• ETRI Journal
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.506-515
• /
• 2008

The H.264/AVC standard has adopted new coding tools such as intra-prediction, variable block size, motion estimation with quarter-pixel-accuracy, loop filter, and so on. The adoption of these tools enables an H.264/AVC-coded bitstream to have more information than was possible with previous standards. In this paper, we propose an effective spatial error concealment method with low complexity in H.264/AVC intra-frame. From information included in an H.264/AVC-coded bitstream, we use prediction modes of intra-blocks to recover a damaged block. This is because the prediction direction in each prediction mode is highly correlated to the edge direction. We first estimate the edge direction of a damaged block using the prediction modes of the intra-blocks adjacent to a damaged block and classify the area inside the damaged block into edge and flat areas. Our method then recovers pixel values in the edge area using edge-directed interpolation, and recovers pixel values in the flat area using weighted interpolation. Simulation results show that the proposed method yields better video quality than conventional approaches.

• Journal of Broadcast Engineering
• /
• v.12 no.6
• /
• pp.611-623
• /
• 2007

The H.264|AVC standard incorporates an intra prediction tool into inter frame coding. However, this leads to excessive amount of increase in encoding time, thus resulting in the difficulty in real-time implementation of software encoders. In this paper, we first propose an early decision on intra prediction coding and a fast intra prediction method using the characteristics of block contents and the context of neighboring block modes for the intra prediction in the inter frame coding of H.264/AVC. Basically, the proposed methods determine a skip condition on whether the $4{\times}4$ intra prediction is to be used in the inter frame coding by considering the content characteristics of each block to be encoded and the context of its neighboring blocks. The performance of our proposed methods is compared with the Joint Model reference software version 11.0 of H.264|AVC. The experimental results show that our proposed methods allow for 41.63% reduction in the total encoding time with negligible amounts of PSNR drops and bitrate increases, compared to the original Joint Model reference software version 11.0.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
• /
• v.34 no.7C
• /
• pp.681-686
• /
• 2009

In H.264/Ave, an intra prediction added to the P-frame coding slightly improves both of image quality and bit rate, but greatly increases an amount of computation. In order to reduce the increase in computation, this paper proposes an image contents based intra prediction coding using characteristics that the best intra block mode depends on the image content of a macro block. The proposed algorithm estimates the image content with image complexity and the best inter block mode, and then selects or excludes a intra block mode on the basis of it. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm reduces average O.OldB in image quality, and increases average 0.38% in the bit rate, but reduces average 37.02% in computation time compared with the conventional algorithm.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Telematics and Electronics S
• /
• v.35S no.8
• /
• pp.86-95
• /
• 1998

Intra-frame video compression, which cannot make use of temporal predictions, requires much higher bit rates compared with inter-frame schemes. In order to reduce bit rates, intra-frame predictive coding methods in DCT domain have been studied especially within the framework of the MPEG-4 video coding standard currently being developed. In this paper, we propose novel intra-frame predictive coding methods in DCT domain with the marginal complexity increase over the conventional methods . The proposed methods consist of a DC coefficient prediction method and two AC coefficient prediction methods. The proposed methods consist of a DC coefficient prediction method and two AC coefficient prediction methods. The proposed DC coefficient prediction method makes it possible to adaptively select the prediction directions without overhead bits, by comparing gradients of DC coefficients from neighboring blocks. As the AC coefficient prediction methods, first, we present an effective method which can improve the prediction directions of the MPEG-4 scheme by considering the DC coefficient of the current block to be coded. And, we present another effective method that decision on the prediction is carried out for each AC coefficient. Simulation results show that substantial bit savings can be achieved by the proposed methods.

• Journal of Broadcast Engineering
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.815-829
• /
• 2010

In this paper, we propose a new $4{\times}4$ intra coding method by unidirectional prediction for improvement of intra-frame coding efficiency of H.264/AVC. There are $4{\times}4$, $8{\times}8$, and $16{\times}16$ intra prediction modes in the current H.264/AVC. For the $4{\times}4$ intra prediction, coding efficiency is achieved by accurate prediction with small block size in relatively complicated regions, and the $16{\times}16$ intra prediction method can predict more accurately compared to $4{\times}4$ intra prediction with only one directional information in relatively homogeneous regions. We propose a unidirectional $4{\times}4$ intra prediction method adopting a small-size prediction and one directional prediction approaches. In order to improve coding efficiency, the proposed method is conducted by $4{\times}4$ block and their prediction directions are all the same, resulting that we need to send only one directional information for each macroblock. For intra-frame coding setting, we achieve 10.47% and 1.57% coding efficiency in BD-bitrate for only $16{\times}16$ intra mode and $4{\times}4$, $16{\times}16$ intra mode, respectively.

