Fast Mode Decision Algorithm Research Articles

Fast mode decision for MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 using spatiotemporal correlation of mode and cost

The best performance in compression efficiency is provided by MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 but at the cost of high computational complexity to select the best mode during the mode decision process. To reduce this complexity, we propose a fast mode decision algorithm that exploits the spatiotemporal correlation of the macroblock (MB) modes and the rate-distortion (RD) costs from the previous and current frames. The proposed method determines the candidate modes for the current MB based on the modes of the four spatially neighboring and temporally collocated MBs. It also incorporates the RD costs of the four reference MBs and the current MB. The experimental results show that the AVC/H.264 encoder using our proposed method achieves about 73% speedup (up to 86.5%) compared to the AVC/H.264 JM 11.0 encoder while preserving a 0.25% increment in total encoding bits with a loss of only 0.09 dB in peak SNR.

Fast Context-Adaptive Mode Decision Algorithm for Scalable Video Coding With Combined Coarse-Grain Quality Scalability (CGS) and Temporal Scalability

To speed up the H.264/MPEG scalable video coding (SVC) encoder, we propose a layer-adaptive intra/inter mode decision algorithm and a motion search scheme for the hierarchical B-frames in SVC with combined coarse-grain quality scalability (CGS) and temporal scalability. To reduce computation but maintain the same level of coding efficiency, we examine the rate-distortion (R-D) performance contributed by different coding modes at the enhancement layers (EL) and the mode conditional probabilities at different temporal layers. For the intra prediction on inter frames, we can reduce the number of Intra4×4/Intra 8×8 prediction modes by 50% or more, based on the reference/base layer intra prediction directions. For the EL inter prediction, the look-up tables containing inter prediction candidate modes are designed to use the macroblock (MB) coding mode dependence and the reference/base layer quantization parameters (Qp). In addition, to avoid checking all motion estimation (ME) reference frames, the base layer (BL) reference frame index is selectively reused. And according to the EL MB partition, the BL motion vector can be used as the initial search point for the EL ME. Compared with Joint Scalable Video Model 9.11, our proposed algorithm provides a 20× speedup on encoding the EL and an 85% time saving on the entire encoding process with negligible loss in coding efficiency. Moreover, compared with other fast mode decision algorithms, our scheme can demonstrate a 7-41% complexity reduction on the overall encoding process.

Fast Mode Decision Based on Mode Adaptation

<para xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> This paper proposes an efficient algorithm for fast mode decision in H.264/advanced video coding by adaptively predicting the optimal mode for each macroblock (MB) to be coded. Firstly, encoding modes are projected as points onto a 2-D map, and an optimal 2-D point of the MB to be coded is predicted based on the encoding information of spatial-temporal neighboring blocks. Then, a priority-based mode candidate list with a descending order to be the best mode is constructed based on the optimal 2-D point. Finally, mode decision is performed according to the priority-based mode candidate list in the checking order, from the most important mode to the least one, with early termination conditions. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is superior to three recent fast mode decision algorithms, with the entire encoding time being reduced by about 60% for quarter common intermediate format/common intermediate format/standard-definition sequences on average and the rate distortion performance being kept almost intact. </para>

Fast Mode Decision Algorithm for Scalable Video Coding Using Bayesian Theorem Detection and Markov Process

The <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">newest</i> video coding standard called scalable video coding (SVC) provides broad applications in multimedia communications. SVC encoder consumes great computational complexity when compared to previous video coding standards. This paper presents a fast mode decision algorithm that speeds up the SVC encoding process through probabilistic analysis. The mode of the enhancement layer is first predicted by statistical analysis. Afterward, Bayesian theorem is utilized to detect whether the prediction mode of the current macroblock is the best or not. The mode is further predicted and refined by the Markov process. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm significantly reduces computational complexity with negligible peak signal-to-noise ratio degradation and bitrate increase in the enhancement layers.

Real-time H.264 video encoding in software with fast mode decision and dynamic complexity control

This article presents a novel real-time algorithm for reducing and dynamically controlling the computational complexity of an H.264 video encoder implemented in software. A fast mode decision algorithm, based on a Pareto-optimal macroblock classification scheme, is combined with a dynamic complexity control algorithm that adjusts the MB class decisions such that a constant frame rate is achieved. The average coding efficiency of the proposed algorithm was found to be similar to that of conventional encoding operating at half the frame rate. The proposed algorithm was found to provide lower average bitrate and distortion than static complexity scaling.

