The Results of our proposed have good performance in the different type of video sequences. Hence, the methods of our thesis contribute to the video coding in Mpeg-4 and multimedia technology.

In the last few years 3D Virtual Worlds (3DVWs) became a reality. Initially considered as a new mean for social communication, triggered by the development of software and hardware technology, 3DVWs are exposing now different functionalities, experiences and acquaintances. Therefore, they achieved their popularity very fast, indicated by the number and the progression of active users. Being the representation of the user, the avatar is one of the most significant and most complex assets of a Virtual World. A short analysis of a VW content allows one to observe that from the point of view of the storage/transmission the most significant amount is represented by the VW assets. Within the set of assets, the avatars are the most complex structures, consisting of different components: geometry, images, animations, structures, etc. The overall objective of developing tools and methods for a large deployment of VW are translated into three specific ones: To propose a compression framework to enable efficient, compact transfer of avatars, and general 3D graphics assets. Specifically for avatars, the framework should be independent from the representation formalism. To propose an optimized solution making the avatars accessible on weak terminals such as mobile phones. To define a metadata model allowing avatars interoperability between different VWs. The three objectives are addressed in this thesis and for each we propose original contributions.

Développer un système de rendu distant pour terminaux légers et mobiles traitant d'objets multimédias et de leur sémantique consiste à (1) offrir une véritable expérience multimédia collaborative au niveau du terminal, (2) assurer la compatibilité avec les contraintes liées au réseau (bande passante, erreurs et latence variables en temps) et au terminal (ressources de calcul et de mémoire réduites) et (3) s'affranchir des types de terminaux et des spécificités des communautés.Cette thèse traite de ces enjeux et se positionne en rupture avec l'état de l'art en développant une architecture support fondée sur la gestion sémantique du contenu multimédia. Le principe consiste à convertir en temps réel le contenu graphique généré par l'application en un graphe de scène multimédia et à le gérer en fonction de la sémantique de ses composantes.L'optimisation de la bande passante est assurée par la compression adaptative du graphe de scène et par la compression sans perte des messages de collaboration. Les deux méthodes développées sont caractérisées respectivement par la création d'un unique graphe de scène intrinsèquement adaptable au réseau/terminal et par la mise à jour dynamique du dictionnaire de codage en fonction des messages générés par les utilisateurs. Elles sont brevetées.Les fonctionnalités collaboratives interviennent directement au niveau du contenu grâce à l'enrichissement du graphe de scène par un nouveau type de nœud, dont la normalisation ISO est en cours.Le démonstrateur logiciel sous-jacent, dénommé MASC (Multimedia Adaptive Semantic Collaboration), permet de comparer objectivement cette nouvelle architecture aux solutions actuellement déployées par des acteurs majeurs du domaine (VNC RBF ou Microsoft RDP). Deux types d'application ont été considérés : l'édition du texte et la navigation sur Internet. Les évaluations quantitatives montrent: (1) un impact limité des artéfacts visuels de conversion (PSNR compris entre 30 et 42 dB et SSIM supérieur à 0,9999), (2) consommation de la bande passante downlink (resp. uplink) réduite d'un facteur de 2 à 60 (resp. de 3 à 10), (3) latence dans la transmission des événements générés par l'utilisateur réduite d'un facteur de 4 à 6, (4) consommation des ressources de calcul côté client réduite d'un facteur 1,5 par rapport à VNC RFB.