System and method for low delay, interactive communication using multiple TCP connections and scalable coding

Systems and methods for communication of scaleable-coded audiovisual signals over multiple TCP/IP connections are provided. The sender schedules and prioritizes transmission of individual scalable-coded data packets over the plurality of TCP connections according to their relative importance in the scalable coding structure for signal reconstruction quality and according to receiver feedback. Low-latency packet delivery over the multiple TCP/IP connections is maintained by avoiding transmission or retransmission of packets that are less important for reconstructed media quality.