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: Various concepts which further improve multi-view/layer coding concepts, are described.

Abstract: The signalization of the inter-layer dependencies between layers of a multi-layered data stream is described. A good compromise between a too intensive restriction of the potential diversity of inter-layer dependencies on the one hand and a too complex signaling of the inter-layer dependencies on the other hand has been found by describing the inter-layer dependencies by way of a first inter-dependency syntax structure indicating inter-dependencies between pairs of different values representable by a base layer-ID and a second inter-dependency syntax structure indicating inter-dependencies between pairs of different values representable by an extension layer-ID, the base layer ID and extension layer ID indexing the layers the portions of the multi-layer data stream are associated with.

Abstract: Scalable video coding is rendered more efficient by deriving/selecting a subblock subdivision to be used for enhancement layer prediction, among a set of possible subblock subdivisions of an enhancement layer block by evaluating the spatial variation of the base layer coding parameters over the base layer signal. By this measure, less of the signalization overhead has to be spent on signaling this subblock subdivision within the enhancement layer data stream, if any. The subblock subdivision thus selected may be used in predictively coding/decoding the enhancement layer 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: A proposed intermediate way of handling the renderable portion of the first view results in more efficient coding. Instead of omitting the coding of the renderable portion completely, even more efficient coding of multi-view signals entails merely suppressing the coding of the residual signal within the renderable portion, whereas the prediction parameter coding still takes place from the non-renderable portion of the multi-view signal across the renderable portion so that prediction parameters for the renderable portion may be exploited for predicting parameters for the non-renderable portion. The additional coding rate for transmitting the prediction parameters for the renderable portion may be kept low as this merely aims at forming a continuation of the parameter history across the renderable portion to serve as a basis for prediction parameters of other portions of the multi-view signal.

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.

Abstract: Coding schemes for coding a spatially sampled information signal using sub-division and coding schemes for coding a sub-division or a multitree structure are described, wherein representative embodiments relate to picture and/or video coding applications.

Abstract: Coding schemes for coding a spatially sampled information signal using sub-division and coding schemes for coding a sub-division or a multitree structure are described, wherein representative embodiments relate to picture and/or video coding applications.

Abstract: A better compromise between encoding complexity and achievable rate distortion ratio, and/or to achieve a better rate distortion ratio is achieved by using multitree sub-divisioning not only in order to subdivide a continuous area, namely the sample array, into leaf regions, but using the intermediate regions also to share coding parameters among the corresponding collocated leaf blocks. By this measure, coding procedures performed in tiles—leaf regions—locally, may be associated with coding parameters individually without having to, however, explicitly transmit the whole coding parameters for each leaf region separately. Rather, similarities may effectively exploited by using the multitree subdivision.

Abstract: An apparatus for determining a measure for a distortion change of a first view synthesized from a second view, caused by a modification of a depth map of the second view from a first state to a second state, is configured—starting from a current synthesis state of the first view corresponding to a synthesis from the second view having the depth map modified to the second state in an already processed portion of the depth map and having the depth map unmodified at the first state in a yet to be processed portion of the depth map—to compute a possible successor synthesis state corresponding to a synthesis of the first view from the second view having the depth map modified to the second state in an already processed portion plus a currently processed portion and having the depth map unmodified at the first state in the yet to be processed portion without the currently processed portion; and to determine a distortion change of a distortion of the current synthesis state of the first view relative to an undistort

Abstract: Parallel processing concepts such as wavefront parallel processing, are realized with a reduced end-to-end delay by giving up the usual slice concept according to which slices are either coded/decoded completely independent from areas of the picture outside of the respective slice, or at least independent from areas outside the respective slice as far as the entropy coding is concerned, namely in favor of slices of different modes, namely ones called dependent slices which allow for interdependencies across slice boundaries, and others which do not, called normal slices, for example. Combined with the aspect or not, WPP processing concept is made more efficiently by using the slices' start syntax portions to locate WPP entry points.

Abstract: Embodiments are described which exploit a finding, 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, the inventors found out that the redundancies between views of a multi-view signal are not restricted to the views themselves, such as the video information thereof, but that the coding parameters in parallely encoding these views show similarities which may be exploited in order to further improve the coding rate.

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: A decoder for decoding a data stream into which media data is coded has a mode switch configured to activate a low-complexity mode or a high-efficiency mode depending on the data stream, an entropy decoding engine configured to retrieve each symbol of a sequence of symbols by entropy decoding using a selected one of a plurality of entropy decoding schemes, a desymbolizer configured to desymbolize the sequence of symbols to obtain a sequence of syntax elements, a reconstructor configured to reconstruct the media data based on the sequence of syntax elements, selection depending on the activated low-complexity mode or the high-efficiency mode.

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: 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: 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: 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: 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.