This paper proposes an energy optimization technique for latency and quality constrained video applications. It consists of two key techniques: frame-skipping technique and buffering technique. While buffering increases the slack time utilization at the OS level. frame skipping Increases the slack time itself at the application level, and both enhance the effectiveness of the dynamic voltage scaling technique. We use an H.263 encoder application as a test vehicle to which the proposed technique is applied. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed technique achieves noticeable energy reduction satisfying the given latency and video quality constraints.