Abstract: Wedgelet separation lines of neighboring blocks are predicted from each other by aligning the wedgelet separation lines of such neighboring blocks to each other, thereby reducing the side information coding rate that may be used.

Abstract: Wedgelet-based coding for coding blocks of varying size is rendered more efficient by the usage of a variable length coded syntax element having a prefix and a suffix, wherein the size of the suffix is dependent on the prefix and the size of the current coding block. By this measure, it is feasible to efficiently adapt the length of the variable-length coded syntax element which controls the bi-partitioning of the current coding block to the actual needs, namely the size, of the current coding block, and the variability of the bi-partitioning by varying the wedglet separation line, respectively. The greater the current coding block is, the longer the variable-length coded syntax element may be. This length dependency may even be sufficiently effective in terms of coding efficiency so that the variable length coded syntax element may be coded without context-adaptive entropy coding, but directly or using fixed-equal-probability binary entropy coding.

Abstract: Reconstructing a second component signal relating to a second component of a multi-component picture from a spatially corresponding portion of a reconstructed first component signal and a correction signal derived from data stream for the second component promises increased coding efficiency over a broader range of multi-component picture content. By including the spatially corresponding portion of the reconstructed first component signal into the reconstruction of the second component signal, any remaining inter-component redundancies/correlations present such as still present despite a possibly a priori performed component space transformation, or present because of having been introduced by such a priori performed component space information, for example, may readily be removed by way of the inter-component redundancy/correlation reduction of the second component signal.

Abstract: A further coding efficiency increase may be achieved if for a current block of a picture, for which the bit stream signals one of supported partitioning patterns, a reversal of the partitioning by block merging is avoided. In particular, if the signaled one of the supported partitioning patterns specifies a subdivision of the block into two or more further blocks, a removal of certain coding parameter candidates for all further blocks, except a first further block of the further blocks in a coding order, is performed. Particularly, those coding parameter candidates are removed from the set of coding parameter candidates for the respective further block, the coding parameters of which are the same as coding parameters associated with any of the further blocks which, when being merged with the respective further block, would result in one of the supported partitioning pattern. This avoids redundancy between partitioning coding and merging coding.

Abstract: A number of negatively affected (correctly received) packets due to packet loss is reduced by providing, and analyzing, error resilience in the packets of the sequence of packets and identifying, for each of runs of one or more lost packets of the sequence of packets, a first packet in the sequence of packets after the respective run of one or more lost packets, which carries a beginning of any of the tiles of the video data stream, and concurrently carries a slice, the slice header of which is contained in any of the packets of the sequence of packets not being lost. In particular, the side information overhead for transmitting the error resilience data is comparatively low compared to the reduction in negatively affected packets due to packet loss.

Abstract: An interleaved multi-layered video data stream with interleaved decoding units of different layers is provided with further timing control information in addition to the timing control information reflecting the interleaved decoding unit arrangement. The additional timing control information pertains to either a fallback position according to which all decoding units of an access unit are treated at the decoded buffer access unit-wise, or a fallback position according to which an intermediate procedure is used: the interleaving of the DUs of different layers is reversed according to the additionally sent timing control information, thereby enabling a DU-wise treatment at the decoder's buffer, however, with no interleaving of decoding units relating to different layers. Both fallback positions may be present concurrently. Various advantageous embodiments and alternatives are the subject of the various claims attached herewith.

Abstract: A decoder includes an entropy decoder configured to derive a number of bins of the binarizations from the data stream using binary entropy decoding by selecting a context among different contexts and updating probability states associated with the different contexts, dependent on previously decoded portions of the data stream; a desymbolizer configured to debinarize the binarizations of the syntax elements to obtain integer values of the syntax elements; a reconstructor configured to reconstruct the video based on the integer values of the syntax elements using a quantization parameter, wherein the entropy decoder is configured to distinguish between 126 probability states and to initialize the probability states associated with the different contexts according to a linear equation of the quantization parameter, wherein the entropy decoder is configured to, for each of the different contexts, derive a slope and an offset of the linear equation from first and second four bit parts of a respective 8 bit initial

Abstract: Information available from coding/decoding the base layer. i.e. base-layer hints, is exploited to render the motion-compensated prediction of the enhancement layer more efficient by more efficiently coding the enhancement layer motion parameters.

Abstract: A favorable merging or grouping of simply connected regions into which the array of information samples is sub-divided, is coded with a reduced amount of data. To this end, a predetermined relative locational relationship is defined enabling an identifying, for a predetermined simply connected region, of simply connected regions within the plurality of simply connected regions which have the predetermined relative locational relationship to the predetermined simply connected region. Namely, if the number is zero, a merge indicator for the predetermined simply connected region may be absent within the data stream In other embodiments, spatial sub-division is performed depending on a first subset of syntax elements, followed by combining spatially neighboring simply connected regions depending on a second subset of syntax elements, to obtain an intermediate sub-division.

