Recent years have seen an exponential increase in video and multimedia traffic transported over the Internet and broadband access networks. This timely resource addresses the key challenge facing many service providers today: effective bandwidth management for supporting high-quality video delivery. Written by a recognized expert in the field, this practical book describes ways to optimize video transmission over emerging broadband networks. Moreover, the book explores new wireless access networks that can enable video connectivity both inside and outside the residential premise. This unique reference covers a wide range of critical topics, from the H.264 standard, error concealment methods for improving video quality, and video traffic smoothing and multiplexing, to supporting compressed video applications over DOCSIS cable networks, intelligent activity detection techniques for advanced video surveillance systems, and hand gesture control for broadband-enabled HDTVs and multimedia PCs.