Rate loss of network source codes

In this thesis, I present bounds on the performance of a variety of network source codes. These rate loss bounds compare the rates achievable by each network code to the rate-distortion bound R( D) at the corresponding distortions. The result is a collection of optimal performance bounds that are easy to calculate.; I first present new bounds for the rate loss of multi-resolution source codes (MRSCs). Considering an M-resolution code with M ≥ 2, the rate loss at the ith resolution with distortion D_i is defined as L_i = R_i − R(D_i), where R_i is the rate achievable by the MRSC at stage i. For 2-resolution codes, there are three scenarios of particular interest: (i) when both resolutions are equally important; (ii) when the rate loss at the first resolution is 0 (L ₁ = 0); (iii) when the rate loss at the second resolution is 0 (L₂ = 0). The work of Lastras and Berger gives constant upper bounds for the rate loss in scenarios (i) and (ii) and an asymptotic bound for scenario (iii). In this thesis, I show a constant bound for scenario (iii), tighten the bounds for scenario (i) and (ii), and generalize the bound for scenario (ii) to M-resolution greedy codes.; I also present upper bounds for the rate losses of additive MRSCs (AMRSCs), a special MRSC. I obtain two bounds on the rate loss of AMRSCs: one primarily good for low rate coding and another which depends on the source entropy.; I then generalize the rate loss definition and present upper bounds for the rate losses of multiple description source codes. I divide the distortion region into three sub-regions and bound the rate losses by small constants in two sub-regions and by the joint rate losses of a normal source with the same variance in the other sub-region.; Finally, I present bounds for the rate loss of multiple access source codes (MASCs). I show that lossy MASCs can be almost as good as codes based on joint source encoding.