System and method for encoding and decoding video data

A method for encoding data representing an image that is intended for display on a computer monitor, comprising:

• applying a plurality of filter schemes to at least a portion of the data to generate a plurality of filter outputs;
• identifying at least one filter output that has a low color variance relative to the other filter outputs using a processor;
• selecting that one of the filter outputs having the low color variance;
• and
• encoding the selected filter output.

A method for decoding a data stream representing a video image, comprising:

• identifying, within the data stream, filter information indicative of the filter scheme applied to the data during encoding;
• selecting an anti-aliasing filter based on the filter information using a processor;
• and
• filtering the data using the selected anti-aliasing filter.

A method for reducing the complexity of a data stream to be encoded, comprising:

• identifying at least one target block from the data stream;
• obtaining an original set of color values that contains each distinct color value used in the at least one target block;
• applying a plurality of filter schemes to the at least one target block to generate a plurality of filter outputs using a processor;
• determining a filtered set of color values for each of the plurality of filter outputs, each filtered set of color values containing each distinct color value used in its associated filter output;
• and
• selecting the filter scheme of the filter output that most reduces the complexity of the at least one target block.

An apparatus for encoding video data comprising:

• a memory;
• and
• at least one processor configured to:
• apply a plurality of filter schemes to at least a portion of the data stored in the memory to generate a plurality of filter outputs, each filter output having data indicating color values included in the filter output,
• determine the color variance of at least some of the plurality of filter outputs, and
• select at least one of the plurality of filter schemes based on the color variance of the filter output generated using the selected filter scheme.

An apparatus for decoding a data stream representing a video image comprising:

• a memory;
• and
• at least one processor configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to:
• identify, within the data stream, filter information indicative of the filter scheme applied to the data during encoding,
• select an anti-aliasing filter based on the filter information, and
• filter the data using the selected anti-aliasing filter.