Abstract: Systems and methods for video communication services are presented herein. In particular, systems and methods in which multiple participants can simultaneously create and share video in real-time are presented herein. Other systems and methods are also presented herein.

Abstract: A system, method and computer program product provide finer rate control in data compression by processing a data stream through a plurality of parallel subbands, wherein a first subband processes the data differently than a second subband. Separate shift quantization parameters for each separate run-of-zeros compressed storage area or pile can be provided, instead of a single common shift parameter for every coefficient as in the prior art. The parameter value for each such area or pile can be recorded in the compressed output file. The separate shift quantization parameters can also be adjusted dynamically as data is being compressed.