Efficient interframe mode search for av1 encoding

A video encoding apparatus comprising:

• a memory to store a video block;
• and
• logic communicatively coupled to the memory, the logic implemented at least partly in one or more of configurable hardware logic or fixed-functionality hardware logic, the logic to perform operations comprising:
• pruning interframe candidate modes, based on one or more criteria, to provide a reduced set of candidate modes for encoding the video block,
• wherein a candidate mode includes an interframe mode type, a set of reference frame types, and one or more dynamic reference list (DRL) candidates, and
• wherein pruning interframe candidate modes comprises excluding one or more interframe mode types;
• determining a rate distortion (RD) cost for each of the candidate modes in the reduced set of candidate modes;
• selecting a candidate mode from the reduced set of candidate modes, based on the lowest RD cost, as a selected interframe mode;
• and
• encoding the video block using the selected interframe mode.

At least one computer readable storage medium comprising a set of instructions which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

• pruning interframe candidate modes, based on one or more criteria, to provide a reduced set of candidate modes for encoding a video block,
• wherein a candidate mode includes an interframe mode type, a set of reference frame types, and one or more dynamic reference list (DRL) candidates, and
• wherein pruning interframe candidate modes comprises excluding one or more interframe mode types;
• determining a rate distortion (RD) cost for each of the candidate modes in the reduced set of candidate modes;
• selecting a candidate mode from the reduced set of candidate modes, based on the lowest RD cost, as a selected interframe mode;
• and
• encoding the video block using the selected interframe mode.