Improvement and extension of auto relocated block vector prediction (ar-BVP)

Abstract

Systems, methods, and instrumentalities are disclosed for improvement and extension of auto relocated block vector prediction (AR-BVP). In examples, a device (e.g., a video encoding device and / or video decoding device) may identify a reference block associated with a current block. The reference block may be an inter coded reference block. The device may derive a guiding motion vector (MV) from the reference block. The device may determine an auto-relocated motion vector prediction (AR-MVP) for the current block based on the guiding MV and / or a guiding BV. The device may include the AR-MVP as an AR-MVP candidate in an inter merge candidate list.

Description

IMPROVEMENT AND EXTENSION OF AUTO RELOCATED BLOCK VECTOR PREDICTION (AR-BVP)CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of European Provisional Patent Application No. 24305040.8 filed January 9, 2024, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.BACKGROUND

[0002] Video coding systems may be used to compress digital video signals, e.g., to reduce the storage and / or transmission bandwidth needed for such signals. Video coding systems may include, for example, block-based, wavelet-based, and / or object-based systems.SUMMARY

[0003] Systems, methods, and instrumentalities are disclosed for improvement and extension of auto relocated block vector prediction (AR-BVP). In examples, a device (e.g., a video encoding device and / or video decoding device) may identify a reference block associated with a current block. The reference block may be an inter coded reference block. The device may derive a guiding motion vector (MV) from the reference block. The device may determine an auto-relocated motion vector prediction (AR-MVP) for the current block based on the guiding MV and / or guiding BV. The device may include the AR-MVP as an AR- MVP candidate in an inter merge candidate list.

[0004] In examples, the current block may include one of a chrome block or a luma block. The AR-MVP may be determined using the guiding MV and a scaled MV of the reference block. The AR-MVP candidate may be inserted into the merge candidate list after a history-based MPV (HMVP) candidate.

[0005] In examples, the device may reorder the merge candidate list based on template costs and template. In examples, the device may terminate determination of the AR-MVP candidate upon reaching a maximum number of AR-MVP trace paths. The device may bypass inclusion of the AR-MVP candidate based on a location of the reference block pointed to by the guiding MV being outside a predefined reference region relative to the current block.

[0006] In examples, the AR-MVP for the current block may further be determined based on a guiding block vector (BV). In examples, the guiding MV may be associated with at least one of the following positionsassociated with the current block: the center position, the left-top position, the right-top position, the leftbottom position, or the right-bottom position of the current block.

[0007] Systems, methods, and instrumentalities are disclosed for improvement and extension of auto relocated block vector prediction (AR-BVP). In examples, a device (e.g., a video encoding device and / or video decoding device) may, for a current chroma block, identify a reference block. The device may derive a guiding block vector (BV) from the reference block based on the reference block being coded with one or more of intra block copy (IBC) or Intra temporal motion prediction (TMP) mode. The device may determine an auto-relocated block vector prediction (AR-BVP) for the current chroma block based on the guiding BV.

[0008] The device may include the AR-BVP in multiple available chroma block vectors. The device may determine a sum of absolute transformed differences (SATD) costs for the multiple available chroma BVs. The device may reorder the multiple available chroma BVs based on the SATD costs. The device may select a chroma BV with the lowest SATD cost from the multiple available chroma BVs as a chroma direct BV (DBV) for the current chroma block. The device may decode the current chroma block based on the selected chroma DBV.

[0009] The device may derive a chroma block vector for the current chroma block based on one or more AR-BVP or BVP of corresponding luma blocks of the current chroma block. The device may include an autorelocated motion vector prediction (AR-MVP) candidate in an advanced motion vector prediction (AMVP) list.

[0010] In examples, a device (e.g., a video encoding device and / or video decoding device) may identify multiple automatic relocated block vector predictor candidates for a current block. The device may determine to cease identification of multiple automatic relocated block vector predictor candidates for the current block based on a condition. The device may process (e.g., decode and / or encode) the current block based on the multiple automatic relocated block vector predictor candidates.

[0011] The condition may include a maximum threshold of automatic relocated block vector predictor candidates. The device may determine to cease identification of the multiple automatic relocated block vector predictor candidates for the current block based on reaching the maximum threshold of automatic relocated block vector predictor candidates.

[0012] The condition may include a reference block falling outside a reference region relative to the current block. The device may determine to cease identification of the multiple automatic relocated block vector predictor candidates for the current block based on the reference block being outside the reference region.

[0013] The condition may include a maximum number of allowed automatic relocated block vector predictor candidates trace paths. The device may determine to cease identification of the multiple automatic relocated block vector predictor candidates for the current block based on reaching the maximum number of automatic relocated block vector predictor candidates trace paths.

[0014] Systems, methods, and instrumentalities described herein may involve a decoder. In examples, the systems, methods, and instrumentalities described herein may involve an encoder. In examples, the systems, methods, and instrumentalities described herein may involve a signal (e.g., from an encoder and / or received by a decoder). A computer-readable medium may include instructions for causing one or more processors to perform methods described herein. A computer program product may include instructions which, when the program is executed by one or more processors, may cause the one or more processors to carry out the methods described herein.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] FIG. 1 A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented.

[0016] FIG. 1 B is a system diagram illustrating an example wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment.

[0017] FIG. 1 C is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network (RAN) and an example core network (CN) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment.

[0018] FIG. 1 D is a system diagram illustrating a further example RAN and a further example CN that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1 A according to an embodiment.

[0019] FIG. 2 illustrates an example video encoder.

[0020] FIG. 3 illustrates an example video decoder.

[0021] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a system in which various aspects and examples may be implemented.

[0022] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of adjacent spatial candidates.

[0023] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of predictors from non-adjacent spatial neighboring blocks, if IBC orIntraTMP coded.

[0024] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of additional candidates that may be determined in the middle of the three sub-regions (A, B, and C).

[0025] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of deriving an auto relocated block vector predictor (AR-BVP) as a guiding block vector plus a block vector of a reference block, located by the guiding block vector.

[0026] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of five positions that may be used to find BVn,n+1 .

[0027] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of luma blocks (e.g., five locations from center, top-left, top-right, bottom-left, to bottom-right in order) used for deriving the chroma block vector.

[0028] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of using a position of acurrentchroma block and its bvC to determine a corresponding offset position and perform a block copying prediction.

[0029] FIG. 12 illustrates an example of temporal MVP from collocated CUs.

[0030] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a merge list construction process.

[0031] FIG. 14 illustrates an example of deriving an AR-BVP as a guiding motion vector plus a block vector of a reference block, located by the guiding motion vector.

[0032] FIG. 15 illustrates an example of possible positions that may be used to check and find a guiding BV.

[0033] FIG. 16 illustrates an example temporal location at the center position of Bn in the collocated picture used to find BVn,n+1.

[0034] FIG. 17 illustrates an example of inserting auto relocated motion vector predictor (AR-MVP) candidates after HMVP candidates.

[0035] FIG. 18 illustrates an example of deriving an AR-MVP as a guiding motion vector plus a scaled motion vector of a reference block, located by the guiding motion vector.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description, given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0037] FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an example communications system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communications system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users. The communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communications systems 100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail unique-word DFT-Spread OFDM (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block-filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), and the like.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 1 A, the communications system 100 may include wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a RAN 104 / 113, a CN 106 / 115, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and / or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and / or communicatein a wireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which may be referred to as a “station” and / or a “STA”, may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi-Fi device, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and 102d may be interchangeably referred to as a UE.

[0039] The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and / or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106 / 115, the Internet 110, and / or the other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, an eNode B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a gNB, a NR NodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and / or network elements.

[0040] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104 / 113, which may also incl ude other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, etc. The base station 114a and / or the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for a wireless service to a specific geographical area that may be relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and / or receive signals in desired spatial directions.

[0041] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radiofrequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0042] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 104 / 113 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 115 / 116 / 117 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and / or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High-Speed UL Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0043] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and / or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

[0044] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access , which may establish the air interface 116 using New Radio (NR).

[0045] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for instance using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and / or transmissions sent to / from multiple types of base stations (e.g., a eNB and a gNB).

[0046] In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

[0047] The base station 114b in FIG. 1A may be a wireless router, Home Node B, Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a roadway, and the like. In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c,102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to access the Internet 110 via the CN 106 / 115.