Fast Mode Decision Using All-Zero Block Detection for Fidelity and Spatial Scalable Video Coding

In scalable video coding (SVC) as an extension of H.264/advanced video coding (AVC), a computationally expensive exhaustive mode decision is employed to select the best coding mode for each macroblock (MB). In order to reduce computational complexity, we propose a fast mode decision algorithm for SVC which uses an all-zero block (AZB) detection. Based on the empirical analysis of the inter-layer correlation of the AZB, the MB at the enhancement layer (EL) is predicted whether to be the AZB. Then, only predicted MBs are examined by the AZB detection algorithm. Since the mode decision can be terminated by detecting the AZB, we determine the processing order of the candidate modes at the EL in order to terminate the mode decision in the early stage. The proposed algorithm can be combined with other conventional fast mode decision methods in order to further reduce the computational complexity of those methods. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can significantly speed up the encoding process, especially for low bit-rate video sequences, without deteriorating the coding efficiency of SVC.

Fast Intra Mode Decision Using DCT Coefficient Distribution in H.264/AVC

The rate-distortion optimization (RDO) method in the H.264/AVC encoder is an informative technology that improves the coding efficiency, but increases the computational complexity. In this letter, a fast Intra mode decision algorithm using DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) coefficients distribution is proposed to reduce the H.264 encoder complexity. The proposed method reduces the encoder complexity on average 63.44%, while the coding efficiency is slightly decreased compared with the H.264/AVC encoder.

Fast mode decision algorithm for spatial scalable video coding

Multimedia applications are ubiquitous in daily life. To satisfy multiple requests equipped with different devices and bandwidths, scalable video coding has been developed. However, it is difficult to realise spatial and quality scalabilities in practice owing to the increased coding complexity brought by inter-layer prediction. A novel fast mode decision algorithm for spatial scalable video coding is proposed in which macroblock modes in the base layer and the enhancement layer are predicted from each other. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm provides up to 74% of time saving with ignorable quality degradation and acceptable bit rate increase.

A Statistical Approach for Fast Mode Decision in Scalable Video Coding

In scalable video coding (SVC), an exhaustive mode decision is performed to search for the best mode at each macroblock. Although this method achieves an optimal trade-off between rate and distortion, it introduces an extreme computational burden on the encoder. In this letter, we propose a fast mode decision algorithm that can reduce the computational load of the mode decision for SVC. We statistically derive the expectation of the rate-distortion cost (RDcost) increase caused by skipping each mode in the mode decision. In the proposed algorithm, the encoder performs the mode decision using a small number of modes that are determined based on the expected increase of the RDcost. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can reduce the computational complexity significantly with negligible video quality degradation and bitrate increment.

Fast mode decision algorithm for inter-layer coding in scalable video coding

Scalable video coding (SVC) is currently developed as an extension of H.264/AVC. In the SVC encoder, an exhaustive search technique is employed to select the best coding mode for each macro block (MB). This technique achieves an optimal trade-off between rate and distortion, but it requires an extremely large encoding time. In this paper, we propose a fast mode decision algorithm for inter-layer coding at the enhancement layer. The proposed algorithm predicts the mode of each MB at the enhancement layer using the modes of a co-located MB and its neighboring MBs at the base layer. The proposed method can achieve a time saving of up to 74% in spatial scalability and 63% in coarse grain quality scalability with negligible loss of quality and bit rate increment.

Fast Interframe mode decision algorithm based on mode mapping and MB activity for MPEG-2 to H.264/AVC transcoding

