Broadcast transmission of pyramidal video streams over satellite channels

The operation of a pyramidal hierarchical video coder over a rain-faded satellite channel is considered, by examining the effects of fade attenuation and noise over video streaming transmission in a laboratory environment. The characteristics of the satellite channel have been reproduced accurately, and both hierarchical and non-hierarchical coding strategies have been implemented and compared, in objective and subjective terms. The analysis confirms that the flexibility of the pyramidal encoders might be exploited to derive receiver-driven decisions in a broadcast environment.