[0048] The RAN 104 / 113 may be in communication with the CN 106 / 115, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and / or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have varying quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as differing throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, and the like. The CN 106 / 115 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and / or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although not shown in FIG. 1A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 / 113 and / or the CN 106 / 115 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104 / 113, which may be utilizing a NR radio technology, the CN 106 / 115 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

[0049] The CN 106 / 115 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and / or the other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) and / or the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP / IP internet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and / or wireless communications networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT.

[0050] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links). For example, the WTRU 102c shown in FIG. 1A may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may employ acellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

[0051] FIG. 1 B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. 1 B, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit / receive element 122, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display / touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and / or other peripherals 138, among others. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0052] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit / receive element 122. While FIG. 1 B depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip.

[0053] The transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an emitter / detector configured to transmit and / or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet another embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0054] Although the transmit / receive element 122 is depicted in FIG. 1 B as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit / receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit / receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0055] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit / receive element 122 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit / receive element122. As noted above, the WTRLI 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11, for example.

[0056] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and / or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

[0057] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and may be configured to distribute and / or control the power to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium- ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

[0058] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information over the air interface 116 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and / or determine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information by way of any suitable location - determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0059] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and / or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality and / or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photographs and / or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a Virtual Reality and / or Augmented Reality (VR / AR) device, an activity tracker, and the like. The peripherals138 may include one or more sensors, the sensors may be one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; a geolocation sensor; an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, and / or a humidity sensor.

[0060] The WTRU 102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for both the UL (e.g., for transmission) and downlink (e.g., for reception) may be concurrent and / or simultaneous. The full duplex radio may include an interference management unit to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via either hardware (e.g., a choke) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via processor 1 18). In an embodiment, the WRTU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for either the UL (e.g., for transmission) or the downlink (e.g., for reception)).

[0061] FIG. 1 C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0062] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and / or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

[0063] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1 C, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

[0064] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (or PGW) 166. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0065] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 162a, 162b, 162c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation / deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. The MME 162 mayprovide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and / or WCDMA.

[0066] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via the S1 interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to / from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

[0067] The SGW 164 may be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0068] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the ON 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0069] Although the WTRU is described in FIGS. 1 A-1 D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that such a terminal may use (e.g., temporarily, or permanently) wired communication interfaces with the communication network.

[0070] In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0071] A WLAN in Infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an Access Point (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (ST As) associated with the AP. The AP may have an access or an interface to a Distribution System (DS) or another type of wired / wireless network that carries traffic in to and / or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originates from outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered to the STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinations outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP may deliver the traffic to the destination STA. The traffic between STAs within a BSS may be considered and / or referred to as peer-to- peer traffic. The peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between (e.g., directly between) the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802.11e DLS or an 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (I BSS) mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g., all of the STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with eachother. The I BSS mode of communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an “ad-hoc” mode of communication.

[0072] When using the 802.11 ac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operations, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width via signaling. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may be used by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA / CA) may be implemented, for example in in 802.11 systems. For CSMA / CA, the STAs (e.g., every STA), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed / detected and / or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0073] High Throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHz channel with an adjacent or nonadjacent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHz wide channel.

[0074] Very High Throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and / or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz, and / or 80 MHz, channels may be formed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be formed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining two noncontiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channel encoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide the data into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing, and time domain processing, may be done on each stream separately. The streams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may be transmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the above described operation for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed, and the combined data may be sent to the Medium Access Control (MAC).

[0075] Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.11af and 802.11ah. The channel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.11af and 802.11 ah relative to those used in 802.11 n, and 802.11ac. 802.11af supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11 ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment, 802.11 ah may support Meter Type Control / Machine- Type Communications, such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilities including support for (e.g., only support for) certain and / or limited bandwidths. The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery life above a threshold (e.g., to maintain a very long battery life).

[0076] WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channel bandwidths, such as 802.11 n, 802.11ac, 802.11 af, and 802.11 ah, include a channel which may be designated as the primary channel. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operating bandwidth supported by all ST As in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and / or limited by a ST A, from among all STAs in operating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operating mode. In the example of 802.11 ah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz wide for STAs (e.g., MTC type devices) that support (e.g., only support) a 1 MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and / or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and / or Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings may depend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operating mode), transmitting to the AP, the entire available frequency bands may be considered busy even though a majority of the frequency bands remains idle and may be available.

[0077] In the United States, the available frequency bands, which may be used by 802.11 ah, are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the available frequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11 ah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

[0078] FIG. 1 D is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 113 and the CN 115 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 113 may employ an NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 113 may also be in communication with the CN 115.

[0079] The RAN 113 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 113 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, gNBs 180a, 108b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c. Thus, the gNB 180a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and / or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation technology. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum while the remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology. For example, WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and / or gNB 180c).

[0080] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. For example, the OFDM symbol spacing and / or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and / or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframe or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths (e.g., containing varying number of OFDM symbols and / or lasting varying lengths of absolute time).

[0081] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and / or a non-standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without also accessing other RANs (e.g., such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c). In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as a mobility anchor point. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in an unlicensed band. In a non-standalone configuration WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with / connect to gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating with / connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In the non-standalone configuration, eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may serve as a mobility anchor for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and / or throughput for servicing WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0082] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, support of network slicing, dual connectivity, interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards User Plane Function (UPF) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 182a, 182b and the like. As shown in FIG. 1 D, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with one another over an Xn interface.

[0083] The CN 115 shown in FIG. 1 D may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one Session Management Function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and possibly a Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 115, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0084] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N2 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, support for network slicing (e.g.,handling of different PDU sessions with different requirements), selecting a particular SMF 183a, 183b, management of the registration area, termination of NAS signaling, mobility management, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 182a, 182b in order to customize CN support for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the types of services being utilized WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for machine type communication (MTC) access, and / or the like. The AMF 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 113 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and / or non-3GPP access technologies such as WiFi.

[0085] The SMF 183a, 183b may be connected to an AMF 182a, 182b in the CN 115 via an N11 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may also be connected to a UPF 184a, 184b in the CN 115 via an N4 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may select and control the UPF 184a, 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPF 184a, 184b. The SMF 183a, 183b may perform other functions, such as managing and allocating UE IP address, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing downlink data notifications, and the like. A PDU session type may be IP-based, non-IP based, Ethernet-based, and the like.

[0086] The UPF 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184, 184b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering downlink packets, providing mobility anchoring, and the like.

[0087] The CN 115 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 115 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 115 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 115 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers. In one embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to a local Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b through the UPF 184a, 184b via the N3 interface to the UPF 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPF 184a, 184b and the DN 185a, 185b.

[0088] In view of Figures 1 A-1 D, and the corresponding description of Figures 1 A-1 D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein with regard to one or more of: WTRU 102a-d, Base Station 114a-b, eNode- B 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNB 180a-c, AMF 182a-b, UPF 184a-b, SMF 183a-b, DN 185a- b, and / or any other device(s) described herein, may be performed by one or more emulation devices (notshown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more, or all, of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and / or to simulate network and / or WTRU functions.

[0089] The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and / or in an operator network environment. For example, the one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partially implemented and / or deployed as partof a wired and / or wireless communication network in orderto test other devices within the communication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being temporarily implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another device for purposes of testing and / or may perform testing using over-the-air wireless communications.

[0090] The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, including all, functions while not being implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. For example, the emulation devices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratory and / or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and / or wireless communication network in order to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and / or wireless communications via RF circuitry (e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and / or receive data.

[0091] This application describes a variety of aspects, including tools, features, examples, models, approaches, etc. Many of these aspects are described with specificity and, at least to show the individual characteristics, are often described in a manner that may sound limiting. However, this is for purposes of clarity in description, and does not limit the application or scope of those aspects. Indeed, all of the different aspects may be combined and interchanged to provide further aspects. Moreover, the aspects may be combined and interchanged with aspects described in earlier filings as well.

[0092] The aspects described and contemplated in this application may be implemented in many different forms. FIGS. 5-18 described herein may provide some examples, but other examples are contemplated. The discussion of FIGS. 5-18 does not limit the breadth of the implementations. At least one of the aspects generally relates to video encoding and decoding, and at least one other aspect generally relates to transmitting a bitstream generated or encoded. These and other aspects may be implemented as a method, an apparatus, a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions for encoding or decoding video data according to any of the methods described, and / or a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a bitstream generated according to any of the methods described.