Recently the latest video coding standard H.264/AVC is widely used for the mobile and low bitrate video codec in the various multimedia terminals. On the other hand, the MPEG-2 MP@HL codec has become the center of digital video contents since it is the standard codec for the Digital TV (DTV). To provide the bridge between the contents in MPEG-2 and mobile terminals, the transcoding of MPEG-2 contents into H.264/AVC format is an inevitable technology in the digital video market. The main bottleneck in the process lies in the computational complexity. In H.264/AVC, the variable block size (VBS) mode decision (MD) is used in the Interframe for the improved performance in the motion compensated prediction. For the macroblock (MB) which cannot be accurately predicted with one motion vector (MV), it is partitioned into smaller blocks and predicted with different MVs. In addition, SKIP and Intra modes are also permitted in the Interframe MD of H.264/AVC to further ameliorate the encoding performance. With the VBS MD technology, the Inter prediction accuracy can be improved significantly. However, the incidental side-effect is the high computational complexity. In this paper, we propose a fast Interframe MD algorithm for MPEG-2 to H.264/AVC transcoding. The relationships between SKIP and Intra modes are detected at first to map these two kinds of modes directly from MPEG-2 to H.264/AVC. And then the MB activity will be scaled by the residual DCT energy obtained from the MPEG-2 decoding process to estimate the block sizes of the MB mode for H.264/AVC Interframe MD. In our proposed method, the original redundant candidate modes can be eliminated effectively, resulting in the reduction of the computational complexity. It can reduce about 85% Rate-to-Distortion Cost (RDCost) computing and 45% entire processing time compared with the well-known cascaded transcoder while maintaining the video quality.

Fast mode decision of downscaling video transcoding for H.264 streams

The H.264 coding standard adopts some novel features such as intra prediction,and variable block size to achieve higher coding efficiency at the sacrifice of computational complexity,so the algorithm of mode decision will remarkable affect the efficiency of video transcoding based on H.264.A fast mode decision algorithm of spatial downscaling trnascoder for H.264 video stream was proposed.It utilized the local prediction direction and the gradient to reduce the number of candidate modes.The experimental results demonstrate that it can reduce the complexity of mode decision in downscaling video transcoding while keeping the quality of reconstructed video and coding efficiency.

Fast mode decision algorithm in MPEG-2 to H.264/AVC transcoding including group of picture structure conversion

The H.264/AVC baseline profile is used in many applications, including digital multimedia broadcasting, Internet protocol television, and storage devices, while the MPEG-2 main profile is widely used in applications, such as high-definition television and digital versatile disks. The MPEG-2 main profile supports B pictures for bidirectional motion prediction. Therefore, transcoding the MPEG-2 main profile to the H.264/AVC baseline is necessary for universal multimedia access. In the cascaded pixel domain transcoder architecture, the calculation of the rate distortion cost as part of the mode decision process in the H.264/AVC encoder requires extremely complex computations. To reduce the complexity inherent in the implementation of a real-time transcoder, we propose a fast mode decision algorithm based on complexity information from the reference region that is used for motion compensation. In this study, an adaptive mode decision process was used based on the modes assigned to the reference regions. Simulation results indicated that a significant reduction in complexity was achieved without significant degradation of video quality.

Fast Mode Decision for H.264/AVC Based on Macroblock Motion Activity

The intra-mode and inter-mode predictions have been made available in H.264/AVC for effectively improving coding efficiency. However, exhaustively checking for all the prediction modes for identifying the best one (commonly referred to as exhaustive mode decision) greatly increases computational complexity. In this paper, a fast mode decision algorithm, called the motion activity-based mode decision (MAMD), is proposed to speed up the encoding process by reducing the number of modes required to be checked in a hierarchical manner, and is as follows. For each macroblock, the proposed MAMD algorithm always starts with checking the rate-distortion (RD) cost computed at the SKIP mode for a possible early termination, once the RD cost value is below a predetermined ldquolowrdquo threshold. On the other hand, if the RD cost exceeds another ldquohighrdquo threshold, then this indicates that only the intra modes are worthwhile to be checked. If the computed RD cost falls between the above-mentioned two thresholds, the remaining seven modes, which are classified into three motion activity classes in our work, will be examined, and only one of the three classes will be chosen for further mode checking. The above-mentioned motion activity can be quantitatively measured, which is equal to the maximum city-block length of the motion vector taken from a set of adjacent macroblocks (i.e., region of support, ROS). This measurement is then used to determine the most possible motion-activity class for the current macroblock. Experimental results have shown that, on average, the proposed MAMD algorithm reduces the computational complexity by 62.96%, while incurring only 0.059 dB loss in PSNR (peak signal-to-noise ratio) and 0.19% increment on the total bit rate compared to that of exhaustive mode decision, which is a default approach set in the JM reference software.

