A Fast Intra Skip Detection Algorithm for H.264/AVC Video Encoding

A fast intra skip detection algorithm based on the rate‐distortion (RD) cost for an inter frame (P‐slices) is proposed for H.264/AVC video encoding. In the H.264/AVC coding standard, a robust rate‐distortion optimization technique is used to select the best coding mode and reference frame for each macroblock (MB). There are three types of intra predictions according to profiles. These are 16×16 and 4×4 intra predictions for luminance and an 8×8 intra prediction for chroma. For the high profile, an 8×8 intra prediction has been added for luminance. The 4×4 prediction mode has 9 prediction directions with 4 directions for 16×16 and 8×8 luma, and 8×8 chrominance. In addition to the inter mode search procedure, an intra mode search causes a significant increase in the complexity and computational load for an inter frame. To reduce the computational load of the intra mode search at the inter frame, the RD costs of the neighborhood MBs for the current MB are used and we propose an adaptive thresholding scheme for the intra skip extraction. We verified the performance of the proposed scheme through comparative analysis of experimental results using joint model reference software. The overall encoding time was reduced up to 32% for the IPPP sequence type and 35% for the IBBPBBP sequence type.     

快速帧内预测模式选择新方法

为了提高编码性能,H.264采用了RDO(率失真优化),但与此同时带来的是计算复杂度的增加.本文着重分析了H.264中快速帧内预测模式选择的问题.为了降低帧内预测模式选择的计算复杂度,提出了一种高效的快速帧内预测模式选择算法.首先,对Pan的基于边缘方向直方图的快速算法进行了改进,同时提出了基于参考象素特征的4×4快速帧内预测模式选择算法,并将两者进行了结合.实验结果表明,本文算法和H.264校验模型JM61相比,I帧编码时间降低61%~69%,而PSNR基本保持不变,输出码率仅略有增加;与Pan的基于边缘方向直方图快速算法相比,本文算法的I帧编码时间降低12%~33%,PSNR和输出码率均基本保持不变.     

Improved motion estimation time using a combination of dynamic reference frame selection and residue-based mode decision

Motion estimation using multiple reference frames is widely used as the basis for recent video coding standards (eg. H.264/AVC) to achieve increased coding efficiency. However, this increases the complexity of the encoding process. In this paper, a new technique for efficient motion estimation is proposed. A combination of multiple reference frame selection and image residue-based mode selection is used to improve motion estimation time. By dynamic selection of an initial reference frame in advance, the number of reference frames to be considered is reduced. In addition, from examination of the residue between the current block and reconstructed blocks in preceding frames, variable block size mode decisions are made. Modified initial motion vector estimation and early stop condition detection are also adopted to speed up the motion estimation procedure. Experimental results compare the performance of the proposed algorithm with a state of the art motion estimation algorithm and demonstrate significantly reduced motion estimation time while maintaining PSNR performance.     

利用纹理结构的HEVC快速帧内模式选择算法

高性能视频编码（HEVC）是刚确立的最新一代的视频编码标准。对于帧内编码,HEVC最大的特点是采用了从64×64至8×8的编码单元划分和35种帧内预测模式,HEVC通过遍历所有的分块和帧内预测模式,选取最优的预测方式,这种帧内预测方式在提高预测精度的同时也大大增加了编码的计算复杂度。为了降低帧内预测的计算复杂度,HM2.0版以上的HEVC测试软件采用一种基于两步预测的快速帧内模式选择算法。在此基础上本文首先提出了一种基于纹理方向的快速粗选方案,减少参与计算的粗选模式数,进而提出基于结构相关的决策方法,利用同质图像区域的纹理相似性,减少参与率失真代价函数计算的候选模式数量,进一步降低了帧内预测计算复杂度。实验结果表明,本文所提出的快速算法,在保持编码质量基本不变的条件下,可以使基于两步预测的快速帧内模式选择时间缩短25%。      

Improved mode decision algorithm based on residues and early zero block detection in H.264/AVC