[0093] In the present application, the terms “reconstructed” and “decoded” may be used interchangeably, the terms “pixel” and “sample” may be used interchangeably, the terms “image,” “picture” and “frame” may be used interchangeably.

[0094] Various methods are described herein, and each of the methods comprises one or more steps or actions for achieving the described method. Unless a specific order of steps or actions is required for proper operation of the method, the order and / or use of specific steps and / or actions may be modified or combined. Additionally, terms such as “first”, “second”, etc. may be used in various examples to modify an element, component, step, operation, etc., such as, for example, a “first decoding” and a “second decoding”. Use of such terms does not imply an ordering to the modified operations unless specifically required. So, in this example, the first decoding need not be performed before the second decoding, and may occur, for example, before, during, or in an overlapping time period with the second decoding.

[0095] Various methods and other aspects described in this application may be used to modify modules, for example, decoding modules, of a video encoder 200 and decoder 300 as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. Moreover, the subject matter disclosed herein may be applied, for example, to any type, format or version of video coding, whether described in a standard or a recommendation, whether pre-existing or future- developed, and extensions of any such standards and recommendations. Unless indicated otherwise, or technically precluded, the aspects described in this application may be used individually or in combination.

[0096] Various numeric values are used in examples described the present application, such as the number of intra modes, video codec attributes (e.g., version of a video codec), intra prediction direction angles, number of HOG bins, table size, number of candidates, block sizes, etc. These and other specific values are for purposes of describing examples and the aspects described are not limited to these specific values.

[0097] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example video encoder. Variations of example encoder 200 are contemplated, but the encoder 200 is described below for purposes of clarity without describing all expected variations.

[0098] Before being encoded, the video sequence may go through pre-encoding processing (201), for example, applying a color transform to the input color picture (e.g., conversion from RGB 4:4:4 to YCbCr 4:2:0), or performing a remapping of the input picture components in order to get a signal distribution more resilient to compression (for instance using a histogram equalization of one of the color components). Metadata may be associated with the pre-processing, and attached to the bitstream.

[0099] In the encoder 200, a picture is encoded by the encoder elements as described below. The picture to be encoded is partitioned (202) and processed in units of, for example, coding units (CUs). Each unit is encoded using, for example, either an intra or inter mode. When a unit is encoded in an intra mode, itperforms intra prediction (260). In an inter mode, motion estimation (275) and compensation (270) are performed. The encoder decides (205) which one of the intra mode or inter mode to use for encoding the unit, and indicates the intra / inter decision by, for example, a prediction mode flag (e.g., indication). Prediction residuals are calculated, for example, by subtracting (210) the predicted block from the original image block.

[0100] The prediction residuals are then transformed (225) and quantized (230). The quantized transform coefficients, as well as motion vectors and other syntax elements, such as picture partitioning information, are entropy coded (245) to output a bitstream. The encoder can skip the transform and apply quantization directly to the non-transformed residual signal. The encoder can bypass both transform and quantization, i.e., the residual is coded directly without the application of the transform or quantization processes.

[0101] The encoder decodes an encoded block to provide a reference for further predictions. The quantized transform coefficients are de-quantized (240) and inverse transformed (250) to decode prediction residuals. Combining (255) the decoded prediction residuals and the predicted block, an image block is reconstructed. In-loop filters (265) are applied to the reconstructed picture to perform, for example, deblocking / SAO (Sample Adaptive Offset) / ALF (Adaptive Loop Filtering) filtering to reduce encoding artifacts. The filtered image is stored at a reference picture buffer (280).

[0102] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a video decoder. In example decoder 300, a bitstream is decoded by the decoder elements as described below. Video decoder 300 generally performs a decoding pass reciprocal to the encoding pass as described in FIG. 2. The encoder 200 also generally performs video decoding as part of encoding video data.

[0103] In particular, the input of the decoder includes a video bitstream, which may be generated by video encoder 200. The bitstream is first entropy decoded (330) to obtain transform coefficients, prediction modes, motion vectors, and other coded information. The picture partition information indicates how the picture is partitioned. The decoder may therefore divide (335) the picture according to the decoded picture partitioning information. The transform coefficients are de-quantized (340) and inverse transformed (350) to decode the prediction residuals. Combining (355) the decoded prediction residuals and the predicted block, an image block is reconstructed. The predicted block may be obtained (370) from intra prediction (360) or motion- compensated prediction (i.e., inter prediction) (375). In-loop filters (365) are applied to the reconstructed image. The filtered image is stored at a reference picture buffer (380). In examples (e.g., for a given picture) the contents of the reference picture buffer 380 on the decoder 300 side may be identical to the contents of the reference picture buffer 280 on the encoder 200 side (e.g., for the same picture).

[0104] The decoded picture can further go through post-decoding processing (385), for example, an inverse color transform (e.g., conversion from YCbCr 4:2:0 to RGB 4:4:4) or an inverse remapping performing the inverse of the remapping process performed in the pre-encoding processing (201). The post-decodingprocessing can use metadata derived in the pre-encoding processing and signaled in the bitstream. In an example, the decoded images (e.g., after application of the in-loop filters (365) and / or after post-decoding processing (385), if post-decoding processing is used) may be sent to a display device for rendering to a user.

[0105] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a system in which various aspects and examples described herein may be implemented. System 400 may be embodied as a device including the various components described below and is configured to perform one or more of the aspects described in this document. Examples of such devices, include, but are not limited to, various electronic devices such as personal computers, laptop computers, smartphones, tablet computers, digital multimedia set top boxes, digital television receivers, personal video recording systems, connected home appliances, and servers. Elements of system 400, singly or in combination, may be embodied in a single integrated circuit (IC), multiple ICs, and / or discrete components. For example, in at least one example, the processing and encoder / decoder elements of system 400 are distributed across multiple ICs and / or discrete components. In various examples, the system 400 is communicatively coupled to one or more other systems, or other electronic devices, via, for example, a communications bus or through dedicated input and / or output ports. In various examples, the system 400 is configured to implement one or more of the aspects described in this document.

[0106] The system 400 includes at least one processor 410 configured to execute instructions loaded therein for implementing, for example, the various aspects described in this document. Processor 410 can include embedded memory, input output interface, and various other circuitries as known in the art. The system 400 includes at least one memory 420 (e.g., a volatile memory device, and / or a non-volatile memory device). System 400 includes a storage device 440, which can include non-volatile memory and / or volatile memory, including, but not limited to, Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), flash, magnetic disk drive, and / or optical disk drive. The storage device 440 can include an internal storage device, an attached storage device (including detachable and non-detachable storage devices), and / or a network accessible storage device, as non-limiting examples.

[0107] System 400 includes an encoder / decoder module 430 configured, for example, to process data to provide an encoded video or decoded video, and the encoder / decoder module 430 can include its own processor and memory. The encoder / decoder module 430 represents module(s) that may be included in a device to perform the encoding and / or decoding functions. As is known, a device can include one or both of the encoding and decoding modules. Additionally, encoder / decoder module 430 may be implemented as aseparate element of system 400 or may be incorporated within processor 410 as a combination of hardware and software as known to those skilled in the art.

[0108] Program code to be loaded onto processor 410 or encoder / decoder 430 to perform the various aspects described in this document may be stored in storage device 440 and subsequently loaded onto memory 420 for execution by processor 410. In accordance with various examples, one or more of processor 410, memory 420, storage device 440, and encoder / decoder module 430 can store one or more of various items during the performance of the processes described in this document. Such stored items can include, but are not limited to, the input video, the decoded video or portions of the decoded video, the bitstream, matrices, variables, and intermediate or final results from the processing of equations, formulas, operations, and operational logic.

[0109] In examples, memory inside of the processor 410 and / or the encoder / decoder module 430 is used to store instructions and to provide working memory for processing that is needed during encoding or decoding. In other examples, however, a memory external to the processing device (for example, the processing device may be either the processor 410 or the encoder / decoder module 430) is used for one or more of these functions. The external memory may be the memory 420 and / or the storage device 440, for example, a dynamic volatile memory and / or a non-volatile flash memory. In several examples, an external non-volatile flash memory is used to store the operating system of, for example, a television. In at least one example, a fast external dynamic volatile memory such as a RAM is used as working memory for video encoding and decoding operations.

