Picture Block Merge-Skip Signaling for Lower Bitstream Overhead
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing picture and video codecs face inefficiencies due to the tradeoff between the amount of side information needed for block subdivision and the freedom in subdividing pictures, exacerbated by the combination of block merging and skip mode, leading to increased bit rates and residual data transmission.
Innovation Solution
A common signaling mechanism is introduced in the bitstream to activate both block merging and skip mode simultaneously, reducing the need for separate signaling and optimizing coding efficiency by merging blocks and skipping residual data transmission when appropriate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate signaling is used for block merging and skip mode activation, then the freedom in subdividing pictures is improved, but the amount of side information increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the signaling of block merging and skip mode activation into a single syntax element. When this combined syntax element indicates a first state, it simultaneously signals that blocks are merged and that skip mode is activated, eliminating the need for separate signaling and reducing side information overhead while maintaining the freedom to apply both modes together.
Solution Approach 2:
The syntax element is designed to serve multiple functions: it can signal block merging, skip mode activation, or their combination. This multi-functional approach allows the same signaling mechanism to handle different coding scenarios, reducing the total number of syntax elements needed and improving coding efficiency without limiting adaptability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If block merging and skip mode are activated separately with independent signaling, then coding flexibility is improved, but bit rate overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the signaling functions for block merging and skip mode into a single syntax element. This combination eliminates redundant signaling overhead while preserving the ability to independently control both modes through the unified syntax element, thereby reducing bit rate without sacrificing coding flexibility.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multi-tree partitioning subdivision is used to increase freedom in subdividing pictures, then the freedom in subdividing pictures is improved, but the amount of data to be signalized increases remarkably
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies block merging to combine multiple blocks that share the same coding parameters, thereby reducing the number of blocks that require individual signaling. This approach maintains the freedom to subdivide pictures using multi-tree partitioning while significantly reducing the amount of data that needs to be signalized by eliminating redundant parameter transmissions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent discards the transmission of redundant coding parameters for blocks that can be represented by merging with other blocks. The decoder recovers the original block structure and parameters by applying the merging information, thus reducing signaling overhead while preserving the full subdivision freedom.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
A coding efficiency increase is achieved by using a common signalization within the bitstream with regard to both activation of merging and activation of the skip mode. That is, one of the possible states of one or more syntax elements within the bitstream may signalize for a current sample set of a picture that the respective sample set is to be merged and has no prediction residual encoded and inserted into the bitstream. Alternatively speaking, a common flag may commonly signalize whether the coding parameters associated with a current sample set are to be set according to a merge candidate or to be retrieved from the bitstream, and whether the current sample set of the picture is to be reconstructed merely based on a prediction signal depending on the coding parameters associated with the current sample set, without any residual data, or to be reconstructed by refining the prediction signal depending on the coding parameters associated with the current sample set by means of residual data within the bitstream.