Method and apparatus for inter-picture cost computation

An inter-picture cost computation apparatus, comprising:

• an original difference calculation module, for calculating original differences between a plurality of first original pixels at a first frame time and a plurality of second original pixels at a second frame time;
• a before-compensation difference calculation module, for calculating a before-compensation differences between a plurality of first compensated pixels at the first frame time and a plurality of reconstructed pixels at the second frame time;
• an inter-picture cost computation module, for calculating an inter-picture cost according to an SAO (Sample Adaptive Offset) compensation value, the original differences, and the before-compensation differences;
• and
• a compensation module, for compensating the plurality of reconstructed pixels according to the SAO compensation value when the inter-picture cost is a minimum.

An inter-picture cost computation method, comprising:

• calculating original differences between a plurality of first original pixels at a first frame time and a plurality of second original pixels at a second frame time;
• calculating before-compensation differences between a plurality of first compensated pixels at the first frame time and a plurality of reconstructed pixels at the second frame time;
• calculating an inter-picture cost according to an SAO (Sample Adaptive Offset) compensation value, the original differences, and the before-compensation differences;
• and
• compensating the plurality of reconstructed pixels according to the SAO compensation value when a rate-distortion is a minimum, wherein the rate-distortion is generated based on the inter-picture cost and a bit-rate component.