[0110] The input to the elements of system 400 may be provided through various input devices as indicated in block 445. Such input devices include, but are not limited to, (i) a radio frequency (RF) portion that receives an RF signal transmitted, for example, over the air by a broadcaster, (ii) a Component (COMP) input terminal (or a set of COMP input terminals), (iii) a Universal Serial Bus (USB) input terminal, and / or (iv) a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) input terminal. Other examples, not shown in FIG. 4, include composite video.

[0111] In various examples, the input devices of block 445 have associated respective input processing elements as known in the art. For example, the RF portion may be associated with elements suitable for (i) selecting a desired frequency (also referred to as selecting a signal, or band-limiting a signal to a band of frequencies), (ii) downconverting the selected signal, (iii) band-limiting again to a narrower band of frequencies to select (for example) a signal frequency band which may be referred to as a channel in certain examples, (iv) demodulating the downconverted and band-limited signal, (v) performing error correction, and / or (vi) demultiplexing to select the desired stream of data packets. The RF portion of various examples includes one or more elements to perform these functions, for example, frequency selectors, signal selectors,band-limiters, channel selectors, filters, downconverters, demodulators, error correctors, and demultiplexers. The RF portion can include a tuner that performs various of these functions, including, for example, downconverting the received signal to a lower frequency (for example, an intermediate frequency or a nearbaseband frequency) or to baseband. In one set-top box example, the RF portion and its associated input processing element receives an RF signal transmitted over a wired (for example, cable) medium, and performs frequency selection by filtering, downconverting, and filtering again to a desired frequency band. Various examples rearrange the order of the above-described (and other) elements, remove some of these elements, and / or add other elements performing similar or different functions. Adding elements can include inserting elements in between existing elements, such as, for example, inserting amplifiers and an analog- to-digital converter. In various examples, the RF portion includes an antenna.

[0112] The USB and / or HDMI terminals can include respective interface processors for connecting system 400 to other electronic devices across USB and / or HDMI connections. It is to be understood that various aspects of input processing, for example, Reed-Solomon error correction, may be implemented, for example, within a separate input processing IC or within processor 410 as necessary. Similarly, aspects of USB or HDMI interface processing may be implemented within separate interface ICs or within processor 410 as necessary. The demodulated, error corrected, and demultiplexed stream is provided to various processing elements, including, for example, processor 410, and encoder / decoder 430 operating in combination with the memory and storage elements to process the datastream as necessary for presentation on an output device.

[0113] Various elements of system 400 may be provided within an integrated housing, Within the integrated housing, the various elements may be interconnected and transmit data therebetween using suitable connection arrangement 425, for example, an internal bus as known in the art, including the Inter- IC (I2C) bus, wiring, and printed circuit boards.

[0114] The system 400 includes communication interface 450 that enables communication with other devices via communication channel 460. The communication interface 450 can include, but is not limited to, a transceiver configured to transmit and to receive data over communication channel 460. The communication interface 450 can include, but is not limited to, a modem or network card and the communication channel 460 may be implemented, for example, within a wired and / or a wireless medium.

[0115] Data is streamed, or otherwise provided, to the system 400, in various examples, using a wireless network such as a Wi-Fi network, for example IEEE 802.11 (IEEE refers to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). The Wi-Fi signal of these examples is received over the communications channel 460 and the communications interface 450 which are adapted for Wi-Fi communications. The communications channel 460 of these examples is typically connected to an access point or router thatprovides access to external networks including the Internet for allowing streaming applications and other over-the-top communications. Other examples provide streamed data to the system 400 using a set-top box that delivers the data over the HDMI connection of the input block 445. Still other examples provide streamed data to the system 400 using the RF connection of the input block 445. As indicated above, various examples provide data in a non-streaming manner. Additionally, various examples use wireless networks other than Wi-Fi, for example a cellular network or a Bluetooth® network.

[0116] The system 400 can provide an output signal to various output devices, including a display 475, speakers 485, and other peripheral devices 495. The display 475 of various examples includes one or more of, for example, a touchscreen display, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, a curved display, and / or a foldable display. The display 475 may be for a television, a tablet, a laptop, a cell phone (mobile phone), or other device. The display 475 can also be integrated with other components (for example, as in a smart phone), or separate (for example, an external monitor for a laptop). The other peripheral devices 495 include, in various examples, one or more of a stand-alone digital video disc (or digital versatile disc) (DVD, for both terms), a disk player, a stereo system, and / or a lighting system. Various examples use one or more peripheral devices 495 that provide a function based on the output of the system 400. For example, a disk player performs the function of playing the output of the system 400.

[0117] In various examples, control signals are communicated between the system 400 and the display 475, speakers 485, or other peripheral devices 495 using signaling such as AV. Link, Consumer Electronics Control (CEC), or other communications protocols that enable device-to-device control with or without user intervention. The output devices may be communicatively coupled to system 400 via dedicated connections through respective interfaces 470, 480, and 490. Alternatively, the output devices may be connected to system 400 using the communications channel 460 via the communications interface 450. The display 475 and speakers 485 may be integrated in a single unit with the other components of system 400 in an electronic device such as, for example, a television. In various examples, the display interface 470 includes a display driver, such as, for example, a timing controller (T Con) chip.

[0118] The display 475 and speakers 485 can alternatively be separate from one or more of the other components, for example, if the RF portion of input 445 is part of a separate set-top box. In various examples in which the display 475 and speakers 485 are external components, the output signal may be provided via dedicated output connections, including, for example, HDMI ports, USB ports, or COMP outputs.

[0119] The examples may be carried out by computer software implemented by the processor 410 or by hardware, or by a combination of hardware and software. As a non-limiting example, the examples may be implemented by one or more integrated circuits. The memory 420 may be of any type appropriate to the technical environment and may be implemented using any appropriate data storage technology, such asoptical memory devices, magnetic memory devices, semiconductor-based memory devices, fixed memory, and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. The processor 410 may be of any type appropriate to the technical environment, and can encompass one or more of microprocessors, general purpose computers, special purpose computers, and processors based on a multi-core architecture, as non-limiting examples.

[0120] Various implementations involve decoding. “Decoding”, as used in this application, can encompass all or part of the processes performed, for example, on a received encoded sequence in order to produce a final output suitable for display. In various examples, such processes include one or more of the processes typically performed by a decoder, for example, entropy decoding, inverse quantization, inverse transformation, and differential decoding. In various examples, such processes also, or alternatively, include processes performed by a decoder of various implementations described in this application, for example, for a current chroma block, identifying a reference block; deriving a guiding block vector (BV) from the reference block based on the reference block being coded with one or more of intra block copy (IBC) or Intra temporal motion prediction (TMP) mode; and determining an auto-relocated block vector prediction (AR-BVP) for the current chroma block based on the guiding BV. In various examples, such processes also, or alternatively, include processes performed by a decoder of various implementations described in this application, for example, identifying a plurality of automatic relocated block vector predictor candidates for a current block; determining to cease identification of the plurality of automatic relocated block vector predictor candidates for the current block based on a condition; and decoding the current block based on the plurality of automatic relocated block vector predictor candidates.

[0121] As further examples, in one example “decoding” refers only to entropy decoding, in another example “decoding” refers only to differential decoding, and in another example “decoding” refers to a combination of entropy decoding and differential decoding. Whether the phrase “decoding process” is intended to refer specifically to a subset of operations or generally to the broader decoding process will be clear based on the context of the specific descriptions and is believed to be well understood by those skilled in the art.

[0122] Various implementations involve encoding. In an analogous way to the above discussion about “decoding”, “encoding” as used in this application can encompass all or part of the processes performed, for example, on an input video sequence in order to produce an encoded bitstream. In various examples, such processes include one or more of the processes typically performed by an encoder, for example, partitioning, differential encoding, transformation, quantization, and entropy encoding. In various examples, such processes also, or alternatively, include processes performed by an encoder of various implementations described in this application, for example, for a current chroma block, identifying a reference block; derivinga guiding block vector (BV) from the reference block based on the reference block being coded with one or more of intra block copy (IBC) or Intra temporal motion prediction (TMP) mode; and determining an autorelocated block vector prediction (AR-BVP) for the current chroma block based on the guiding BV. In various examples, such processes also, or alternatively, include processes performed by an encoder of various implementations described in this application, for example, identifying a plurality of automatic relocated block vector predictor candidates for a current block; determining to cease identification of the plurality of automatic relocated block vector predictor candidates for the current block based on a condition; and decoding the current block based on the plurality of automatic relocated block vector predictor candidates.

