Macroblock Layer Rate Control Based on Structural Similarity and Mean Absolute Difference for H.264

Xiao Chen,Dongjue Gu

doi:10.1155/2014/680859

Abstract

In the process of the H.264 video coding, special attention should be paid to the subjective quality of the image. This paper applies the structural similarity (SSIM) based subjective evaluation to the rate control in the H.264 coding and proposes to combine the SSIM and the mean absolute difference (MAD) to perform the macroblock layer bit allocation instead of the MAD. Experimental results show that the proposed method is correlating better with the human visual system and thus achieves better subjective image quality.

Highlights

The JVT-G012 algorithm for the H.264 video coding uses the mean absolute difference (MAD) linear prediction model to solve the “chicken and egg dilemma” [1]
Lu put forward the motion extrapolated coding complexity to allocate bits between the region of interest (ROI) and other regions which reduced the distortion in the ROI using the rate distortion optimized macroblock level bit allocation [2]
The purpose of the proposed algorithm is to improve the video subjective quality, so the original JM10.1 rate control algorithm is selected as a reference for the comparison, (a) because the bit allocation method in the JM10.1 algorithm is better than the original JVT-G012 algorithm

Summary

Introduction

The JVT-G012 algorithm for the H.264 video coding uses the mean absolute difference (MAD) linear prediction model to solve the “chicken and egg dilemma” [1]. As JM10.1 adopts the method, the distribution scheme mainly allocates the bit rate from the content of the complexity of the natural image. To achieve the purpose of high-definition of the target region under the low bit rate, an optimized rate control scheme is proposed These methods are not, according to the HVS (human visual system) model, to allocate the bits of the macroblock. Yang et al found the myopia relationship between the SSIM and rate, and it was integrated into SSE as distortion measure of RDO function and combined with human visual characteristics [11]. This paper will focus on how to use the SSIM theory to allocate the bit of the macroblock layer in order to improve the subjective video quality

Improved Rate Control in MB

Experimental Results and Discussions

Conclusions