HDR Video Tone-Mapping Mode Selection by Quality Assessment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing HDR video processing methods struggle to determine the optimal mode (automatic or director) for tone-mapping, leading to suboptimal results in certain scenes.

Innovation Solution

A method and device that determine the mode used by an HDR video based on a quality assessment algorithm, comparing distortion caused by the tone-mapping curve to a threshold, allowing for automatic or director mode selection to achieve better tone-mapping effects.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If the automatic mode is used for tone-mapping, then the processing efficiency is improved, but the tone-mapping quality deteriorates in some scenes

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprocessing efficiencyVSAvoidtone-mapping quality
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic mode selection between automatic and director modes based on scene characteristics. The system evaluates each scene's complexity and automatically switches modes: using automatic mode for simple scenes to maintain high processing efficiency, and switching to director mode for complex scenes to ensure optimal tone-mapping quality. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by making the processing mode flexible rather than fixed.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the operational parameters of the tone-mapping process by adjusting the mode selection based on scene parameters. The system analyzes scene characteristics (such as luminance distribution, contrast, and complexity) and changes the processing parameter (mode) accordingly. This parameter-based adaptation allows the system to optimize both efficiency and quality for different scene types.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Manufacturing precision

If the director mode is used for tone-mapping, then the tone-mapping quality is improved, but the processing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetone-mapping qualityVSAvoidprocessing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the video processing into different handling paths based on scene type. Simple scenes are processed through the efficient automatic mode path, while only complex scenes are routed to the director mode path. This segmentation ensures that the increased processing complexity of director mode is applied only where necessary, rather than to all scenes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies director mode selectively and partially - only to the extent necessary for complex scenes that require it. Rather than applying the complex director mode universally, the system uses it partially for specific challenging scenes while relying on automatic mode for the majority of simpler scenes, thus reducing overall processing complexity while maintaining quality where needed.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Manufacturing precision

If manual adjustment is performed for director mode, then the tone-mapping quality is improved, but the processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetone-mapping qualityVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary analysis of scene characteristics before committing to a processing mode. By pre-evaluating scene complexity and predicting which scenes will benefit from director mode, the system prepares in advance and avoids unnecessary manual adjustment for scenes that can be handled by automatic mode, thus reducing overall processing time while maintaining quality for scenes that require it.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4131938B1Processing method, encoding device, and decoding device for high dynamic range (HDR) video
Publication Date: 2025.07.02 HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
  • EP4131938B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4131938B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP4131938B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

This application provides a high dynamic range HDR video processing method, an encoding device, and a decoding device. In the method, a mode used by an HDR video may be determined on an encoder side according to a quality assessment algorithm. The method includes: obtaining dynamic metadata of an Nth HDR video frame according to a dynamic metadata generation algorithm; calculating a tone-mapping (tone-mapping) curve parameter of the Nth HDR video frame based on the dynamic metadata of the Nth HDR video frame; generating a tone-mapping curve based on the curve parameter; determining, according to a quality assessment algorithm, distortion D' caused by the tone-mapping curve; comparing D' and DT, to determine a mode used by the Nth HDR video frame, where the mode is an automatic mode or a director mode, and DT is a threshold value; and determining metadata of the Nth HDR video frame based on the determined mode used by the Nth HDR video frame.