[0123] As further examples, in one example “encoding” refers only to entropy encoding, in another example “encoding” refers only to differential encoding, and in another example “encoding” refers to a combination of differential encoding and entropy encoding. Whether the phrase “encoding process” is intended to refer specifically to a subset of operations or generally to the broader encoding process will be clear based on the context of the specific descriptions and is believed to be well understood by those skilled in the art.

[0124] Note that syntax elements as used herein, such as indications and / or flags, indices, etc., are descriptive terms. As described herein, the terms flag and indication may be used interchangeably. As such, they do not preclude the use of other syntax element names.

[0125] When a figure is presented as a flow diagram, it should be understood that it also provides a block diagram of a corresponding apparatus. Similarly, when a figure is presented as a block diagram, it should be understood that it also provides a flow diagram of a corresponding method / process.

[0126] The implementations and aspects described herein may be implemented in, for example, a method or a process, an apparatus, a software program, a data stream, or a signal. Even if only discussed in the context of a single form of implementation (for example, discussed only as a method), the implementation of features discussed can also be implemented in other forms (for example, an apparatus or program). An apparatus may be implemented in, for example, appropriate hardware, software, and firmware. The methods may be implemented in, for example, a processor, which refers to processing devices in general, including, for example, a computer, a microprocessor, an integrated circuit, or a programmable logic device. Processors also include communication devices, such as, for example, computers, cell phones, portable / personal digital assistants ("PDAs"), and other devices that facilitate communication of information between end-users.

[0127] Reference to “one example” or “an example” or “one implementation” or “an implementation”, as well as other variations thereof, means that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, and so forth described in connection with the example is included in at least one example. Thus, the appearances of thephrase “in one example” or “in an example” or “in one implementation” or “in an implementation”, as well any other variations, appearing in various places throughout this application are not necessarily all referring to the same example.

[0128] Additionally, this application may refer to “determining” various pieces of information. Determining the information can include one or more of, for example, estimating the information, calculating the information, predicting the information, or retrieving the information from memory. Obtaining may include receiving, retrieving, constructing, generating, and / or determining.

[0129] Further, this application may refer to “accessing” various pieces of information. Accessing the information can include one or more of, for example, receiving the information, retrieving the information (for example, from memory), storing the information, moving the information, copying the information, calculating the information, determining the information, predicting the information, or estimating the information.

[0130] Additionally, this application may refer to “receiving” various pieces of information. Receiving is, as with “accessing”, intended to be a broad term. Receiving the information can include one or more of, for example, accessing the information, or retrieving the information (for example, from memory). Further, “receiving” is typically involved, in one way or another, during operations such as, for example, storing the information, processing the information, transmitting the information, moving the information, copying the information, erasing the information, calculating the information, determining the information, predicting the information, or estimating the information.

[0131] It is to be appreciated that the use of any of the following 7”, “and / or”, and “at least one of”, for example, in the cases of “A / B”, “A and / or B” and “at least one of A and B”, is intended to encompass the selection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of the second listed option (B) only, or the selection of both options (A and B). As a further example, in the cases of “A, B, and / or C” and “at least one of A, B, and C”, such phrasing is intended to encompass the selection ofthe first listed option (A) only, or the selection of the second listed option (B) only, or the selection of the third listed option (C) only, or the selection of the first and the second listed options (A and B) only, or the selection of the first and third listed options (A and C) only, or the selection of the second and third listed options (B and C) only, or the selection of all three options (A and B and C). This may be extended, as is clear to one of ordinary skill in this and related arts, for as many items as are listed.

[0132] Also, as used herein, the word “signal” refers to, among other things, indicating something to a corresponding decoder. Encoder signals may include, for example, flags, indices, etc. In this way, in an example the same parameter is used at both the encoder side and the decoder side. Thus, for example, an encoder can transmit (explicit signaling) a particular parameter to the decoder so that the decoder can use the same particular parameter. Conversely, if the decoder already has the particular parameter as well asothers, then signaling may be used without transmitting (implicit signaling) to simply allow the decoder to know and select the particular parameter. By avoiding transmission of any actual functions, a bit savings is realized in various examples. It is to be appreciated that signaling may be accomplished in a variety of ways. For example, one or more syntax elements, flags, and so forth are used to signal information to a corresponding decoder in various examples. While the preceding relates to the verb form of the word “signal”, the word “signal” can also be used herein as a noun.

[0133] As will be evident to one of ordinary skill in the art, implementations may produce a variety of signals formatted to carry information that may be, for example, stored or transmitted. The information can include, for example, instructions for performing a method, or data produced by one of the described implementations. For example, a signal may be formatted to carry the bitstream of a described example. Such a signal may be formatted, for example, as an electromagnetic wave (for example, using a radio frequency portion of spectrum) or as a baseband signal. The formatting may include, for example, encoding a data stream and modulating a carrier with the encoded data stream. The information that the signal carries may be, for example, analog or digital information. The signal may be transmitted over a variety of different wired or wireless links, as is known. The signal may be stored on, or accessed or received from, a processor- readable medium.

[0134] Many examples are described herein. Features of examples may be provided alone or in any combination, across various claim categories and types. Further, examples may include one or more of the features, devices, or aspects described herein, alone or in any combination, across various claim categories and types. For example, features described herein may be implemented in a bitstream or signal that includes information generated as described herein. The information may allow a decoder to decode a bitstream, the encoder, bitstream, and / or decoder according to any of the embodiments described. For example, features described herein may be implemented by creating and / or transmitting and / or receiving and / or decoding a bitstream or signal. For example, features described herein may be implemented a method, process, apparatus, medium storing instructions, medium storing data, or signal. For example, features described herein may be implemented by a TV, set-top box, cell phone, tablet, or other electronic device that performs decoding. The TV, set-top box, cell phone, tablet, or other electronic device may display (e.g., using a monitor, screen, or other type of display) a resulting image (e.g., an image from residual reconstruction of the video bitstream). The TV, set-top box, cell phone, tablet, or other electronic device may receive a signal including an encoded image and perform decoding.

[0135] Features described herein may be associated with auto relocated block vector prediction (AR- BVP).

[0136] AR-BVP candidates may be used for IBC merge / AMVP list: including searching and selecting AR- BVP candidates, applying AR-BVP to chroma BV derivation, and using AR-BVP to AR-MVP for inter merge / AMVP candidate list.

[0137] Features described herein may be associated with intra block copy (IBC) merge / adaptive motion vector prediction (AMVP) list construction.

[0138] The block vector (BV) for intra block copy (IBC) may be obtained and signaled as follows. In IBC skip / merge mode, a merge candidate index may be used to indicate which of the block vectors in the list from neighboring candidate IBC coded blocks is used to predict the current block. In IBC adaptive motion vector prediction (AMVP) mode, a block vector difference may be coded in the same way as a motion vector difference.

[0139] The IBC merge / AMVP list may include adjacent spatial candidates: BV predictors (BVPs) from Above (A), Left (L), Above-right (AR), Bottom-left (BL), and Above-left (AL) spatial neighboring blocks, if IBC or intra template matching (IntraTMP) coded (as shown in FIG. 5).

[0140] The IBC merge / AMVP list may include non-adjacent candidates: predictors from non-adjacent spatial neighboring blocks, if IBC or IntraTMP coded (as shown in FIG. 6).

[0141] The IBC merge / AMVP list may include history-based BVP (HBVP) candidates for IBC merge list; the HBVP table size for IBC may be increased to 25. After up to 20 IBC merge candidates are derived with full pruning, those HBVP candidates may be reordered together. After reordering, the first 6 candidates with the lowest template matching costs may be selected as the final candidates in the IBC merge list.

[0142] The IBC merge / AMVP list may include padding candidates. Three candidates may be located on the nearest corners of the IBC reference region, and three additional candidates may be determined in the middle of the three sub-regions (A, B, and C), whose coordinates are determined by the width, and the height of the current block and the AX and AY parameters, as is depicted in FIG. 7.

[0143] If an IBC merge / AMVP candidate is valid, the IBC merge / AMVP candidate may be inserted into the IBC merge / AMVP candidate list. Template based adaptive reordering (ARMC-TM) may be applied to reorder IBC merge list.

