Efficient Reference Picture Management Schemes for H.264/AVC Decoding System

Abstract

AbstractInter-frame prediction with multiple reference pictures is one of the several advanced techniques in H.264/AVC standard. However, it also brings high implementation complexity. In this paper, we present two effective schemes and DPB storage arrangement for efficient reference picture management. One scheme is for direct mapping between reference picture index and DPB picture index and another scheme is to replace refidx of co-located block with its dpbidx in temporal direct prediction mode. These two schemes are utilized to optimize motion vector generation and reference block access, two kernel functions of inter-frame prediction. Experimental results show that the proposed schemes are able to reduce CPU workload by 80% and improve system throughput performance by 22.1%. Both schemes help our implemented decoder achieve real-time decoding of 1080p main profile H.264 video stream with 110 MHz clock frequency at the hardware cost of 53k and 37k gates for MC and MVPG modules respectively.KeywordsH.264Reference Picture ManagementDirect Prediction ModeMotion Compensation