Adaptive intra-refresh for digital video encoding

A non-transitory computer-readable data storage medium comprising processor executable instructions to cause a processor within a video encoder to:

• obtain, in the video encoder, a measure of frame-to-frame variation between a current video frame and another, previous video frame;
• obtain, in the video encoder, texture information for the current video frame;
• obtain an estimate of channel loss probability, wherein a variable p represents the obtained estimate of the channel loss probability;
• and
• generate, in the video encoder, an Intra-refresh (IR) rate for the current video frame based on the frame-to-frame variation, the texture information, and the channel loss probability estimate, wherein the instructions that cause the processor to generate the IR rate comprise instructions that cause the processor to:
• multiply (p/(1−p)) with a value that is based on the measure of frame-to-frame variation and the texture information, wherein the value that is based on the measure of frame-to-frame variation and the texture information is proportional to the measure of frame-to-frame variation and inversely proportional to the texture information, and
• generate the IR rate based on a product of the multiplication.

A video encoding method comprising:

• generating, in a video encoder, an Intra-refresh (IR) rate for a current video frame based on video content of the current video frame, a measure of frame-to-frame variation between the current video frame, and another, previous video frame, and a channel loss probability estimate, wherein a variable p represents the channel loss probability, and wherein generating the IR rate comprises:
• multiplying (p/(1−p)) with a value that is based on the measure of frame-to-frame variation and the texture information, wherein the value that is based on the measure of frame-to-frame variation and the texture information is proportional to the measure of frame-to-frame variation and inversely proportional to the texture information, and
• generating the IR rate based on a product of the multiplication;
• determining, in the video encoder, whether to adjust the IR rate based on an Intra-frame period and the channel loss probability estimate;
• if determined to adjust, adjusting, in the video encoder, the IR rate based on the Intra-frame period and the channel loss probability estimate;
• and
• selecting, in the video encoder, Inter-coding or Intra-coding for macroblocks (MBs) within the current video frame based on one of the IR rate or the adjusted IR rate.

A video encoder comprising:

• an Intra-refresh (IR) rate control unit to generate an IR rate for a current video frame based on video content of the current video frame, a measure of frame-to-frame variation between the current video frame, and another, previous video frame, and a channel loss probability estimate, wherein a variable p represents the channel loss probability, and wherein, to generate the IR rate, the IR rate control unit is configured to:
• multiply (p/(1−p)) with a value that is based on the measure of frame-to-frame variation and the texture information, wherein the value that is based on the measure of frame-to-frame variation and the texture information is proportional to the measure of frame-to-frame variation and inversely proportional to the texture information, and
• generate the IR rate based on a product of the multiplication;
• wherein the IR rate control unit is further configured to:
• determine whether to adjust the IR rate based on an Intra-frame period and the channel loss probability estimate;
• and
• if determined to adjust, adjust the IR rate based on the Intra-frame period and the channel loss probability estimate;
• and
• a mode select unit to select Inter-coding or Intra-coding for macroblocks (MBs) within the current video frame based on one of the IR rate or the adjusted IR rate.

A video encoder comprising:

• means for obtaining a measure of frame-to-frame variation between a current video frame and another, previous video frame;
• means for obtaining texture information for the current video frame;
• means for obtaining an estimate of channel loss probability, wherein a variable p represents the obtained estimate of the channel loss probability;
• and
• means for generating an Intra-refresh (IR) rate for the current video frame based on the frame-to-frame variation, the texture information, and the channel loss probability estimate, wherein the means for generating the IR rate comprises:
• means for multiplying (p/(1−p)) with a value that is based on the measure of frame-to-frame variation and the texture information, wherein the value that is based on the measure of frame-to-frame variation and the texture information is proportional to the measure of frame-to-frame variation and inversely proportional to the texture information, and
• means for generating the IR rate based on a product of the multiplication.

A video encoder comprising:

• means for generating an Intra-refresh (IR) rate for a current video frame based on video content of the current video frame, a measure of frame-to-frame variation between the current video frame, and another, previous video frame, and a channel loss probability estimate, wherein a variable p represents the channel loss probability, and wherein the means for generating the IR rate comprises:
• means for multiplying (p/(1−p)) with a value that is based on the measure of frame-to-frame variation and the texture information, wherein the value that is based on the measure of frame-to-frame variation and the texture information is proportional to the measure of frame-to-frame variation and inversely proportional to the texture information, and
• means for generating the IR rate based on a product of the multiplication;
• means for determining whether to adjust the IR rate based on an Intra-frame period and the channel loss probability estimate;
• means for adjusting the IR rate based on the Intra-frame period and the channel loss probability estimate if determined to adjust,;
• and
• means for selecting Inter-coding or Intra-coding for macroblocks (MBs) within the current video frame based on one of the IR rate or the adjusted IR rate.