The video performance benefits of burst-by-burst adaptive modulation are studied, employing a higher-order modulation scheme when the channel is favorable, in order to increase the system's bits per symbol capacity and conversely, invoking a more robust lower order modulation scheme when the channel exhibits inferior channel quality. It is shown that due to the proposed adaptive modem mode switching regime, a seamless video quality versus channel quality relationship can be established, resulting in error-free video quality right actress the operating channel signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) range. The main advantage of the proposed burst-by-burst adaptive transceiver technique is that irrespective of the prevailing channel conditions, the transceiver achieves always the best possible source-signal representation quality-such as video, speech, or audio quality-by automatically adjusting the achievable bit rate and the associated multimedia source-signal representation quality in order to match the channel quality experienced. This is achieved on a near-instantaneous basis under given propagation conditions in order to cater for the effects of path loss, fast-fading, slow-fading, dispersion, co-channel interference, etc. Furthermore, when the mobile is roaming in a hostile out-doors-or even hilly terrain-propagation environment, typically low-order low-rate modem modes are invoked, while in benign indoor environments, predominantly the high-rate high source-signal representation quality modes are employed.