What areas can be improved upon to create a better syntax than MPEG?
As more number crunching cycles become available with improvements in semiconductors, several improvements can be made to the MPEG syntax while remaining within the framework of block based transform coding. Intra coding: For intra pictures, subband methods such as wavelets combined with improved quantization and entropy coders could gain as much as 2-4 dB over MPEG Intra pictures. The problem becomes more complex when considering the coding of Intra Macroblocks in mixed pictures, such as P or B, since the extent of a subband must, in the simplest of schemes, be limited to the dimensions of a macroblock. Prediction error coding One of the strongest gripes against MPEG is the use of the DCT for decorrelating prediction error blocks. One explanation is: although the DCT is suited for the statistical correlation of intra signals, it is much less suited for the statistics of prediction error (Non-Intra) signals. One common proposal is to replace the prediction error DCT with a Vector Quant
