Patents by Inventor Heiner Kirchhoffer

Heiner Kirchhoffer has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240413837
    Abstract: An arithmetic encoder for encoding a plurality of symbols having symbol values to derive an interval size information for an arithmetic encoding of one or more symbol values to be encoded based on a plurality of state variable values representing statistics of a plurality of previously encoded symbol values with different adaptation time constants. The arithmetic encoder maps a first state variable value, or a scaled and/or rounded version thereof, using a lookup-table and maps a second state variable value, or a scaled and/or rounded version thereof using the lookup-table, to obtain the interval size information describing an interval size for the arithmetic encoding of one or more symbols to be encoded. Further arithmetic encoders, arithmetic decoders, video encoders, video decoder, methods for encoding, methods for decoding and computer programs are also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 17, 2024
    Publication date: December 12, 2024
    Inventors: Heiner KIRCHHOFFER, Jan STEGEMANN, Detlev MARPE, Paul HAASE, Stefan MATLAGE, Christian BARTNIK, Heiko SCHWARZ, Thomas WIEGAND
  • Patent number: 12155867
    Abstract: A scalable video decoder is described which is configured to reconstruct a base layer signal from a coded data stream to obtain a reconstructed base layer signal; and reconstruct an enhancement layer signal including spatially or temporally predicting a portion of an enhancement layer signal, currently to be reconstructed, from an already reconstructed portion of the enhancement layer signal to obtain an enhancement layer internal prediction signal; forming, at the portion currently to be reconstructed, a weighted average of an inter-layer prediction signal obtained from the reconstructed base layer signal, and the enhancement layer internal prediction signal to obtain an enhancement layer prediction signal such that a weighting between the inter-layer prediction signal and the enhancement layer internal prediction signal varies over different spatial frequency components; and predictively reconstructing the enhancement layer signal using the enhancement layer prediction signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2024
    Assignee: GE Video Compression, LLC
    Inventors: Tobias Hinz, Haricharan Lakshman, Jan Stegemann, Philipp Helle, Mischa Siekmann, Karsten Suehring, Detlev Marpe, Heiko Schwarz, Christian Bartnik, Ali Atef Ibrahim Khairat Abdelhamid, Heiner Kirchhoffer, Thomas Wiegand
  • Publication number: 20240373066
    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.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2024
    Publication date: November 7, 2024
    Inventors: Tobias Hinz, Haricharan Lakshman, Jan Stegemann, Philipp Helle, Mischa Siekmann, Karsten Suehring, Detlev Marpe, Heiko Schwarz, Christian Bartnik, Ali Atef Ibrahim Khairat Abdelhamid, Heiner Kirchhoffer, Thomas Wiegand
  • Publication number: 20240373071
    Abstract: A raw byte sequence payload describing a picture in slices, WPP substreams or tiles and coded using context-adaptive binary arithmetic coding is subdivided into tranches with continuing the context-adaptive binary arithmetic coding probability adaptation across tranche boundaries. Thereby, tranche boundaries additionally introduced within slices, WPP substreams or tiles do not lead to a reduction in the entropy coding efficiency of these entities. However, the tranches are smaller than the original slices, WPP substreams or tiles and accordingly they may be transmitted earlier, i.e. with lower delay, than the un-chopped original entities. According to another aspect combinable with the first aspect, substream marker NAL units are used within a sequence of NAL units of a video bitstream to enable a transport demultiplexer to assign data of slices within NAL units to the corresponding substreams or tiles so as to be able to, in parallel, serve a multi-threaded decoder with the corresponding substreams or tiles.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2024
    Publication date: November 7, 2024
    Inventors: Thomas SCHIERL, Valeri GEORGE, Karsten GRUENEBERG, Heiner KIRCHHOFFER, Anastasia HENKEL, Detlev MARPE
  • Patent number: 12137242
    Abstract: A coding efficiency increase is achieved by using a common signalization within the bitstream with regard to activation of merging and activation of the skip mode. One possible state of one or more syntax elements within the bitstream may signalize for a current sample set of a picture that the sample set is to be merged and has no prediction residual encoded and inserted into the bitstream. A common flag may signalize whether the coding parameters associated with a current sample set are to be set according to a merge candidate or to be retrieved from the bitstream, and whether the current sample set of the picture is to be reconstructed based on a prediction signal depending on the coding parameters associated with the current sample set, without any residual data, or to be reconstructed by refining the prediction signal depending on the coding parameters associated with the current sample set by means of residual data within the bitstream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2024
    Assignee: GE Video Compression, LLC
    Inventors: Heiko Schwarz, Heiner Kirchhoffer, Philipp Helle, Simon Oudin, Jan Stegemann, Benjamin Bross, Detlev Marpe, Thomas Wiegand
  • Publication number: 20240364362
    Abstract: Some embodiments relate to a method, a decoder and/or an encoder for entropy coding of parameters of neural networks and their incremental updates, and in particular to reduced value set coding and history depended significance coding.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2024
    Publication date: October 31, 2024
    Applicant: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Gerhard TECH, Paul HAASE, Daniel BECKING, Heiner KIRCHHOFFER, Jonathan PFAFF, Karsten MÜLLER, Wojciech SAMEK, Heiko SCHWARZ, Detlev MARPE, Thomas WIEGAND