Video compression standard H.264/AVC outperforms previous standards in terms of coding efficiency but at the cost of higher computational complexity. In H.264/AVC, the variable block size full motion estimation is the most time-consuming operation. This paper presents a method to reduce the complexity of motion estimation in two stages. The first stage exploits the similarities between frames for early SKIP mode decision for a macroblock (MB) based upon a criteria formulated on the basis of the statistics of the frame difference residues. MBs that fail to qualify for the SKIP mode in the first stage spills over to the second stage where mode decision depends upon the number of zero blocks (ZB) in the MB. The study of the full search motion estimation on different sequences show that there is a strong dependence between the number of ZBs in a MB and the likelihood of a particular mode being selected. The proposed algorithm utilizes this relationship for early mode decision for a MB. The algorithm is evaluated using a wide range of test sequences from different classes. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm gives considerable saving in encoding time and search points in the range of 36–87%. Furthermore, despite the reduction in computational complexity, the coding efficiency (picture quality and bitrate) in the proposed method is comparable to the H.264/AVC standard software Joint Model (JM12.4).     

Fast block mode decision algorithm in H.264/AVC video coding

The recent video coding standard H.264/AVC show extremely higher coding efficiency compare to any other previous standards. H.264/AVC can achieve over 50% of bit rate saving with same quality using the rate–distortion process, but it brings high computational complexity. In this paper, we propose an algorithm that can reduce the complexity of the codec by reducing the block mode decision process adaptively. Block mode decision process in H.264/AVC consists of inter mode decision process and intra mode decision process. We deal with reduction method for inter and intra mode decision. In this paper an efficient method is proposed to reduce the inter mode decision complexity using the direct prediction methods based on block correlation and adaptive rate distortion cost threshold for early stopping. The fast intra mode reduction algorithm based on inter mode information is also proposed to reduce the computational complexity. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can achieve up to 63.34–77.39% speed up ratio with a little PSNR loss. Increment in bit requirement is also not much noticeable.     

Selective Disparity Estimation and Variable Size Motion Estimation Based on Motion Homogeneity for Multi-View Coding

Multi-view video coding (MVC) is an ongoing standard in which variable size disparity estimation (DE) and motion estimation (ME) are both employed to select the best coding mode for each macroblock (MB). This technique achieves the highest possible coding efficiency, but it results in extremely large encoding time which obstructs it from practical use. In this paper, a fast DE and ME algorithm based on motion homogeneity is proposed to reduce MVC computational complexity. The basic idea of the method is to utilize the spatial property of motion field in prediction where DE and variable size ME are needed, and only in these regions DE and variable size ME are enabled. The motion field is generated by the corresponding motion vectors (MVs) in spatial window. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can save 63% average computational complexity, with negligible loss of coding efficiency.      

一种HEVC帧内快速编码算法

高效视频编码(HEVC)采用编码单元(CU)四叉树的 分割结构,相比H.264/AVC显著地提升了编码效 率,但却使编码复杂度急剧增加。为此,本文提出一种帧内快速编码算法。首先,根据视 频图像纹理复 杂度,提前判断是否进行最大编码单元(LCU)分割。然后,根据空域相邻CU的深度预测当前C U的深度范围, 跳过不必要的计算;最后,根据预测模式被选为最优预测模式的统计特性,去掉可能性小的 帧内预测模式。本文算法在HM14.0的基础上实现。 仿真结果表明,本文算法在全I帧模式下与HM14.0相比,帧内编码时 间平均减少38%,码率(BR)只增加1.41%,峰值信噪比(PSNR)只降低0.29dB,在保证编码性能和视频质量几乎不变的 情况下,本文算法降低了编码的计算复杂度。     

基于ZIG-ZAG交织的H.264/AVC容错编码算法

本文提出了一种基于ZIG-ZAG交织的灵活宏块排列算法ZFMO,按ZIG-ZAG扫描方式沿次对角线方向上交织排列宏块,从而在低位率下达到了编码效率和容错性能的最佳平衡点.实验结果表明,ZFMO在低丢包率的网络环境下比当前H.264/AVC的推荐算法具有更好的编码效率和容错性能.经过率失真优化后的ZFMO算法性能进一步提高.     

