Evaluating MPEG-4 video decoding complexity for an alternative video complexity verifier model

MPEG-4 is the first object-based audiovisual coding standard. To control the minimum decoding complexity resources required at the decoder, the MPEG-4 Visual standard defines the so-called video buffering verifier mechanism, which includes three virtual buffer models, among them the video complexity verifier (VCV). This paper proposes an alternative VCV model, based on a set of macroblock (MB) relative decoding complexity weights assigned to the various MB coding types used in MPEG-4 video coding. The new VCV model allows a more efficient use of the available decoding resources by preventing the overevaluation of the decoding complexity of certain MB types and thus making it possible to encode scenes (for the same profile@level decoding resources) which otherwise would be considered too demanding.