  • Publication number: 20240364891
    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
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 8, 2024
    Publication date: October 31, 2024
    Inventors: Valeri GEORGE, Benjamin BROSS, Heiner KIRCHHOFFER, Detlev MARPE, Tung NGUYEN, Matthias PREISS, Mischa SIEKMANN, Jan STEGEMANN, Thomas WIEGAND
  • Publication number: 20240348805
    Abstract: A video decoder is configured to decode a plurality of video frames which are subdivided into a set of one or more slices. The decoder evaluates slice type information indicating whether a slice is encoded using an independent coding mode having no prediction of video content of a current frame on the basis of a video content of a previous frame, or using a single-predictive mode having a prediction of a block of pixels on the basis of one block of pixels of a previous frame, or using a bi-predictive mode having a prediction of a block of pixels on the basis of two or more blocks of pixels of one or more previous frames, to select a mode of operation for decoding a slice.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 25, 2024
    Publication date: October 17, 2024
    Inventors: Jan STEGEMANN, Heiner KIRCHHOFFER, Detlev MARPE, Heiko SCHWARZ, Thomas WIEGAND
  • Patent number: 12120316
    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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2023
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2024
    Assignee: GE Video Compression, LLC
    Inventors: Martin Winken, Heiner Kirchhoffer, Heiko Schwarz, Detlev Marpe, Thomas Wiegand
  • Patent number: 12095486
    Abstract: An arithmetic encoder for encoding a plurality of symbols having symbol values is configured to derive an interval size information for an arithmetic encoding of one or more symbol values to be encoded based on a plurality of state variable values representing statistics of a plurality of previously encoded symbol values with different adaptation time constants. The arithmetic encoder is configured to map a first state variable value, or a scaled and/or rounded version thereof, using a lookup-table and to map a second state variable value, or a scaled and/or rounded version thereof using the lookup-table, in order to obtain the interval size information describing an interval size for the arithmetic encoding of one or more symbols to be encoded. Further arithmetic encoders, arithmetic decoders, video encoders, video decoder, methods for encoding, methods for decoding and computer programs are also disclosed which are based on the same concept and on other concepts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2024
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Heiner Kirchhoffer, Jan Stegemann, Detlev Marpe, Paul Haase, Stefan Matlage, Christian Bartnik, Heiko Schwarz, Thomas Wiegand
  • Publication number: 20240305822
    Abstract: An idea used herein is to use the same function for the dependency of the context and the dependency of the symbolization parameter on previously coded/decoded transform coefficients. Using the same function—with varying function parameter—may even be used with respect to different transform block sizes and/or frequency portions of the transform blocks in case of the transform coefficients being spatially arranged in transform blocks. A further variant of this idea is to use the same function for the dependency of a symbolization parameter on previously coded/decoded transform coefficients for different sizes of the current transform coefficient's transform block, different information component types of the current transform coefficient's transform block and/or different frequency portions the current transform coefficient is located within the transform block.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 19, 2024
    Publication date: September 12, 2024
    Inventors: Tung NGUYEN, Heiner KIRCHHOFFER, Detlev MARPE
  • Publication number: 20240292010
    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.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2024
    Publication date: August 29, 2024
    Inventors: Valeri GEORGE, Anastasia HENKEL, Heiner KIRCHHOFFER, Detlev MARPE, Thomas SCHIERL
  • Patent number: 12069267
    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
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2024
    Assignee: GE Video Compression, LLC
    Inventors: Valeri George, Benjamin Bross, Heiner Kirchhoffer, Detlev Marpe, Tung Nguyen, Matthias Preiss, Mischa Siekmann, Jan Stegemann, Thomas Wiegand
  • Publication number: 20240267569
    Abstract: Coding schemes for coding a spatially sampled information signal using subdivision and coding scheme for coding a sub-division or a multi tree structure are described, wherein representative embodiments relate to picture and/or video coding applications.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2024
    Publication date: August 8, 2024
    Inventors: Heiner KIRCHHOFFER, Martin WINKEN, Philipp HELLE, Detlev MARPE, Heiko SCHWARZ, Thomas WIEGAND
  • Patent number: 12058352
    Abstract: A video decoder is configured to decode a plurality of video frames which are subdivided into a set of one or more slices. The decoder evaluates slice type information indicating whether a slice is encoded using an independent coding mode having no prediction of video content of a current frame on the basis of a video content of a previous frame, or using a single-predictive mode having a prediction of a block of pixels on the basis of one block of pixels of a previous frame, or using a bi-predictive mode having a prediction of a block of pixels on the basis of two or more blocks of pixels of one or more previous frames, to select a mode of operation for decoding a slice. The video decoder includes an arithmetic decoder for providing a decoded binary sequence on the basis of an encoded representation of the binary sequence.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2024
    Assignee: FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FÖRDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V.