H.264帧内预测模式快速判定算法研究

帧内预测作为H.264中提高编码效率的重要部分,其采用了率失真优化技术（RDO）进行预测模式的选择,但同时编码复杂度和计算量也明显增加.为此,提出一种快速判定算法.该算法利用区域图像的质心坐标对区域图像的平坦性和方向性进行判断,算法通过判断宏块的平坦性提前选定块大小,根据4×4块的纹理方向,确定预测模式集,降低算法复杂度.实验结果表明,与H.264标准参考编解码器JM8.6相比,所提算法编码时间节省50％以上,峰值信噪比和码率变化不大.     

Error Concealment Using Intra‐Mode Information Included in H.264/AVC‐Coded Bitstream

The H.264/AVC standard has adopted new coding tools such as intra‐prediction, variable block size, motion estimation with quarter‐pixel‐accuracy, loop filter, and so on. The adoption of these tools enables an H.264/AVC‐coded bitstream to have more information than was possible with previous standards. In this paper, we propose an effective spatial error concealment method with low complexity in H.264/AVC intra‐frame. From information included in an H.264/AVC‐coded bitstream, we use prediction modes of intra‐blocks to recover a damaged block. This is because the prediction direction in each prediction mode is highly correlated to the edge direction. We first estimate the edge direction of a damaged block using the prediction modes of the intra‐blocks adjacent to a damaged block and classify the area inside the damaged block into edge and flat areas. Our method then recovers pixel values in the edge area using edge‐directed interpolation, and recovers pixel values in the flat area using weighted interpolation. Simulation results show that the proposed method yields better video quality than conventional approaches.     

Fast mode-decision for H.264/AVC based on inter-frame correlations

The H.264/AVC standard yields higher coding efficiency rates than other video coding standards. This is because it uses the rate-distortion optimization (RDO) technique, which selects the optimal coding mode and a reference frame for each macroblock (MB). In order to achieve this, the encoder has to encode a given block by exhaustively using all kinds of combinations (including different intra and inter-prediction modes). As a result, the computational complexity of video coding in H.264/AVC is extremely high. In this paper, two fast intra-/inter-mode-decision algorithms are proposed to reduce the complexity of the encoder. Both of these algorithms are based on the inter-frame correlation among adjacent pictures. For the fast intra-mode-decision, we used the intra-mode of the most-correlated MB at the reference frame to encode the current MB and the stationary property of the current MB was used for the fast inter-mode-decision. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithms significantly reduced the computational complexity with a negligible loss of PSNR and a slight increase in bitrate.     

改进的H.264快速帧内预测选择算法

新一代的视频压缩标准H.264在视频数据压缩技术上取得了重大进展,但其算法复杂度明显提升,编码时间也较长。为降低H.264的计算复杂度和提高压缩效率,本文提出了一种基于变换域特性的变换域立体型（TDST）帧内预测快速选择算法,通过哈德码（Hadamard）变换的变换域特性对预测模式先进行选择,过滤掉大部分的预选模式,利...     

一种高效的基于H.264/AVC压缩域信息的全局运动估计方法

本文提出了一种基于H.264/AVC压缩域的高效全局运动估计算法.由于H.264采用了多种新的视频压缩编码技术,使得其压缩码流的运动矢量(MV)场中包含大量噪声运动矢量,可参与全局运动估计的运动矢量相对较少.噪声运动矢量这里指的是与全局运动不相符的运动矢量.为了降低噪声运动矢量的影响、提高全局运动估计的精度和效率,在全...     

Rate distortion optimization for H.264 interframe coding: a general framework and algorithms.

