A complexity control algorithm for H.264 advanced video coding is proposed. The algorithm can control the complexity of integer inter motion estimation for a given target complexity. The Rate-Distortion-Complexity performance is improved by a complexity prediction model, simple analysis of the past statistics and a control scheme. The algorithm also works well for scene change condition. Test results for coding interlaced video (720 x576 PAL) are reported.

A novel scheme for coding gray-level alpha planes in object-based video is presented. Gray-level alpha planes convey the shape and the transparency information, which are required for smooth composition of video objects. The algorithm proposed is based on the segmentation of the alpha plane in three layers: binary shape layer, opaque layer, and intermediate layer. Thus, the latter two layers replace the single transparency layer of MPEG-4 Part 2. Different encoding schemes are specifically designed for each layer, utilizing cross-layer correlations to reduce the bit rate. First, the binary shape layer is processed by a novel video shape coder. In intra mode, the DSLSC binary image coder presented in [3] is used. This is extended here with an intermode utilizing temporal redundancies in shape image sequences. Then the opaque layer is compressed by a newly designed scheme which models the strong correlation with the binary shape layer by morphological erosion operations. Finally, three solutions are proposed for coding the intermediate layer. The knowledge of the two previously encoded layers is utilized in order to increase compression efficiency. Experimental results are reported demonstrating that the proposed techniques provide substantial bit rate savings coding shape and transparency when compared to the tools adopted in MPEG-4 Part 2.

A new efficient compression scheme for bilevel images containing locally straight edges is presented. This paper is especially focused on lossless (intra) coding of binary shapes for image and video objects, but other images with similar characteristics such as line drawings, layers of digital maps, or segmentation maps are also encoded efficiently. The algorithm is not targeted at document images with text, which can be coded efficiently with dictionary-based techniques as in JBIG2. The scheme is based on a local analysis of the digital straightness of the causal part of the object boundary, which is used in the context definition for arithmetic encoding. Tested on individual images of standard TV resolution binary shapes and the binary layers of a digital map, the proposed algorithm outperforms PWC, JBIG, JBIG2, and MPEG-4 CAE. On the binary shapes, the code lengths are reduced by 21%, 27%, 28%, and 41%, respectively. On the map layers, the reductions are 31%, 34%, 32%, and 64%, respectively. The algorithm is also more efficient on the test material than the state-of-the-art generic bilevel image coder free tree.

A new lossless compression scheme for bilevel images targeted at binary shapes of image and video objects is presented. The scheme is based on a local analysis of the digital straightness of the causal part of the object boundary, which is used in the context definition for arithmetic encoding. Tested on individual images of binary shapes and binary layers of digital maps the algorithm outperforms PWC, JBIG and MPEG-4 CAE. On the binary shapes the code lengths are reduced by 21%, 25%, and 42%, respectively. On the maps the reductions are 34%, 32%, and 59%, respectively. The algorithm is also more efficient than the state-of-the-art and more complex free tree coder for most of the binary shape and map test images.

This paper presents an operational method for optimizing integer motion estimation in real-time H.264 encoding with respect to the trade-off between rate-distortion and complexity. This three-parameter problem is converted into a more tractable two-parameter problem by a simple approximative elimination of either the rate or the distortion term by converting small differences in the term to be eliminated. This paper also presents an H.264-enhanced implementation of the fast EPZS motion estimation algorithm, which adds three early-stop criteria controlled by predefined thresholds allowing it to stop after 16 16 and 8 8 block types and for each additional reference frame. Results for interlaced SDTV material are presented with indications of the applicability of the operational method when applied to the presented motion estimation procedure. For example, a speed-up by a factor of 4 compared to a basic H.264-adapted EPZS implementation is achieved at only 1% increase in rate.