Flexible quantization
AssigneeMicrosoft Technology Licensing, LLC
InventorsChengjie Tu, Sridhar Srinivasan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A digital media encoder/decoder uses a flexible quantization technique that provides the ability to vary quantization along various dimensions of the encoded digital media data, including spatial, frequency sub bands and color channels. The codec utilizes a signaling scheme to signal various permutations of flexible quantization combinations efficiently for primary usage scenarios. When a choice of quantizer is available, the codec efficiently encodes the current quantizer by defining a subset of quantizers and indexes the current quantizer from the set.
Claims20
A method of coding/decoding digital media, comprising:
- partitioning the digital media along more than one dimension;
- varying quantization applied to blocks of the digital media across more than one partitioned dimension of the digital media;
- and
- encoding/decoding the quantized blocks of the digital media.
A digital media processing device comprising:
- a memory for storing digital media data;
- and
- a digital media processor programmed to encode and/or decode the digital media data by applying forward or inverse operations of applying a transform to blocks of the digital media data, and applying quantizers to the blocks of digital media data, wherein the quantizers are selectively variable across more than one dimension of the digital media data.
At least one program-storing carrier having program code stored thereon for causing a digital media processing device to perform a method of processing digital media data according to a codec, the method comprising:
- selecting combinations of quantization modes to be applied to the digital media data varying across more than one of spatial, frequency sub-band and color channel dimensions;
- applying a block transform to the digital media data;
- quantizing the digital media data according to the selected combinations of quantization modes;
- and
- encoding the quantized digital media data in a compressed data stream;
- and
- signaling the selected combinations of quantization modes in the compressed data stream.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.