Abstract: Findings are described according to which a higher compression rate or better rate/distortion ratio may be achieved by adopting or predicting second coding parameters used for encoding a second view of the multi-view signal from first coding parameters used in encoding a first view of the multi-view signal. In other words, redundancies between views of a multi-view signal may not be restricted to the views themselves, such as the video information thereof, but that the coding parameters in parallelly encoding these views show similarities which may be exploited in order to further improve the coding rate.

Abstract: A better rate distortion ratio is achieved by making interrelationships between coding parameters of different planes available for exploitation for the aim of redundancy reduction despite the additional overhead resulting from the need to signal the inter-plane prediction information to the decoder. In particular, the decision to use inter plane prediction or not may be performed for a plurality of planes individually. Additionally or alternatively, the decision may be done on a block basis considering one secondary plane.

Abstract: The coding efficiency of a multi-component picture or video coding concept is improved by reconstructing a third component signal relating to a third component of the multi-component video using inter-component prediction from both a reconstructed first component signal and a reconstructed second component signal.

Abstract: Wedgelet separation lines of neighboring blocks are predicted from each other by aligning the wedgelet separation lines of such neighboring blocks to each other, thereby reducing the side information coding rate that may be used.

Abstract: An apparatus (200) for receiving an input video data stream according to an embodiment is provided. The input video data stream has a video encoded thereinto. The apparatus (200) is configured to generate an output video data stream from the input video data stream.

Abstract: The handling of scalable data streams by network entities is rendered less complex by, in the data stream, accompanying packets which actually carry data by packets of a different packet type which have a scalability axes descriptor defining the number of scalability axes and a semantic meaning thereof. In another aspect, the handling of scalable data streams by network entities is rendered more efficient by conveying level and/or profile descriptors using packets other than the data carrying packets, with profile and/or level descriptors being divided up into a first set explicitly signaling the definition of the available coding option set and/or available syntax element value range for a respective operation point, and a second set of profile and/or level descriptors which signal the definition of the available coding option set and/or available syntax element value range for their respective operation points by reference another profile and/or level descriptor.

Abstract: To increase efficiency of a bit-depth scalable data-stream an inter-layer prediction is obtained by mapping samples of the representation of the picture or video source data with a first picture sample bit-depth from a first dynamic range corresponding to the first picture sample bit-depth to a second dynamic range greater than the first dynamic range and corresponding to a second picture sample bit-depth being higher than the first picture sample bit-depth by use of one or more global mapping functions being constant within the picture or video source data or varying at a first granularity, and a local mapping function locally modifying the one or more global mapping functions and varying at a second granularity smaller than the first granularity, with forming the quality-scalable data-stream based on the local mapping function such that the local mapping function is derivable from the quality-scalable data-stream.

Abstract: The usual coding order according to which the reference view is coded prior to the dependent view, and within each view, a depth map is coded subsequent to the respective picture, may be maintained and does lead to a sacrifice of efficiency in performing inter-view redundancy removal by, for example, predicting motion data of the current picture of the dependent view from motion data of the current picture of the reference view. Rather, a depth map estimate of the current picture of the dependent view is obtained by warping the depth map of the current picture of the reference view into the dependent view, thereby enabling various methods of inter-view redundancy reduction more efficiently by bridging the gap between the views.

Abstract: The entropy coding of a current part of a predetermined entropy slice is based on, not only, the respective probability estimations of the predetermined entropy slice as adapted using the previously coded part of the predetermined entropy slice, but also probability estimations as used in the entropy coding of a spatially neighboring, in entropy slice order preceding entropy slice at a neighboring part thereof. Thereby, the probability estimations used in entropy coding are adapted to the actual symbol statistics more closely, thereby lowering the coding efficiency decrease normally caused by lower-delay concepts. Temporal interrelationships are exploited additionally or alternatively.

Abstract: A higher coding efficiency for coding a significance map indicating positions of significant transform coefficients within a transform coefficient block is achieved by the scan order by which the sequentially extracted syntax elements indicating, for associated positions within the transform coefficient block, as to whether at the respective position a significant or insignificant transform coefficient is situated, are sequentially associated to the positions of the transform coefficient block, among the positions of the transform coefficient block depends on the positions of the significant transform coefficients indicated by previously associated syntax elements. Alternatively, the first-type elements may be context-adaptively entropy decoded using contexts which are individually selected for each of the syntax elements dependent on a number of significant transform coefficients in a neighborhood of the respective syntax element, indicated as being significant by any of the preceding syntax elements.

Abstract: Decomposing a value range of the respective syntax elements into a sequence of n partitions with coding the components of z laying within the respective partitions separately with at least one by VLC coding and with at least one by PIPE or entropy coding is used to greatly increase the compression efficiency at a moderate coding overhead since the coding scheme used may be better adapted to the syntax element statistics. Accordingly, syntax elements are decomposed into a respective number n of source symbols si with i=1 . . . n, the respective number n of source symbols depending on as to which of a sequence of n partitions into which a value range of the respective syntax elements is sub-divided, a value z of the respective syntax elements falls into, so that a sum of values of the respective number of source symbols si yields z, and, if n>1, for all i=1 . . . n?1, the value of si corresponds to a range of the ith partition.