Abstract: A method for decoding a stream of encoded video data is disclosed. The video stream includes partitions that have been compressed using lossless encoding. Each partition includes rows that have also been encoded using intra-frame or inter-frame encoding, for example. During the decoding process, two or more of the partitions are entropy decoded on two or more processors in parallel, except that partitions containing adjacent rows in the frame are decoded with an offset so that at least a portion of the output of the entropy decoding of one partition can be used as input in the entropy and intra/inter-frame decoding of the other.

Abstract: A method for decoding compressed video information is disclosed. The video information can include a plurality of frames each having a plurality of blocks. The method includes reading from the video information a segment map that associates blocks in the frame with four segment identifiers. Each segment identifier is associated with one or more segment parameters, such as quantization parameters, loop filter type, loop filter strength and sub-pixel interpolation filter. The blocks in each segment are then decoded using the associated segment parameters. Segment parameters can persist to following frames unless overwritten by a subsequent frame. A frame can also include a bit suppressing segmentation, in which case default parameters are sued for all blocks in the frame.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method for reducing blocking artifacts at the boundary between adjacent blocks reconstructed from a frame of compressed video information. The video information includes a prediction stage parameter with respect to at least one of the blocks. The method includes reconstructing the at least one block based on the prediction stage parameter, computing a residual error attribute from the reconstructed block, computing a filter strength value based on a baseline filter strength and at least one incremental value, wherein the incremental value is selected from a plurality of preset values based at least on one of the prediction stage parameter and residual error attribute associated with the at least one block and filtering the boundary adjacent to the at least one block using the selected filter strength value.

Abstract: A method of compressing video data having at least one frame having at least one block and each block having an array of pixels is provided. The method transforms the pixels of each block into coefficients and creates an optimal transmission order of the coefficients. The method also optimizes the speed of processing compressed video data by partitioning the data bitstream and coding each partition independently. The method also predicts fractional pixel motion by selecting an interpolation method for each given plurality or block of pixels depending upon at least one metric related to each given block and varies the method from block to block. The method also enhances error recovery for a current frame using a frame prior to the frame immediately before the current frame as the only reference frame for lessening quality loss during data transmission. Enhanced motion vector coding is also provided.

Abstract: A method of compressing video data having at least one frame having at least one block and each block having an array of pixels is provided. The method transforms the pixels of each block into coefficients and creates an optimal transmission order of the coefficients. The method also optimizes the speed of processing compressed video data by partitioning the data bitstream and coding each partition independently. The method also predicts fractional pixel motion by selecting an interpolation method for each given plurality or block of pixels depending upon at least one metric related to each given block and varies the method from block to block. The method also enhances error recovery for a current frame using a frame prior to the frame immediately before the current frame as the only reference frame for lessening quality loss during data transmission. Enhanced motion vector coding is also provided.

Abstract: A method of image and video compression including data re-ordering to improve the performance of the core compression algorithm. In the inventive method, pixel values of at least part of an image are examined and then re-ordered into a new order that has greater compactability than the original pixel order. The re-ordered pixel values are then compressed, e.g., by block transform. In the particular case of a compression scheme employing a block transform, the inventive method reduces the complexity of the transform coefficients, resulting in more efficient compression. The method may be added to existing compression algorithms with only minor modifications to the bitstream and decoder architecture.