[0144] Features described herein may be associated with auto relocated block vector prediction (AR- BVP).

[0145] AR-BVP may be introduced into IBC merge / AMVP candidate list construction. AR-BVP may be derived as a guiding BV plus a BV of a reference block, located by the guiding BV. The initial guiding BV may be set to be an existing BVP already in the IBC merge / AMVP candidate list. The AR-BVP candidates may be inserted after the HBVP candidates.

[0146] As shown in FIG. 8, a guiding block vector BVo.i associated with the current block Bo may point to a reference block Bi. If Bi has a BV denoted as BVi ,2 pointing to a reference block B2, then BV02, given by BVo,2 = BVo.i +BV1 2, may be defined as the AR-BVP, guided by BVo.i . Similarly, BVo,n+i may be derived by:

[0147] BVo n+1 =BVojn+BVnjn+1 = BVo,l+BVl,2 +...+BVn-1,n +BVn,n+1.

[0148] The length of the AR-BVP trace path (e.g., the value of n) may not be a constraint, e.g., a AR-BVP may be continually derived as long as there is a guiding BV in a reference block pointing to its reference block. To restrict the complexity, the length of the AR-BVP trace path may be limited to 1 or 2 (e.g., n=1 or n=2).

[0149] When deriving BVo,n+i guided by BVn.n+i, five positions, including top-left (e.g., LT in FIG. 9), topright (e.g., RT in FIG. 9), center (e.g., Ctr in FIG. 9), bottom-left (e.g., LB in FIG. 9), and bottom-right (e.g., RB in FIG. 9) positions of Bnmay be checked to find BVn,n+i.

[0150] Features described herein may be associated with direct block vector (DBV) mode for chroma prediction. The intra prediction modes for chroma components may include 6 cross component linear model (LM) modes, convolution cross component model (CCCM) mode, gradient linear model (GLM) mode, DIMD mode, direct mode (DM), and four default intra prediction modes.

[0151] In the signaling of chroma intra mode, an intra_chroma _pred_mode may be signaled to indicate a specific coding mode, as shown in Table 1.Table 1 - The binarization process for intra_chroma _pred_mode.

[0152] Video codecs may include a method of chroma prediction using a block vector in IBC mode or IntraTMP mode. In single tree partition, the prediction process of IBC may be applied for luma and chroma components, and the chroma block vector may be derived from the corresponding luma block vector depending on the chroma format sampling structure. In dual tree partition, the prediction process of IBC may be applied for a luma component.

[0153] The coding efficiency of chroma intra prediction may be modified for screen content, e.g., direct block vector (DBV) mode.

[0154] For chroma components, when chroma dual tree is activated in intra slice, if one of the luma blocks (the following five locations from center, top-left, top-right, bottom-left, to bottom-right in order in FIG. 10) is coded with I BC / I ntraTMP mode, its block vector bvL may be used and scaled to derive chroma block vector bvC. The bv scaling process may be determined according to template matching.

[0155] As shown in FIG. 11 , by using the position of the current chroma block (xCb, yCb) and its bvC, the corresponding offset position (xCb+ bvC[0] , yCb + bvC[1]) may be determined, and a block copying prediction may be performed.

[0156] A CU level flag may be signaled to indicate whether the proposed DBV mode is applied, as shown in Table 2. Table 2 includes the binarization process for intra_chroma _pred_mode, for example.Table 2

[0157] Features described herein may be associated with inter merge / AMVP list.

[0158] For example, two modes for coding the motion information may be used, which are merge / skip and AMVP.

[0159] The merge / AMVP candidate list may be constructed with the following types of MVP candidates in order: 1) Spatial motion vector predictor (MVP) from spatial neighbors CUs (as shown in FIG. 5); 2 Temporal MVP from collocated CUs (as shown in FIG. 12); 3) Non-adjacent spatial merge candidates (NASMVP), whose spatial locations are as shown in FIG. 6; 4) History-based MVP (HMVP) from a first-in- first-out (FIFO) table; 5) Pairwise average MVP; and / or 6) Zero MVs.

[0160] A redundancy check may be conducted between derived MVPs, e.g., duplicate derived MVP may be discarded. For example, a merge list construction process may be illustrated by FIG. 13.

[0161] The searching process of AR-BVP candidates for constructing the IBC merge / AMVP list may be speed-up and simplified. The AR-BVP searching process may be extended with a guiding MV of inter reference block. A flexible design of possible positions to check and find the guiding BV may be expected. AR-BVP candidates (e.g., desirable AR-BVP candidates) may be selected based on the template cost. Theconcept of AR-BVP may be extended to chroma BV derivation, and AR-MVP may be used for inter merge / AMVP candidate list.

[0162] AR-BVP may be performed. AR-BVP candidates for IBC merge / AMVP list may be identified. The AR-BVP candidate derivation process may be simplified by early termination based on conditions. The AR- BVP candidate derivation process may be extended by using a guiding MV of an inter reference block. The positions of the reference block to check and find the guiding BV used for an AR-BVP candidate derivation process may be identified. The positions of the reference block to check and find the guiding BV used for an AR-BVP candidate derivation process may be identified. The available AR-BVP candidates may be reordered and selected based on template costs. The concept of AR-BVP candidates may be extended for chroma BV derivation. AR-MVP may be used for inter merge / AMVP candidate list.

[0163] As described herein, AR-BVP may be performed. AR-BVP candidates for an IBC merge / AMVP list may be identified. AR-BVP may be applied for chroma BV derivation. AR-BVP may be used in AR-MVP for an inter merge / AMVP candidate list, as described herein.

[0164] Auto relocated block vector prediction (AR-BVP) candidates may be modified. Auto relocated block vector prediction (AR-BVP) candidates guided by existing BVs in the IBC merge / AMVP candidate list may be inserted after the HBVP candidates, if the AR-BVP candidates do not exist in the IBC merge / AMVP candidate list.

[0165] Features described herein may be associated with early termination of the AR-BVP candidate derivation.

[0166] The existing BVPs already in the IBC merge / AMVP candidate list may be set to be the initial guiding BVs. If 6 BVPs are already available in the IBC merge / AMVP candidate list, and (e.g. , all) five spatial positions of the reference block pointed by each BVP may give 5 different guiding BVs, 6 x 5 = 30 possible AR-BVP trace paths may be generated, for example. The length of the AR-BVP trace path n may not be a constraint or may be limited to a predefined value (e.g., n=1 or n=2), which may or may not be suitable for (e.g., all) the IBC coded blocks.

[0167] To speed-up and simplify AR-BVP candidate derivation, the AR-BVP candidate derivation process may be simplified by early termination based on conditions.

[0168] There may be multiple (e.g., two) categories of early termination conditions.

[0169] A first early termination condition may be based on a pre-defined maximum number NumARBVPof the allowed AR-BVP candidates. After up to NumARBVP(e.g., NumARBVP= 5 ) IBC AR-BVP candidate(s) are derived with full pruning and are included in the IBC merge / AMVP candidate list, a following AR-BVP candidate derivation process may be skipped.

[0170] In examples, the first early termination condition may be based on a pre-defined maximum number of the allowed BVP candidates NumBVPused to derive the AR-BVP candidate. Up to NumBVP(e.g., NumBVP= 2) existing IBC BVP candidate(s) in the IBC merge / AMVP candidate list may be set as initial guiding BVs used for deriving the AR-BVP candidates. The remaining existing BVP candidates in the list may be skipped.

[0171] In examples, the first early termination condition may be based on a pre-defined maximum number of the allowed guiding BVs NumguiidingBVused to find the AR-BVP candidates.

[0172] In examples, the first early termination condition may be based on a pre-defined maximum number of the allowed AR-BVP trace paths.

[0173] A second early termination condition may be based on a pre-defined AR-BVP candidate reference region / area related to the current block. Contents or features of the block may be less similar when the reference block is a distance from (e.g., far away from) the current block. The location of the reference block pointed by the AR-BVP candidate may be checked to decide whether to early terminate the AR-BVP candidate searching process. Once the reference block pointed by an AR-BVP candidate is outside of a predefined reference region / area related to the current block, a following AR-BVP derivation may be skipped.

