In the context of the RESUME-project a scalable wavelet-based video decoder was built to demonstrate the benefits of reconfigurable hardware for scalable applications. emph{Scalable} video means that the quality of service (QoS), i.e., the frame rate, resolution, color depth, ldots of the decoded video can easily be changed by only decoding those parts of the video stream that contribute to the desired QoS. With the emergence of high-performance FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array), both the required performance for real-time decoding and flexibility, by allowing reconfiguration, are offered.