Adaptive Up Sample Filter for Reducing Block Effects

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing re-sampling schemes in image and video processing, such as those used in H.264 and SVC, fail to efficiently reduce block effects during up sampling, leading to degraded visual quality, especially along block boundaries.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of an adaptive up sample filter system that employs multiple low pass filters with varying strengths based on pixel location, combining deblocking and re-sampling filtering to minimize block effects by interpolating and filtering pixels at different boundaries, using fixed or adaptive configurations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Length of stationary object

If standard up sampling is used to increase video resolution, then spatial resolution is improved, but block effects are exaggerated and visual quality deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvespatial resolutionVSAvoidblock effects

Core Design Contradiction:

Length of stationary objectVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies different filter strengths to different pixel locations within blocks. Pixels at block boundaries receive stronger filtering to reduce block effects, while pixels inside blocks receive weaker filtering to preserve detail. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by针对性地 addressing block effects at boundaries without compromising overall image quality.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent divides the image into blocks and further segments them into boundary regions and interior regions. By processing these segments differently with appropriate filter strengths, the system can increase resolution while selectively reducing block effects where they occur most prominently at boundaries.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Object-affected harmful factors

If multiple filters with different strengths are applied to reduce block effects, then visual quality is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveblock effectsVSAvoidfiltering system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a dynamic filtering system where the filter strength is adaptively adjusted based on the pixel's location within the block structure. Rather than using multiple fixed filters for all pixels, the system dynamically selects filter parameters based on position, reducing complexity while maintaining effectiveness in reducing block effects.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies different filter strengths to different pixel locations within blocks. Pixels at block boundaries receive stronger filtering to reduce block effects, while pixels inside blocks receive weaker filtering to preserve detail. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by针对性地 addressing block effects at boundaries without compromising overall image quality.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS7907789B2Reduction of block effects in spatially re-sampled image information for block-based image coding

Publication Date: 2011.03.15 CUSTOM QUALITY HOMES L L C

AI summary

A method of processing block-based image information including up sample filtering pixels located along boundaries of image blocks using a first filter strength and up sample filtering at least a portion of the pixels that are not located along boundaries of the image blocks using a second filter strength. The method may alternatively include up sample filtering pixels located along boundaries of image blocks and image sub-blocks using the first filter strength. An up sample filter system which includes a first up sample filter which filters pixels located along boundaries of the image blocks using a first filter strength and a second up sample filter which filters pixels that are not located along boundaries of the image blocks using a second filter strength.