Adaptive Deblocking Filter Control for Video Processing Power Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The Advanced Video Coding (AVC) standard, such as H.264, and its extension Scalable Video Coding (SVC), face challenges in reducing computational complexity and power consumption due to the high processing demands of deblocking filters, which are essential for maintaining video quality but consume significant resources, especially in scenarios with high motion content.
Innovation Solution
Adaptive deblock filtering is implemented by disabling or partially disabling deblocking filters based on content characteristics, such as motion and complexity, using a deblock control circuit that examines the video information's MINSAD values and power management factors to determine the optimal filtering state, thereby reducing computational complexity and power consumption while minimizing visual quality degradation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If deblocking filter is enabled to maintain video quality, then visual quality is improved, but computational complexity and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic control of the deblocking filter by introducing a disable_deblocking_filter_idc parameter that allows the filter to be selectively enabled or disabled based on content characteristics. This dynamic switching mechanism enables the system to adapt between full filtering (for high-quality requirements) and disabled filtering (for low-complexity scenarios), directly resolving the contradiction between maintaining video quality and reducing computational complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality control by allowing deblocking filtering to be disabled selectively in specific regions or content types rather than uniformly across all video data. The disable_deblocking_filter_idc parameter enables fine-grained control where filtering can be applied only where necessary (e.g., in high-motion or high-detail regions) while being omitted in regions where it would be wasteful, thus maintaining quality where needed while reducing overall computational complexity
2Manufacturing precision
If deblocking filter is enabled to remove block effects, then visual quality is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic power management for the deblocking filter through the disable_deblocking_filter_idc parameter, which enables real-time switching between filter-enabled and filter-disabled states based on content analysis. This dynamic control allows the system to consume full power only when deblocking is necessary for quality, while switching to low-power mode (filter disabled) during scenarios where block effects are less perceptible, directly addressing the power consumption versus visual quality contradiction
3Device complexity
If deblocking filter is disabled to reduce processing complexity, then computational complexity is reduced, but visual quality degradation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality preservation by selectively maintaining deblocking filter functionality only in regions or content types where it provides the most benefit. The disable_deblocking_filter_idc parameter enables the system to identify and apply filtering locally to high-priority regions (e.g., stationary regions, low-motion content) while disabling it in regions where processing complexity reduction is more important, thus minimizing visual quality degradation while achieving processing complexity reduction
4Manufacturing precision
If deblocking filter is fully applied to all content, then video quality is maintained, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic processing time management through the disable_deblocking_filter_idc parameter, which enables real-time adaptation of filter application based on content characteristics. This dynamic control allows the system to apply full deblocking processing only when necessary for quality maintenance, while skipping or reducing filtering in scenarios where processing time is more critical, directly resolving the contradiction between video quality maintenance and processing time reduction
Data Source
AI summary
A method of adaptively disabling deblock filtering of video information including determining a content characteristic of the video information, and adaptively disabling deblock filtering of the video information based on the content characteristic. The content characteristic may be a content complexity, such as an average of minimum sums of absolute differences of pixel values determined during motion estimation, or the mean square error of the video information, or the number of bits used for coding the video content. The content characteristic may be other than complexity, such as motion vector information. A video information processing system including a video processing circuit which processes video information and which determines a content characteristic of the video information, and a deblocking filter circuit which adaptively disables deblock filtering of the video information based on the content characteristic.