[0174] In examples, the early termination conditions (e.g., the maximum number of the allowed AR-BVP candidates; the maximum number of the allowed BVP candidates / guiding BVs used to derive the AR-BVP candidate; the maximum length of the AR-BVP trace path; the maximum number of the allowed AR-BVP trace paths; and / or the AR-BVP candidate reference region / area) may be pre-defined, may be signaled in sequence parameter set (SPS) / view parameter set (VPS) I picture parameter set (PPS) / picture header (PH), and / or may be determined based on some conditions / parameters, such as block size, QP, color components, slice types, content types, frame resolution, and / or configuration.

[0175] AR-BVP searching may be continued with a guiding MV of an inter reference block. When a reference block is inter coded, the AR-BVP searching process may be terminated, since a BV may not be available from the inter reference block. However, a reference block of the inter reference block, which is pointed by an MV, may be a BV-based block (e.g., I BC / I ntraTMP block).

[0176] To extend the possible AR-BVP searching process, a MV of an inter reference block may be used as a guiding MV for deriving AR-BVP candidates. If an inter block is reached, the AR-BVP searching process may continue with its MV, to check if a BV-based block may be reached.

[0177] As shown in FIG. 14, a motion vector MVo.i associated with the current block Bo may point to a reference block Bi. If Bi has a BV denoted as BVi ,2 pointing to a reference block B2, then BV02, given by the sum of the current motion vector and the reference block vector providing the same vector precision (e.g., both are integer pixel based) BVo,2 = MVO,I+BVI,2, may be considered as the AR-BVP, guided by MVo . Theprediction for the current block Bo may be performed by taking the reference block B2 pointed by BV02 in the reference picture indicated by MVo.i. If the reference block B2 has a BV denoted as BV23 pointing to a reference block B3, an AR-BVP BVo.3, given by BVo.a = MVo +BV1.2+BV2.3, may be derived. As long as there is a guiding BV or MV in a refence block pointing to its reference block, an AR-BVP may be continually derived.

[0178] In examples, if the reference block Bi of the current block Bo is pointed by a BV, a motion vector may be pointed to another reference block B2 in a reference picture. If there is a guiding BV of the reference block B2 in the reference picture pointing to its reference block B3, an AR-BVP may be derived.

[0179] In examples, to reduce complexity, once the reference block guided by a MV from the current block is not a BV-based block, the searching process may be terminated.

[0180] Positions of the reference block may be used to check and find the guiding BV used for deriving AR-BVP candidates. In examples, when deriving BVo,n+i guided by BVn,n+i , five positions as shown in FIG. 9 may be checked to find BVn,n+i . Possible positions may be checked to find the guiding BV.

[0181] In examples, the designs of possible positions of the reference block may be used to check and find the guiding BV used for deriving AR-BVP candidates. In examples, the possible positions to check and find the guiding BV may be based on conditions, such as the block size. For example, center position of Brmay be checked to find BVn,n+i for small block size (e.g., block size is smaller than 16x16). More than five positions may be to be checked for large block size (e.g., block size is larger than 16x16), including four additional top-half (e.g., HT in FIG. 15), bottom-half (e.g., HB in FIG. 15), left-half (e.g., HL in FIG. 15), and right-half (e.g., HR in FIG. 15) positions of Bn.

[0182] In examples, the possible positions to check and find the guiding BV may include the temporal location(s) from the collocated picture. FIG. 16 depicts a temporal location at the center position of Bnin the collocated picture used to find BVn,n+i(e.g., Ctr_Tmp in FIG. 16). A collocated picture may be as follows: the index of the collocated reference picture list and the reference index to be used for derivation of the colocated CU may be explicitly signaled in the slice header. If BVn,n+iis found at the temporal location of Bn, BVn.n+i may be used as a guiding BV to derive a new AR-BVP.

[0183] AR-BVP candidates may be reordered and selected based on template cost. In examples, the available AR-BVP candidates may be reordered based on template costs in ascending order. One or more AR-BVP candidates (e.g., the best AR-BVP candidates) may be selected with lowest template costs into the IBC merge / AMVP list.

[0184] For example, after searching and deriving the available AR-BVP candidates, the sum of absolute transformed differences (SATD) between the template of the current block and the template of the referenceblock via each AR-BVP candidate may be computed. The AR-BVP candidates may be reordered in ascending order based on the template costs.

[0185] Up to one pre-defined maximum number NumARBVP(e.g., NumARBVP= 5) of the allowed AR- BVP candidates may be selected and included to the IBC merge / AMVP list from the reordered AR-BVP candidates.

[0186] In examples, AR-BVP candidate may be allowed to be appended in the IBC merge / AMVP list if its template SATD cost is less than a specific threshold Th. For example, the template cost of each available AR-BVP candidate may be calculated and be compared to a threshold obtained based on the template cost of the initial guiding BV, e.g., Th = satdTMB 0 ±. If the template cost of one available BV-based candidate satdTMB1ZBVo n+iis less than the threshold, e.g., satdTMB1 / BVo n+i< satdTMBF0;1, the AR-BVP candidate BVon+i may be allowed to be appended into the IBC merge / AMVP list.

[0187] In examples, the value of this specific threshold Th may be pre-defined and fixed, be signaled in SPS / VPS / PPS / PH, or be derived based on some conditions / parameters, such as block size.

[0188] AR-BVP may be extended to chroma BV derivation. The concept of AR-BVP may be applied for chroma BV derivation to enrich the chroma BV candidates. In examples, the chroma block vector may be derived from a BVP and / or AR-BVP of the corresponding luma blocks.

[0189] In examples, when chroma dual tree is activated in intra slice, if one of the luma blocks at the predefined locations (e.g., Bo) is coded with IBC / IntraTMP mode, its block vector (e.g., BVo.i) may be used and scaled to derive chroma direct block vector (DBV). The block vector (e.g., BVo ) may be used as a guiding block vector pointing to a reference block Bi. If Bi is also coded with IBC / IntraTMP mode, its BV may be denoted as BVi ,2 pointing to a reference block B2, then BV02, given by BV02 = BV01 +BV1 2, may be defined as the AR-BVP, guided by BVo . The AR-BVP (e.g., BV02) may be used and scaled to derive chroma DBV. A new AR-BVP may be continually derived as long as there is a guiding BV in a luma reference block pointing to its luma reference block.

[0190] After searching and deriving the available chroma block vectors scaled from luma BVP and AR- BVP candidates, the SATD cost between the template of the current chroma block and the template of the reference chroma block via a scaled chroma block vector may be computed. The scaled chroma block vectors may be reordered in ascending order based on template cost, and the best chroma block vector with lowest template cost may be selected as the chroma DBV.

[0191] In examples, AR-BVP of the corresponding luma blocks could be used to derive the chroma block vector only when chroma dual tree is activated in intra slice.

[0192] In examples, AR-BVP of the corresponding luma blocks may be used to derive the chroma block vector when a single tree is activated. To further explore the possible chroma block vectors, a chroma block vector may be derived from BVP and / or AR-BVP of the neighboring chroma blocks. For example, if one of the adjacent spatial chroma blocks (the following five locations in FIG. 5) is coded with I BC / I ntraTMP mode, its chroma block vector may be directly inherited as the chroma block vector of the current chroma block.

[0193] In examples, the chroma block vectors from the adjacent spatial chroma blocks may be used as guiding block vectors to derive an AR-BVP if the corresponding reference chroma block is coded with I BC / I ntraTMP mode. The AR-BVP may be directly inherited as the chroma block vector of the current chroma block. A new AR-BVP may be continually derived as long as there is a guiding BV in a chroma reference block pointing to its chroma reference block. The final chroma block vector may be determined according to template cost.

[0194] In examples, a chroma block vector from non-adjacent spatial neighboring chroma blocks, historybased chroma block vectors from a FIFO table, and the corresponding derived chroma AR-BVPs, may be directly inherited as the chroma block vector of the current chroma block.

[0195] In examples, an index of best chroma block vector from the possible neighboring chroma candidates may be signaled into video data (e.g., the bitstream). In some examples, only BVP, or only AR- BVP of the neighboring chroma blocks may be used to derive the chroma block vector. In examples, BVP and / or AR-BVP of the neighboring chroma blocks may be used to derive the chroma block vector only when chroma dual tree is activated in intra slice, or only when single tree is activated.

