A practical approach to effective video compression through lexicographic bit-rate control Video compression is a topic of increasing importance in a world where multimedia technologies and massive data sets are threatening to overflow the capacity of even the most powerful of today's computers. Internet as well as business applications such as videoconferencing, video-on-demand, and digital cable television all use compression techniques, either to decrease the required bandwidth for an application or to send more data through a bottleneck in the system. Buffering is used at both ends of the transmission to make the communication less "bursty." The interplay between compression and buffer control algorithms in order to address these performance problems and maintain high visual clarity has shown great results, and Efficient Algorithms for MPEG Video Compression is the first book dedicated to the subject. The authors, both experts in the field of compression technologies and algorithm design, present some of the most promising algorithms for converting raw data to a compressed form for efficient broadcast. A must for both students and practitioners alike in the telecommunications, broadcast, and Internet industries, this book: * Details proven techniques for optimizing the quality of MPEG video encoding * Illustrates theoretical concepts with practical examples * Provides extensive simulation results in the form of plots and tables * Includes a useful introduction to the basics of video compressionVideo compression is the enabling technology behind many cutting-edge business and Internet applications, including video-conferencing, video-on-demand, and digital cable TV. Coauthored by internationally recognized authorities on the subject, this book takes a close look at the essential tools of video compression, exploring some of the most promising algorithms for converting raw data to a compressed form.