Multi-View Loop Filtering With Joint Parameters for Lower Bitrate

The patent merges the signaling of loop filtering parameters across multiple views by introducing a joint loop filtering parameter set that can be shared between views. The encoder determines whether to use joint or separate parameter sets, and when joint parameters are used, the same filtering parameters are applied to multiple views, reducing the total number of parameters that need to be encoded and transmitted.

The patent changes the parameter signaling approach by introducing syntax elements that indicate whether joint or separate loop filtering parameters should be used. The encoder can switch between signaling modes (joint vs. separate) based on rate-distortion optimization, allowing flexible adaptation of parameter signaling granularity to balance quality and bitrate requirements.

The patent segments the reference picture list into view-specific reference pictures and temporal reference pictures. The disparity-compensated prediction is selectively applied only when beneficial, based on the prediction mode and reference picture selection, rather than being universally applied to all predictions, thus reducing unnecessary computational overhead.

The patent implements partial disparity compensation by applying it only to inter-view predictions where disparity vectors are available and beneficial, rather than applying it universally. The encoder evaluates rate-distortion tradeoffs and applies disparity-compensated prediction only when it provides sufficient quality improvement to justify the additional complexity.