Rate distortion (RD) optimization for H.264 interframe coding with complete baseline decoding compatibility is investigated on a frame basis. Using soft decision quantization (SDQ) rather than the standard hard decision quantization, we first establish a general framework in which motion estimation, quantization, and entropy coding (in H.264) for the current frame can be jointly designed to minimize a true RD cost given previously coded reference frames. We then propose three RD optimization algorithms--a graph-based algorithm for near optimal SDQ in H.264 baseline encoding given motion estimation and quantization step sizes, an algorithm for near optimal residual coding in H.264 baseline encoding given motion estimation, and an iterative overall algorithm to optimize H.264 baseline encoding for each individual frame given previously coded reference frames-with them embedded in the indicated order. The graph-based algorithm for near optimal SDQ is the core; given motion estimation and quantization step sizes, it is guaranteed to perform optimal SDQ if the weak adjacent block dependency utilized in the context adaptive variable length coding of H.264 is ignored for optimization. The proposed algorithms have been implemented based on the reference encoder JM82 of H.264 with complete compatibility to the baseline profile. Experiments show that for a set of typical video testing sequences, the graph-based algorithm for near optimal SDQ, the algorithm for near optimal residual coding, and the overall algorithm achieve on average, 6%, 8%, and 12%, respectively, rate reduction at the same PSNR (ranging from 30 to 38 dB) when compared with the RD optimization method implemented in the H.264 reference software.     

适用于H.264/AVC的快速帧内预测算法

帧内预测算法极大地提高了I帧的压缩比率,但极高的计算复杂度与视频系统中计算资源有限、应用环境实时性要求高形成矛盾.本文提出了帧内预测快速算法,根据图像复杂程度进行块尺寸的选择,对于4×4块,利用环形滑动窗口动态缩小预测模式选择范围,定义简化的块匹配准则并采用计算及时终止策略.实验证明,在保持恢复图像质量几乎不降的同时,速度能提高到两倍多.快速算法具有额外计算量小,提速效果明显等特点.     

一种新型H.264/AVC多参考帧预测方法

在H.264/AVC视频压缩标准采用的几项关键技术中,使用多参考帧预测可以增加最佳匹配块的检索概率,进而大大提高了编码效率。受B帧直接(direct)预测模式的启发,提出了一种新的基于扩展帧的多参考帧预测方法,由多参考帧中的共同位置块及其参考块扩展得到一个新的抽取帧,增加了原始序列的时域分辨率,使得扩展帧更加接近当前帧,提高了运动估计中最佳匹配的检索概率,进而提升了编码效率。仿真结果证实该方法的编码性能好于H.264/AVC参考软件。     

Motion estimation in low-delay hierarchical p-frame coding using motion vector composition

Low-delay hierarchical prediction structure is currently adopted in various new video coding standards. The only hurdle of this structure is the need of motion estimation in distant reference frames. To maintain high coding efficiency, a large search range for motion estimation can improve the coding efficiency in distant reference pictures. Computational complexity will thus be increased dramatically. In this paper, a fast motion estimation scheme for a low-delay hierarchical P-frame structure is proposed. The proposed scheme adopts a motion vector composition strategy to expedite the motion estimation process for distant reference frames in the hierarchical P structure. In addition, a motion vector composition algorithm is tailor-made with the proposed hierarchical P coding scheme to further improve the coding efficiency. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can deliver a remarkable complexity savings and coding efficiency improvement on coding a frame in low temporal layers of the hierarchical P structure.     

H.264中帧内编码算法及其快速实现研究

新的视频编码标准H.264使用了帧内预测的编码方式,这与以往的视频编码标准相比在很大程度上提高了帧内编码效率,节省了码流,但同时也增加了编码器的复杂度,因此有必要对H.264帧内编码算法进行快速实现,以满足实时视频通信的要求.首先详细介绍H.264帧内编码的实现过程,然后使用SIMD(单指令多数据流)技术对帧内编码进行快速实现.实验结果表明,与未使用快速算法相比,使用该快速实现算法后,H.264帧内编码速度得到显著提高.     

A low-power oriented architecture for H.264 variable block size motion estimation based on a resource sharing scheme

In the Advanced Video Coding (AVC) standard, motion estimation (ME) adopts many new features to increase the coding performances such as block matching algorithm (BMA), motion vector prediction (MVP) and variable block size motion estimation (VBSME). However, VBSME is utilized in the MPEG4-AVC/H.264 standard which leads to high computational complexity and data dependency that make the hardware implementation very complex.