H.264 scalable video coding (H.264/SVC)

H.264/SVC(Scalable Video Coding) is an extension of H.264/ AVC (Advanced Video Coding) standardized by the International Telecommunication Union ( ITU) and developed for face-to-face telepresence. In contrast, H.264/AVC is used in video conferencing.

The main difference between the two aforementioned applications is that videoconferencing is performed in specially equipped rooms, but telepresence can be performed from any personal computer or notebook. With telepresence, conference participants dial in from different locations, and the transmission quality can vary and is subject to a wide range of influences. Scalable video coding has the advantage that transmission networks can be used whose connection quality and transmission speed are subject to fluctuations. This is the case with the Internet and, of course, with mobile networks.

In order to achieve an acceptable presentation of the conference topics in the event of quality fluctuations, the SVC method assigns priorities to the data packets and divides them into important and less important data packets. Important data packets are those that are crucial for the video image. If they are omitted, the image will be permanently impaired. The situation is different for the less important ones. If they are omitted, only the quality of the video image is impaired.