• Journal of Broadcast Engineering
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.200-213
• /
• 2008

H.264| MPEG-4 AVC is a new video codingstandard defined by JVT (Joint Video Team) which consists of ITU-T and ISO/IEC. Many techniques are adopted fur the compression efficiency: Especially, an intra prediction in an inter frame is one example but it leads to excessive amount of encoding time due to the decision of a candidate mode and a RDcost calculation. For this reason, a fast determination of the best intra prediction mode is the main issue for saving the encoding time. In this paper, by using the result of statistical relation between intra $16{\times}16$ and $4{\times}4$ intra predictions, the number of candidate modes for $4{\times}4$ intra prediction is reduced. Firstly, utilizing motion vector obtained after inter prediction, prediction of a block mode for each macroblock is made. If an intra prediction is needed, the correlation table between $16{\times}16$ and $4{\times}4$ intra predicted modes is created using the probability during each I frame-coding process. Secondly, using this result, the candidate modes for a $4{\times}4$ intra prediction that reaches a predefined specific probability value are only considered in the same GOP For the experiments, JM11.0, the reference software of H.264|MPEG-4 AVC is used and the experimental results show that the encoding time could be reduced by 51.24% in maximum with negligible amounts of PSNR drop and bitrate increase.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.425-428
• /
• 2005

This paper is made up Advanced Image Coding(AIC) that combines algorithms from next generation image coding standard, H.264/MPEG-4 Part 10 advanced video coding(AVC) and still image compression standard, JPEG(Joint Photographic Experts Group). AIC combines intra frame block prediction from H.264 with a JPEG style discrete cosine transform and quantization, followed by Context-based Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding(CABAC) as used in H.264. In this paper, we analyzes the efficiency of the AIC algorithm and JPEG and JPEG-2000, and it presents of result.

• Journal of Broadcast Engineering
• /
• v.15 no.5
• /
• pp.672-680
• /
• 2010

This paper presents an adaptive quantization matrix selection scheme for H.264 video encoding. Conventional H.264 coding standard applies the same quantization matrix to the entire video sequence without considering local characteristics in each frame. In this paper, we propose block adaptive selection of quantization matrix according to edge directivity of each block. Firstly, edge directivity of each block is determined using intra prediction modes of its spatially adjacent blocks. If the block is decided as a directional block, new weighted quantization matrix is applied to the block. Otherwise, conventional quantization matrix is used for quantization of the non-directional block. Since the proposed weighted quantization is designed based on statistical distribution of transform coefficients in accordance with intra prediction modes, we can achieve high coding efficiency. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme can improve coding efficiency by about 2% in terms of BD bit-rate.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.1830-1838
• /
• 2012

The intra prediction and the motion estimation of inter prediction occupy 70 ~ 80% of whole compression time in H.264/AVC. Compression efficiency has been higher, but complexity has increased and coding time has also increased much more. This paper proposes a block size decision method of the intra prediction and mode decision method which minimize the loss of video quality during the encoding and shorten the time spent. This paper, in addition, proposes an algorithm which determines the method of adaptive block mode for motion estimation of inter prediction. We investigated PSNR and the intra prediction and inter prediction of time-consuming calculations in order to measure video quality degradation and complexity through experiments. Consequently, when you use all three methods, these methods showed that average coding time is shortened as about 500 to 600ms in every frame in the case of all experimented videos, keeping video quality nearly similar, compared with existing methods of H.264.

• Journal of Broadcast Engineering
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.310-318
• /
• 2008

The H.264/AVC standard achieves higher coding efficiency than previous video coding standards with the rate-distortion optimization (RDO) technique which selects the best coding mode and reference frame for each macroblock. As a result, the complexity of the encoder have been significantly increased. In this paper, a fast intra-mode decision algorithm is proposed to reduce the computational load of intra-mode search, which is based on the inverse tree-structure edge prediction algorithm. First, we obtained the dominant edge for each $4{\times}4$ block from local edge information, then the RDO process is only performed by the mode which corresponds to dominant edge direction. Then, for the $8{\times}8$ (or $16{\times}16$) block stage, the dominant edge is calculated from its four $4{\times}4$ (or $16{\times}16$) blocks' dominant edges without additional calculation and the RDO process is also performed by the mode which is related to dominant edge direction. Experimental results show that proposed scheme can significantly improve the speed of the intra prediction with a negligible loss in the peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and a little increase of bits.