방향 정보를 이용한 H.264/AVC의 고속 인트라 모드 결정

다중 참조 영상을 이용한 최적 부호화 모드를 선택하기 위해 율-왜곡 최적화 기법을 적용한 H.264/AVC 동영상 압축 표준은 기존의 동영상 압축 표준들보다 높은 부호화 효율을 얻었지만 계산 복잡도가 그만큼 증가하게 되었다. 따라서 이런 계산의 복잡도를 줄이기 위한 많은 빠른 모드 결정 방법들이 제안되었다. 그중에 I4MB의 방향성 정보를 이용한 고속 인트라 모드 결정 알고리즘을 제안하였다. 제안한 알고리즘은 JM11.0과 비교하여 무시할만하게 PSNR이 손실되고 비트율의 증가하지만 IPPP 영상들에서 전체 부호화 시간을 평균 15%와 모든 영상을 인트라로 처리한 영상들에서 부호화 시간을 평균 44% 감소시킬 수 있었다. H.264/AVC video coding standard adapting a rate-distortion optimization technique to select the best coding mode with multi reference frames for each macroblock gets a higher coding efficiency than those of previous video coding standards but the computational complexity increases drastically. Therefore, many fast mode decision algorithms are proposed to reduce the computational complexity. Among them, we propose a fast intra mode decision algorithm based on directional information of I4MB. The proposed algorithm achieves consistent time saving about 15% in IPPP sequences and 44% in all I frame sequences with negligible loss in PSNR and small increment of bit rate compared with that of JM11.0.

An improved block size selection method based on macroblock movement characteristic

The H.264 video compression standard supports seven variable block sizes ranging from 4?×?4 to 16?×?16 for one Macro Block (MB) with 16?×?16 size to conduct motion estimation (ME) and compensation. This new feature achieves significant coding gain at the cost of huge computation complexity. Dozens of fast mode decision algorithms with fast block size selection have been proposed to reduce complexity. In this paper, we propose an improved fast block size selection method based on MB movement characteristic. The Motion Vector (MV) and block residual are employed to analyze the movement characteristic of one MB novelly. Then the movement characteristic is used to decide whether and how to merge or split the MB for encoding. Experimental results show that this method speeds up mode decision procedure dramatically with negligible compression performance degradation.

Fast Mode Decision on the Enhancement Layer in H.264 Scalable Extension

Scalable video coding (SVC) was standardized as an extension of H.264/AVC by the JVT (Joint Video Team) in Nov. 2007. The biggest feature of SVC is multi-layered coding where two or more video sequences are compressed into a single bit-stream. This letter proposes a fast block mode decision algorithm in spatial enhancement layer of SVC. The proposed algorithm achieves early decision by limiting the number of candidate modes for block with certain characteristic called same motion vector block (SMVB). Our proposed method reduces the complexity, in terms of encoding time by up to 66.17%. Nevertheless, it shows negligible PSNR degradation by only up to 0.16dB and increases the bit-rate by only up to 0.64%, respectively.

基于模式相关性的多视点视频编码宏块模式快速选择算法

基于模式相关性的多视点视频编码宏块模式快速选择算法

High Throughput VLSI Architecture of a Fast Mode Decision Algorithm for H.264/AVC Intra Encoding

Intra coding in H.264/AVC has significantly enhanced video compression efficiency. However, computation complexity increases by the rate-distortion (RD) based mode decision. This paper proposes a novel fast mode decision algorithm in H.264/AVC intra prediction and its VLSI architecture. A novel edge-detection pattern is proposed and both edge-detection technique and spatial mode prediction technique are combined together to reduce the number of intra 4×4 candidate modes from 9 to an average of 2.50. VLSI architecture of intra mode decision module is designed with TSMC 0.18µm CMOS technology. The maximum frequency of 285MHz is achieved and 13.1k NAND gates are required. High frequency, efficient processing cycle reduction and small area make this design to be an excellent accelerator for HDTV 1080p@30fps real time encoder.

A Low Complexity Detection of Discrete Cross Differences for Fast H.264/AVC Intra Prediction

A low complexity fast mode decision algorithm for H.264/AVC intra prediction that uses discrete cross differences (DCD) to reduce the unlikely candidate modes in the RDO calculation is proposed. By using horizontal and vertical differences in different locations, the directions of the edges can be precisely detected. Experimental results show that the proposed fast mode decision algorithm reduces the encoding time by about 56%, with negligible loss of video quality. To realize the proposed algorithm, a VLSI design, which is comprised of a cross difference unit and direction detection unit, is implemented for the mode pre-selection stage of intra prediction. The design is synthesized using UMC 0.18 mum CMOS technology and simulated with Verilog-XL. The operating frequency of the synthesized core can exceed 50 MHz.