Parallel entropy decoding for high-resolution video coding

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the problem of video decoding for very high resolution image content. Our focus is on future applications, and our emphasis is on the specific problem of entropy decoding. Here, we introduce the concept of an "entropy slice" that partitions a bit-stream into units that can be individually entropy decoded without effecting the reconstruction process. This allows us to parallelize the entropy decoding process of an H.264/AVC decoder with little impact on coding performance. We compare the entropy slice technique to the standard H.264/AVC slice method to parallelization and observe that the proposed method improves coding efficiency. Specifically, compared to the standard slice method, results show an average bit-rate savings of 5.5%. As an additional contribution of this "entropy slice" concept, we also propose the use of a transcoder to convert an H.264/AVC compliant bit-stream to the parallelized entropy slice format. The transcoding operation has the desirable property of allowing highly parallel decoding of current, standards compliant material without affecting the reconstructed image data.