A high quality VBR MPEG system for Internet and broadcasting applications

A high quality variable bit rate (VBR) MPEG-2 encoding scheme that offers optimum video quality and bandwidth allocation is presented. This scheme utilizes a real-time bit redistribution method, insertion of I frames at scene changes and large GOP (group of pictures) size to produce high picture quality. An encoders-bank with predetermined sets of "nominal-long-term", minimum and maximum bit rates in combination with a sophisticated picture quality control process allows a bit rate selector to choose the optimum bit stream from a set of encoders, thus resulting in a high quality VBR video stream. The proposed scheme is very easy to implement and offers an efficient real-time VBR solution for broadcasting applications that involve multiplexed distribution of multiple video sources.