[0196] To further explore the correlation between the current chroma block and its neighboring chroma blocks, chroma intra prediction modes of current chroma block may be derived from the neighboring chroma blocks. For example, chroma intra prediction modes of the adjacent spatial chroma blocks, or of the non- adjacent spatial chroma blocks, or of the history-based chroma intra prediction modes from a FIFO table, may be used as the chrome intra prediction mode of the current chroma block.

[0197] AR-BVP to auto relocated motion vector prediction (AR-MVP) may be used for an inter merge / AMVP candidate list. AR-BVP could be used for inter merge / AMVP candidate list construction.

[0198] In examples, AR-MVP may be derived as a guiding MV plus a scaled MV of a reference block, located by the guiding MV. The initial guiding MV may be set to be an existing MVP in the inter merge / AMVP candidate list. The AR-MVP candidates may be inserted after the HMVP candidates, as depicted in FIG. 17.

[0199] As depicted in FIG. 18, in the derivation of the AR-MVP candidate, a guiding motion vector MVo.i associated with the current block Bo may point to a reference block Bi. If Bi has an MV denoted as MV1 2 pointing to a reference block B2, MV12 may be scaled according to the temporal / POC distances, tb and td, where tb is the POC difference between the reference picture of the current picture Prefi (associated withreference block Bi) and the current picture PCUr (associated with current block Bo), and td is the POC difference between the reference picture of the reference picture Pref2 (associated with reference block B2) and the reference picture Preti. MV02, given by MV0 2= MVOrl+ «i,2x MV1;2, may be the AR-MVP, guided by MVo.i . MVo,n+ican be derived by:

[0200] The length of the AR-MVP trace path (e.g., the value of n) may not be a constraint, e.g., an AR- MVP may be continually derived as long as there is a guiding MV in a reference block pointing to its reference block. To reduce the complexity, the length of the AR-MVP trace path may be limited to a pre-defined value (e.g., n=1 or n=2), or the AR-MVP searching process may be early terminated, as described herein.

[0201] When deriving MVo,n+i guided by MVn,n+i, the same five positions of Bnas shown in FIG. 9 may be checked to find MVn,n+i, or other examples as described herein may be checked. In examples, a sub-block in the first row and first column of Bnmay be checked and be used to find the guiding MV.

[0202] The available AR-MVP candidates may be reordered based on template costs in ascending order, and the best AR-MVP candidates with lowest template costs may be selected into the inter merge / AMVP list.

[0203] Although features and elements are described above in particular combinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with the other features and elements. In addition, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronic signals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) and computer-readable storage media. Examples of computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

Claims

Claims1. A video decoding device comprising: a processor configured to: identify a reference block associated with a current block; derive a guiding motion vector (MV) from the reference block, wherein the reference block is an inter coded reference block; determine an auto-relocated motion vector prediction (AR-MVP) for the current block based on the guiding MV; and include the AR-MVP as an AR-MVP candidate in an inter merge candidate list.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the current block comprises one of a chrome block or a luma block.

3. The device of any of claims 1 or 2, wherein the AR-MVP is determined using the guiding MV and a scaled MV of the reference block.

4. The device of any of claims 1-3, wherein the AR-MVP candidate is inserted into the merge candidate list after a history-based MPV (HMVP) candidate.

5. The device of any of claims 1-4, wherein the processor is further configured to reorder the merge candidate list based on template costs and template.

6. The device of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the processor is further configured to terminate determination of the AR-MVP candidate upon reaching a maximum number of AR-MVP trace paths.

7. The device of any one of claims 1 -5, wherein the processor is further configured to bypass inclusion of the AR-MVP candidate based on a location of the reference block pointed to by the guiding MV being outside a predefined reference region relative to the current block.

8. The device of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the processor being configured to determine the AR- MVP for the current block is based on a guiding block vector (BV).

9. The device of any one of claim 1-5, wherein the guiding MV is associated with at least one of the center, left-top, right-top, left-bottom, or right-bottom positions of the current block.

10. A video encoding device comprising: a processor configured to: identify a reference block associated with a current block; derive a guiding motion vector (MV) from the reference block, wherein the reference block is an inter coded reference block; determine an auto-relocated motion vector prediction (AR-MVP) for the current block based on the guiding MV; and include the AR-MVP as an AR-MVP candidate in an inter merge candidate list.11 . The device of claim 10, wherein the current block comprises one of a chrome block or a luma block.

12. The device of any of claims 10 or 11 , wherein the AR-MVP is determined using the guiding MV and a scaled MV of the reference block.

13. The device of any of claims 10-12, wherein the AR-MVP candidate is inserted into the merge candidate list after a history-based MPV (HMVP) candidate.

14. The device of any of claims 10-13, wherein the processor is further configured to reorder the merge candidate list based on template costs and template.

15. The device of any one of claims 10-14, wherein the processor is further configured to terminate determination of the AR-MVP candidate upon reaching a maximum number of AR-MVP trace paths.

16. The device of any one of claims 10-14, wherein the processor is further configured to bypass inclusion of the AR-MVP candidate based on a location of the reference block pointed to by the guiding MV being outside a predefined reference region relative to the current block.

17. The device of any one of claims 10-14, wherein the processor being configured to determine the AR-MVP for the current block is based on a guiding block vector (BV).

18. The device of any one of claim 10-14, wherein the guiding MV is associated with at least one of the center, left-top, right-top, left-bottom, or right-bottom positions of the current block.

19. A method for video decoding, the method comprising: identifying a reference block associated with a current block; deriving a guiding motion vector (MV) from the reference block, wherein the reference block is an inter coded reference block; determining an auto-relocated motion vector prediction (AR-MVP) for the current block based on the guiding MV; and including the AR-MVP as an AR-MVP candidate in an inter merge candidate list.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the current block comprises one of a chrome block or a luma block.

21. The method of any of claims 19 or 20, wherein the AR-MVP is determined using the guiding MV and a scaled MV of the reference block.

22. The method of any of claims 19-21, wherein the AR-MVP candidate is inserted into the merge candidate list after a history-based MPV (HMVP) candidate.

23. The method of any of claims 19-22, wherein the method further comprises reordering the merge candidate list based on template costs and template.

24. The method of any one of claims 19-23, wherein the method further comprises terminating determination of the AR-MVP candidate upon reaching a maximum number of AR-MVP trace paths.

25. The method of any one of claims 19-23, wherein the method further comprises bypassing inclusion of the AR-MVP candidate based on a location of the reference block pointed to by the guiding MV being outside a predefined reference region relative to the current block.

26. The method of any one of claims 19-23, wherein determining the AR-MVP for the current block is based on a guiding block vector (BV).

27. The method of any one of claim 19-23, wherein the guiding MV is associated with at least one of the center, left-top, right-top, left-bottom, or right-bottom positions of the current block.

28. A method for video encoding, the method comprising: identifying a reference block associated with a current block;deriving a guiding motion vector (MV) from the reference block, wherein the reference block is an inter coded reference block; determining an auto-relocated motion vector prediction (AR-MVP) for the current block based on the guiding MV; and including the AR-MVP as an AR-MVP candidate in an inter merge candidate list.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the current block comprises one of a chrome block or a luma block.

30. The method of any of claims 28 or 29, wherein the AR-MVP is determined using the guiding MV and a scaled MV of the reference block.

31. The method of any of claims 28-30, wherein the AR-MVP candidate is inserted into the merge candidate list after a history-based MPV (HMVP) candidate.

32. The method of any of claims 28-31, wherein the method further comprises reordering the merge candidate list based on template costs and template.

33. The method of any one of claims 28-32, wherein the method further comprises terminating determination of the AR-MVP candidate upon reaching a maximum number of AR-MVP trace paths.

34. The method of any one of claims 28-32, wherein the method further comprises bypassing inclusion of the AR-MVP candidate based on a location of the reference block pointed to by the guiding MV being outside a predefined reference region relative to the current block.

35. The method of any one of claims 28-32, wherein the determining the AR-MVP for the current block is based on a guiding block vector (BV).

36. The method of any one of claim 28-32, wherein the guiding MV is associated with at least one of the center, left-top, right-top, left-bottom, or right-bottom positions of the current block.

37. A computer program product which is stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium and comprises program code instructions for implementing the steps of a method according to any of claims 19 through 36 when executed by a processor.

38. A computer program comprising program code instructions for implementing the steps of a method according to any of claims 19 through 36 when executed by a processor.

39. Video data comprising information representative of the current block encoded according to one of the methods of any of claims 28 through 36.

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