Reference Picture Caching for Low-Bandwidth Video Memory Access
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing video encoding and decoding technologies inefficiently manage memory access, leading to high bandwidth and power consumption due to frequent access of non-dedicated system memory for reference pictures.
Innovation Solution
Determine the frequency of picture usage as a reference for future pictures using future reference picture lists to decide between writing in dedicated chip memory or non-dedicated system memory, optimizing memory access to reduce power and bandwidth consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the current picture is written in non-dedicated system memory, then memory capacity is sufficient, but bandwidth and power consumption increase due to frequent accesses
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis by generating future reference picture lists and determining the likelihood of current picture usage before actually writing the picture to memory. This advance planning allows the system to optimize memory placement decisions proactively, reducing subsequent power consumption from frequent memory accesses while maintaining manageable complexity through structured prediction algorithms
2Loss of energy
If the current picture is written in dedicated chip memory, then power and bandwidth consumption are reduced, but memory capacity is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different memory storage strategies to different pictures based on their individual characteristics and predicted usage patterns. By analyzing future reference picture lists, the system identifies which specific pictures are likely to be frequently accessed and places only those in dedicated chip memory, while less frequently used pictures remain in non-dedicated system memory. This selective approach optimizes bandwidth consumption for critical pictures without unnecessarily consuming limited chip memory capacity
3Productivity
If future reference picture lists are generated to determine memory placement, then memory access efficiency is improved, but computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system generates future reference picture lists and analyzes usage patterns to determine memory placement decisions. By performing this analysis for a limited scope - specifically focusing on identifying pictures with high likelihood of future usage rather than analyzing all possible reference patterns - the system achieves improved memory access efficiency while keeping processing complexity manageable through targeted rather than exhaustive analysis
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes generating a plurality of future reference picture lists associated with a plurality of future pictures of a set of pictures, wherein the set of pictures includes a current picture and the plurality of future pictures, and the plurality of future pictures follow the current picture in coding order, determining, based on information derived from the plurality of future reference picture lists associated with the plurality of future pictures, whether to write the current picture in a dedicated chip memory or whether to write the current picture in a non-dedicated system memory, and writing the current picture in the dedicated chip memory or the non-dedicated system memory based on the determination of whether to write the current picture in the dedicated chip memory or whether to write the current picture the non-dedicated system memory.