Hardware-Friendly Video Block Partition Selection by CTU Sharpness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Recent video codecs experience significant encoding and decoding complexity due to increased block partitions and coding tools, leading to slower processing times and difficulties in hardware implementation, with existing methods providing minimal performance improvements.
Innovation Solution
A technique is implemented to strategically select a partition combination from predetermined sets based on CTU sharpness and temporal variation values, applying appropriate thresholds that adapt to the quantization parameter (QP), reducing the computation required for finding optimal block partitions and coding tools.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If increased block partitions and coding tools are used, then video compression performance is improved, but encoding and decoding complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by dynamically adjusting the block partition size based on content characteristics (sharpness value) and encoding parameters (QP). Instead of using fixed or exhaustive partition options, the encoder selects from a limited set of candidate partition sizes (e.g., 64x64, 128x128, 256x256) based on calculated sharpness thresholds, thereby reducing complexity while maintaining compression performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the encoding process into distinct stages: calculating sharpness values for different block sizes, comparing these values against thresholds, and selecting partition combinations based on the comparison results. This segmentation allows the system to avoid evaluating all possible partition options and instead focus on a subset of promising candidates, reducing overall complexity.
2Manufacturing precision
If increased block partitions and coding tools are used, then video compression performance is improved, but processing speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements partial action by evaluating only a subset of partition options rather than all possible partitions. The encoder calculates sharpness values and selects partition combinations based on threshold comparisons, performing partial evaluations that are sufficient to achieve good compression performance without the computational burden of exhaustive search, thereby improving processing speed.
3Ease of manufacture
If hardware implementation is attempted with existing methods, then encoding can be performed, but gate count requirements become prohibitively high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of partition size selection from exhaustive evaluation to threshold-based selection. By calculating sharpness values and comparing them against QP-dependent thresholds, the hardware only needs to implement comparison logic and selection from predetermined candidate partitions, significantly reducing gate count while maintaining encoding functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary calculation of sharpness values before the actual partition selection decision. This preliminary action allows the hardware to pre-compute content-based metrics and use them to guide subsequent partition selection, reducing the complexity of the decision-making process and making hardware implementation more feasible with lower gate count.
4Manufacturing precision
If exhaustive partition evaluation is performed, then optimal compression is achieved, but encoding complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by adapting the partition selection strategy to local content characteristics through sharpness calculation. Different regions of the video content receive different partition treatments based on their local sharpness values, allowing the encoder to achieve near-optimal compression for each region while avoiding the complexity of exhaustive evaluation across the entire frame.
Data Source
AI summary
To effectively reduce complexity and enable hardware friendly encoding, a technique can be implemented strategically select a partition combination from a group of one or more predetermined partition combinations based on a sharpness value of a CTU and optionally a temporal variation value of the CTU. Appropriate thresholding can be applied to the sharpness value and/or the temporal variation value when selecting the partition combination. One or more thresholds used can adapt to the QP used for encoding. In some cases, the one or more thresholds used can adapt to the sharpness value. Selecting the partition combination from the group can reduce the computation associated with finding an optimal block partition and corresponding coding tools for the CUs in the CTU.