Scalable Video Coding

SVC (Scalable Video Coding) technology allows transferring several substream of different quality in one stream. As a rule these streams are basic and secondary ones. The basic stream is transferred in standard quality, while the secondary one – in the enhanced quality, for example, with higher frame rate or video resolution.

SVC enables video conference server adjust video stream to the varying characteristics of the endpoint terminals: CPU capabilities and bandwidth. The server sets the specific stream type for each device: endpoints with high bandwidth decode the whole stream, while endpoints with low bandwidth or device (mobile phones and tablets) receive only the basic stream with lower data transfer rate. In other words, “weaker” participants don’t influence video quality other participant receive during the conference.

Without SVC all multipoint conference participants receive video stream of the quality satisfactory for the device with the weakest characteristics. From now all multipoint conference participants will receive the image quality maximum possible for the equipment and network channels they use.

In TrueConf solutions SVC technology was adjusted to meet requirements of VP8 video codec. We want you to enjoy our video conferencing solutions and take full advantage of visual communication. That’s why we’ve developed scalable video coding technology, which allows a server easily change data transfer rate by modifying resolution or frame rate. In other words, each participant of a multipoint video conference receives the best video his/her device and network channels can provide. SVC is backwards compatible, so an SVC codec can communicate with an H.264 codec that is not SVC-capable. SVC introduction became an effective alternative to the technologies implemented in MCU (Multipoint Control Unit), which use total video conversion for each separate device. This process requires high CPU facilities and causes high price of the MCU server.