Reinventing Compression: The New Paradigm of Distributed Video Coding

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                ***Joint Seminar***
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The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
                        and
IEEE Hong Kong Chapter of Signal Processing
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Speaker:	Professor Bernd GIROD
		Department of Electrical Engineering
		Stanford University

Title:		"Reinventing Compression: The New Paradigm of
		 Distributed Video Coding"

Date: 		Tuesday, 25 November 2008

Time: 		10:30am - 12 noon

Venue:		Room 1511 (via lifts 27/28)

Abstract:

Distributed coding is a new paradigm for video compression, based on
Slepian and Wolf's and Wyner and Ziv's information-theoretic results from
the 1970s. This talk reviews the recent development of practical
distributed video coding schemes. Wyner-Ziv coding, i.e., lossy
compression with receiver side information, enables lowcomplexity video
encoding where the bulk of the computation is shifted to the decoder.
Since the interframe dependence of the video sequence is exploited only at
the decoder, an intraframe encoder can be combined with an interframe
decoder. Wyner-Ziv coding is also naturally robust against transmission
errors and can be used for joint source-channel coding by protecting the
signal waveform rather than a compressed bit-stream. It thus achieves
graceful degradation under deteriorating channel conditions without a
layered signal representation. Besides lowcomplexity encoding and robust
transmission, the distributed coding paradigm enables novel solutions to
diverse problems ranging from coding for random access to media
authentication to compression of encrypted signals.


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Biography:

Bernd Girod is Professor of Electrical Engineering and (by courtesy)
Computer Science in the Information Systems Laboratory of Stanford
University, California, since 1999. Previously, he was Professor of
Telecommunications in the Electrical Engineering Department of the
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. His current research interests are in
the areas of video compression and networked media systems. He has
published over 400 conference and journal papers, as well as 5 books,
receiving the EURASIP Signal Processing Best Paper Award in 2002, the IEEE
Multimedia Communication Best Paper Award in 2007, the EURASIP Image
Communication Best Paper Award in 2008, as well as the EURASIP Technical
Achievement Award in 2004.

As an entrepreneur, Professor Girod has been involved with several startup
ventures as founder, director, investor, or advisor, among them Polycom
(Nasdaq:PLCM), Vivo Software, 8x8 (Nasdaq: EGHT), and Real Networks
(Nasdaq: RNWK).

He received an Engineering Doctorate from University of Hannover, Germany,
and an M.S. Degree from Georgia Institute of Technology. Prof. Girod is a
Fellow of the IEEE, a EURASIP Fellow, and a member of the German National
Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina).