A new approach to reduce the `blocking effect' of transform coding[image coding]

A combined-transform coding (CTC) scheme to reduce the blocking effect of conventional block transform coding and hence to improve the subjective performance is presented. The scheme is described, and its information-theoretic properties are discussed. Computer simulation results for a chest X-ray image are presented. The CTC scheme, the JPEG baseline scheme, and the conventional discrete Walsh-Hadamard transform (DWHT) are compared to demonstrate the performance improvement for the CTC scheme. The advantages of the CTC scheme include no ringing effect as there is no error propagation across the boundary, no additional computation, and distortion always held within a certain level     

Adaptive image coding with perceptual distortion control

This paper presents a discrete cosine transform (DCT)-based locally adaptive perceptual image coder, which discriminates between image components based on their perceptual relevance for achieving increased performance in terms of quality and bit rate. The new coder uses a locally adaptive perceptual quantization scheme based on a tractable perceptual distortion metric. Our strategy is to exploit human visual masking properties by deriving visual masking thresholds in a locally adaptive fashion. The derived masking thresholds are used in controlling the quantization stage by adapting the quantizer reconstruction levels in order to meet the desired target perceptual distortion. The proposed coding scheme is flexible in that it can be easily extended to work with any subband-based decomposition in addition to block-based transform methods. Compared to existing perceptual coding methods, the proposed perceptual coding method exhibits superior performance in terms of bit rate and distortion control. Coding results are presented to illustrate the performance of the presented coding scheme.     

On the adaptive three-dimensional transform coding techniques for moving images

In this paper, an adaptive three-dimensional transform coding technique based on the 3-D discrete cosine transform (DCT) for removing the temporal correlation is proposed. Because of the nonstationary nature of the image data, the energy distribution in a 3-D DCT block varies along the vertical, horizontal and temporal directions. Thus, adaptive schemes, such as the 3-D classification, the classified linear scanning technique and the VLC table selection scheme, are used to take local variations into account. Also, in our approach, a hybrid technique, which adaptively combines relatively simple inter-frame coding with intra-frame coding, is presented. Through intensive computer simulations, the performance of the proposed 3-D transform coding technique is evaluated on several well-known moving sequences. The results show that, especially for moving sequences containing slow or moderate motion, the proposed technique provides an improved performance over the scheme with motion compensation (CCITT, 1989) at rates above 0.5 b/pixel (bpp), and a good visual quality of the reconstructed images is also obtained. Thus, the proposed 3-D transform coding technique is believed to be a good candidate for the digital VCR, since motion compensation is not required in the proposed 3-D coding technique.     

Block classification for an adaptive 1-D/2-D DCT video coding

A classification scheme for an adaptive one- or two-dimensional discrete cosine transform (1-D/2-D DCT) technique is described and demonstrated to be a more appropriate strategy than the conventional 2-D DCT for coding motion compensated prediction error images. Two block-based classification methods are introduced and their accuracy in predicting the correct transform type discussed. The accuracy is assessed with a classification measure designed to ascertain the effectiveness of energy compaction when the predicted transform class is applied; vis-a-vis horizontally, vertically or two-dimensionally transformed blocks. Energy compaction is a useful property not only for efficient entropy coding but also for enhancing the resilience of the transform coder to quantisation noise. Improvements against the homogeneous 2-D DCT system both in terms of the peak signal to noise ratio and subjective assessments are achieved. Observable ringing artifacts along edges, which are usual in conventional transform coding, are reduced     

Complete-to-overcomplete discrete wavelet transforms: theory and applications

A new transform is proposed that derives the overcomplete discrete wavelet transform (ODWT) subbands from the critically sampled DWT subbands (complete representation). This complete-to-overcomplete DWT (CODWT) has certain advantages in comparison to the conventional approach that performs the inverse DWT to reconstruct the input signal, followed by the a/spl grave/-trous or the lowband shift algorithm. Specifically, the computation of the input signal is not required. As a result, the minimum number of downsampling operations is performed and the use of upsampling is avoided. The proposed CODWT computes the ODWT subbands by using a set of prediction-filter matrices and filtering-and-downsampling operators applied to the DWT. This formulation demonstrates a clear separation between the single-rate and multirate components of the transform. This can be especially significant when the CODWT is used in resource-constrained environments, such as resolution-scalable image and video codecs. To illustrate the applicability of the proposed transform in these emerging applications, a new scheme for the transform-calculation is proposed, and existing coding techniques that benefit from its usage are surveyed. The analysis of the proposed CODWT in terms of arithmetic complexity and delay reveals significant gains as compared with the conventional approach.     

Image coding using wavelet transform and classified vectorquantisation

The wavelet transform, which provides a multiresolution representation of images, has been widely used in image compression. A new image coding scheme using the wavelet transform and classified vector quantisation is presented. The input image is first decomposed into a hierarchy of three layers containing ten subimages by the discrete wavelet transform. The lowest resolution low frequency subimage is scalar quantised with 8 bits/pixel. The high frequency subimages are compressed by classified vector quantisation to utilise the crosscorrelation among different resolutions while reducing the edge distortion and computational complexity. Vectors are constructed by combining the corresponding wavelet coefficients of different resolutions in the same orientation and classified according to the magnitude and the position of wavelet transform coefficients. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme has a better performance than those utilising current scalar or vector quantisation schemes     

Improvements of Transform Coding Algorithm for Motion-Compensated Interframe Prediction Errors-DCT/SQ Coding

A new hybrid coding method for transmitting videoconferencing images at a bit rate 384 kbits/s is proposed. Considering the characteristics of motion-compensated interframe prediction errors for typical videoconferencing scenes, a filter is introduced to separate pulsive components on which conventional discrete cosine transform (DCT) coding method does not work well. These separated pulsive components are coded by using scalar quantization (SQ). The remainder are DCT coded. For DCT coefficients, an adaptive coding method based on the classification of DCT coefficients is applied in order to improve the coding performance. Since the proposed method employs both DCT coding and SQ of prediction errors, it is named "DCT/SQ coding method." Experimental results show that the DCT/SQ coding method is effective to reduce so-called mosquito effects, and thus it can improve the quality of decoded images.     

Fast computation of the discrete Walsh and Hadamard transforms

The discrete Walsh and Hadamard transforms are often used in image processing tasks such as image coding, pattern recognition, and sequency filtering. A new discrete Walsh transform (DWT) algorithm is derived in which a modified form of the DWT relation is decomposed into smaller-sized transforms using vectorized quantities. A new sequency-ordered discrete Hadamard transform (DHAT) algorithm is also presented. The proposed approach results in more regular algorithms requiring no independent data swapping and fewer array-index updating and bit-reversal operations. An analysis of the computational complexity and the execution time performance are provided. The results are compared with those of the existing algorithms     

A post-coding scheme for peak-to-average power ratio reduction in intensity modulated optical OFDM systems

An efficient post-coding strategy is proposed in this letter to reduce the peak-to-average power ratio （PAPR） of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing （OFDM） signals for optical intensity modulated direct detection （IM/DD） systems. The post-coding scheme based on discrete cgsine transform （DCT） is employed after the inverse fast Fourier transform （IFFT） in the transmitter to reduce the PAPR of OFDM signals. This method is different from the conventional pre-coding scheme which is employed before IFFT operation. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the new DCT post-coding strategy can significantly reduce the PAPR than the conventional pre-coding scheme. Meantime, the bit error rate （BER） performance of the proposed post-coding system can be improved compared with the conventional pre-coding scheme.     

Hybrid picture coding with wavelet transform and overlappedmotion-compensated interframe prediction coding

A novel video coding scheme using an orthonormal wavelet transform is proposed. The wavelet transform is used in a motion compensated interframe coder in which a blockless motion compensation technique is employed to increase efficiency of wavelet transform coding. A new scanning method for wavelet coefficients is also proposed which is rather different from subband coding. Simulation work is carried out to evaluate the proposed coding method. Significant improvement in subjective quality is obtained over that obtained with conventional hybrid coding methods that use blockwise motion compensation and DCT. Some improvement has also been realized in the signal to noise ratio. Although wavelet coding is still in its early stages of development, it appears to hold great promise for motion picture coding     

Still image coding based on vector quantization and fractalapproximation

In this paper, we propose a coding algorithm for still images using vector quantization (VQ) and fractal approximation, in which low-frequency components of an input image are approximated by VQ, and its residual is coded by fractal mapping. The conventional fractal coding algorithms indirectly used the gray patterns of an original image with contraction mapping, whereas the proposed fractal coding method employs an approximated and then decimated image as a domain pool and uses its gray patterns. Thus, the proposed algorithm utilizes fractal approximation without the constraint of contraction mapping. For approximation of an original image, we employ the discrete cosine transform (DCT) rather than conventional polynomial-based transforms. In addition, for variable blocksize segmentation, we use the fractal dimension of a block that represents the roughness of the gray surface of a region. Computer simulations with several test images show that the proposed method shows better performance than the conventional fractal coding methods for encoding still pictures.     

Direction-adaptive fixed length discrete cosine transform framework for efficient H.264/AVC video coding

The 2D-discrete cosine transform (2D-DCT) is one of the popular transformation for video coding. Yet, 2D-DCT may not be able to efficiently represent video data with fewer coefficients for oblique featured blocks. To further improve the compression gain for such oblique featured video data, this paper presents a directional transform framework based on direction-adaptive fixed length discrete cosine transform (DAFL-DCT) for intra-, and inter-frame. The proposed framework selects the best suitable transform mode from eight proposed directional transform modes for each block, and modified zigzag scanning pattern rearranges these transformed coefficients into a 1D-array, suitable for entropy encoding. The proposed scheme is analysed on JM 18.6 of H.264/AVC platform. Performance comparisons have been made with respect to rate-distortion (RD), Bjontegaard metrics, encoding time etc. The proposed transform scheme outperforms the conventional 2D-DCT and other state-of-art techniques in terms of compression gain and subjective quality.     

Multiscale video representation using multiresolution motioncompensation and wavelet decomposition

A multiscale video representation using wavelet decomposition and variable-block-size multiresolution motion estimation (MRME) is presented. The multiresolution/multifrequency nature of the discrete wavelet transform makes it an ideal tool for representing video sources with different resolutions and scan formats. The proposed variable-block-size MRME scheme utilizes motion correlation among different scaled subbands and adapts to their importance at different layers. The algorithm is well suited for interframe HDTV coding applications and facilitates conversions and interactions between different video coding standards. Four scenarios for the proposed motion-compensated coding schemes are compared. A pel-recursive motion estimation scheme is implemented in a multiresolution form. The proposed approach appears suitable for the broadcast environment where various standards may coexist simultaneously     

Directional Lapped Transforms for Image Coding

In this paper, we present the design of directional lapped transforms for image coding. A lapped transform, which can be implemented by a prefilter followed by a discrete cosine transform (DCT), can be factorized into elementary operators. The corresponding directional lapped transform is generated by applying each elementary operator along a given direction. The proposed directional lapped transforms are not only nonredundant and perfectly reconstructed, but they can also provide a basis along an arbitrary direction. These properties, along with the advantages of lapped transforms, make the proposed transforms appealing for image coding. A block-based directional transform scheme is also presented and integrated into HD Phtoto, one of the state-of-the-art image coding systems, to verify the effectiveness of the proposed transforms.     

A compressed domain scheme for classifying block edge patterns.

Detecting and classifying edge components in images find a wide range of applications from perceptually improved coding schemes to content-based searches. In this paper, a fast and systematic scheme is proposed to classify the edge orientation of each block in discrete cosine transform (DCT)-compressed images. Derived from a simple, but acceptable, pixel-domain algorithm, the proposed scheme performs directly on DCT coefficient domain and, thus, saves the arithmetic operations by a considerable amount. The performance of the proposed method is validated by the experiments against various natural images.     

High performance architecture for unified forward and inverse transform of HEVC

High efficiency video coding (HEVC) transform algorithm for residual coding uses 2-dimensional (2D) 4×4 transforms with higher precision than H.264's 4×4 transforms, resulting in increased hardware complexity. In this paper, we present a shared architecture that can compute the 4×4 forward discrete cosine transform (DCT) and inverse discrete cosine transform (IDCT) of HEVC using a new mapping scheme in the video processor array structure. The architecture is implemented with only adders and shifts to an area-efficient design. The proposed architecture is synthesized using ISE14.7 and implemented using the BEE4 platform with the Virtex-6 FF1759 LX550T field programmable gate array (FPGA). The result shows that the video processor array structure achieves a maximum operation frequency of 165.2 MHz. The architecture and its implementation are presented in this paper to demonstrate its programmable and high performance.     

WHT-based composite motion compensated NTSC interframe directcoding

The motion compensated interframe differential pulse code modulation (DPCM) and discrete cosine transform (DCT) hybrid (MC DCT) coding was nominated as a standard scheme for component TV signals by ISO and ITU-R. However, in cases where an NTSC composite TV signal is used such as the United States and Japan, applying the MC DCT scheme with its luminance/chrominance separating and composing process causes unavoidable quality degradation. The reason for this additional process required for MC DCT is that a composite TV signal presents a “color subcarrier phase shift problem” in which the color subcarrier phase varies between a coding block and reference block according to the motion vector. In this paper, we propose a Walsh Hadamard transform (WHT)-based composite motion compensated NTSC interframe direct coding scheme. In this scheme, phase shifts of a color subcarrier and modulated chrominance components between a coding block and reference block can be effectively compensated by a simple process of coefficient permutation and polarity changes of several pairs of WHT coefficients to which 100% of the subcarrier energy and most of the modulated chrominance component's energy are packed. In the motion compensated DCT scheme, however, the energy of the color subcarrier and modulated chrominance components are spread over too many coefficients and a pair-based coefficient handling rule is not given to solve this problem. This paper demonstrates that the proposed scheme provides higher coding performance for a composite NTSC signal than does the motion compensated DCT scheme with its luminance/chrominance separating and composing process     

Error-Resilient Performance of Dirac Video Codec Over Packet-Erasure Channel

Video transmission over the wireless or wired network requires error-resilient mechanism since compressed video bitstreams are sensitive to transmission errors because of the use of predictive coding and variable length coding. This paper investigates the performance of a simple and low complexity error-resilient coding scheme which combines source and channel coding to protect compressed bitstream of wavelet-based Dirac video codec in the packet-erasure channel. By partitioning the wavelet transform coefficients of the motion-compensated residual frame into groups and independently processing each group using arithmetic and forward error correction (FEC) coding, Dirac could achieves the robustness to transmission errors by giving the video quality which is gracefully decreasing over a range of packet loss rates up to 30% when compared with conventional FEC only methods. Simulation results also show that the proposed scheme using multiple partitions can achieve up to 10 dB PSNR gain over its existing un-partitioned format. This paper also investigates the error-resilient performance of the proposed scheme in comparison with H.264 over packet-erasure channel.