US 6,608,937 B1Granted

Low bit rate video coding method and system

AssigneeKoninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.

InventorsDaniel Snook, Jean Gobert

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Abstract

In the Improved PB-frames mode, one of the options of the H.263+ Recommendation, a macroblock of a B-frame may be encoded according to a forward, a backward or a bidirectional prediction mode. The invention relates to a method of encoding a sequence of pictures defining a strategy for the choice of a prediction mode among the three possible ones in the encoding of B-macroblock. This strategy is based upon SAD(Sum of Absolute Difference) calculations and motion vectors coherence and allows to use backward prediction when scene cuts occur. In the proposed strategy, the SAD of the bidirectional prediction is not necessarily derived when the motion is non linear allowing less calculation and reduction in CPU burden. The invention also relates to an encoding system for carrying out said method and including a computer-readable medium storing instructions that allow the implementation of this method.

Claims2

Dependent claims

A method of encoding a source sequence of pictures comprising the steps of:

dividing the source sequence into a set of groups of pictures, each group of pictures comprising a first frame, hereafter referred to as I-frame, followed by at least a pair of frames, hereafter referred to as PB-frames;
dividing each I-frame and PB-frame into spatially non-overlapping blocks of pixels;
encoding the blocks of said I-frame, hereafter referred to as the I-blocks, independently from any other frame in the group of pictures;
deriving motion vectors and corresponding predictors for the blocks from a temporally second frame of said PB-frames, hereafter referred to as the P-blocks, based on the I-blocks in the previous I-frame or the P-blocks in a previous PB-frame;
predictively encoding the P-blocks based on the I-blocks in the previous I-frame or the P-blocks in the previous PB-frame;
predictively encoding the blocks of the first frame of said PB-frame, hereafter referred to as the B-blocks, wherein the encoding of the B-blocks.comprises for each B-block in series the steps of:
deriving the minimum of the sum of absolute difference for the B-block based on the I-blocks in the previous I-frame or on the P-blocks in the previous PB-frame, hereafter referred to as SADf;
deriving the sum of absolute difference for the B-block and the P-block in the P-frame of the PB-frame with the same location as the B-block, hereafter referred to as SADb;
when SADf is greater than SADb, predictively encoding the B-block based on the P-blocks of the temporally second frame of the PB-frames;
when SADf is lower than SADb:
deriving, for the P-block with the same location as the B-block, the difference between said motion vector and said corresponding predictors;
when the difference obtained is greater than a predetermined threshold, predictively encoding the B-block based on the I-blocks or the P-blocks in the previous PB-frame;
when the difference obtained is smaller than the predetermined threshold, predictively encoding the B-block based on the P-blocks of the second frame of the PB-frame and the I-blocks or the P-blocks in the previous PB-frame.

10 more elements

A system for encoding a sequence of pictures comprising:

means for dividing the source sequence into a set of groups of pictures, each group of pictures comprising a first frame, hereafter referred to as I-frame, followed by at least a pair of predictively encoded frames, hereafter referred to as PB-frames;
means for dividing each I-frame or PB-frame into spatially non-overlapping blocks of pixels;
a motion estimator for deriving motion vectors and corresponding predictors for the blocks from a temporally second frame of said PB-frames, hereafter referred to as the P-blocks, based on the I-blocks in the previous I-frame or the P-blocks in a previous PB-frame;
means for encoding the blocks of said I-frame, hereafter referred to as the I-blocks, independently from any other frame in the group of pictures, for predictively encoding the P-blocks based on the I-blocks in the previous I-frame or the P-blocks in the previous PB-frame and for predictively encoding the blocks from the first frame of said PB-frame, hereafter referred to as the B-blocks,
wherein the means for the encoding of the B-blocks includes:
means for deriving the minimum of the sum of absolute difference for the B-block based on the I-blocks in the previous I-frame or on the P-blocks in the previous PB-frame, hereafter referred to as SADf;
means for deriving the sum of absolute difference for the B-block and the P-block with the same location as the B-block, hereafter referred to as SADb;
means for when SADf is greater than SADb, predictively encoding the B-block based on the P-blocks of the second frame of the PB-frame;
means for when SADf is lower than SADb:
deriving, for the P-block with the same location as the B-block, the difference between said motion vector and said corresponding predictors;
when the difference obtained is greater than a predetermined threshold, predictively encoding the B-block based on the I-blocks or the P-blocks in the previous PB-frame;
when the difference obtained is smaller than the predetermined threshold, predictively encoding the B-block based on the P-blocks of the second frame of the PB-frame and the I-blocks or the P-blocks in the previous PB-frame.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/558,775Filed 26 Apr 2000
Priority: EP 9940106730 Apr 1999
Granted: 19 Aug 2003
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification11 codes

H04N 19/577
Motion estimation or motion compensation: motion compensation with bidirectional frame interpolation, i.e. using B-pictures
H04N 19/107
Selection of coding mode or of prediction mode: between spatial and temporal predictive coding, e.g. picture refresh
H04N 19/114
Selection of coding mode or of prediction mode: adapting the group of pictures [GOP] structure, e.g. number of B-frames between two anchor frames
H04N 19/137
Incoming video signal characteristics or properties: motion inside a coding unit, e.g. average field, frame or block difference