    Inventors: Jan Stegemann, Heiner Kirchhoffer, Detlev Marpe, Heiko Schwarz, Thomas Wiegand
  • Patent number: 12010334
    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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2024
    Assignee: GE Video Compression, LLC
    Inventors: Tobias Hinz, Haricharan Lakshman, Jan Stegemann, Philipp Helle, Mischa Siekmann, Karsten Suehring, Detlev Marpe, Heiko Schwarz, Christian Bartnik, Ali Atef Ibrahim Khairat Abdelhamid, Heiner Kirchhoffer, Thomas Wiegand
  • Patent number: 11997319
    Abstract: A raw byte sequence payload describing a picture in slices, WPP substreams or tiles and coded using context-adaptive binary arithmetic coding is subdivided into tranches with continuing the context-adaptive binary arithmetic coding probability adaptation across tranche boundaries. Thereby, tranche boundaries additionally introduced within slices, WPP substreams or tiles do not lead to a reduction in the entropy coding efficiency of these entities. However, the tranches are smaller than the original slices, WPP substreams or tiles and accordingly they may be transmitted earlier, i.e. with lower delay, than the un-chopped original entities. According to another aspect combinable with the first aspect, substream marker NAL units are used within a sequence of NAL units of a video bitstream to enable a transport demultiplexer to assign data of slices within NAL units to the corresponding substreams or tiles so as to be able to, in parallel, serve a multi-threaded decoder with the corresponding substreams or tiles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2024
    Assignee: GE Video Compression, LLC
    Inventors: Thomas Schierl, Valeri George, Karsten Grueneberg, Heiner Kirchhoffer, Anastasia Henkel, Detlev Marpe
  • Patent number: 11979584
    Abstract: Arithmetic encoder for encoding a plurality of symbols is configured to derive an interval size information for an arithmetic encoding of one or more symbol values to be encoded on the basis of one or more state variable value, in a first mode of operation, and to update the one or more state variable values and/or the interval size information for an encoding of one or more subsequent symbol values to be encoded in the first mode; in a second mode, the arithmetic encoder is configured to disable an update of the one or more state variable values and/or of the interval size information. Additionally, further embodiments of arithmetic encoders and decoders and video encoders and decoders are described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Heiner Kirchhoffer, Detlev Marpe, Benjamin Bross, Phan Hoang Tung Nguyen, Christian Rudat, Heiko Schwarz, Thomas Wiegand
  • Publication number: 20240146954
    Abstract: A coding efficiency increase is achieved by using a common signalization within the bitstream with regard to activation of merging and activation of the skip mode. One possible state of one or more syntax elements within the bitstream may signalize for a current sample set of a picture that the sample set is to be merged and has no prediction residual encoded and inserted into the bitstream. A common flag may signalize whether the coding parameters associated with a current sample set are to be set according to a merge candidate or to be retrieved from the bitstream, and whether the current sample set of the picture is to be reconstructed based on a prediction signal depending on the coding parameters associated with the current sample set, without any residual data, or to be reconstructed by refining the prediction signal depending on the coding parameters associated with the current sample set by means of residual data within the bitstream.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 1, 2023
    Publication date: May 2, 2024
    Inventors: Heiko SCHWARZ, Heiner KIRCHHOFFER, Philipp HELLE, Simon OUDIN, Jan STEGEMANN, Benjamin BROSS, Detlev MARPE, Thomas WIEGAND
  • Patent number: 11968395
    Abstract: An idea used herein is to use the same function for the dependency of the context and the dependency of the symbolization parameter on previously coded/decoded transform coefficients. Using the same function—with varying function parameter—may even be used with respect to different transform block sizes and/or frequency portions of the transform blocks in case of the transform coefficients being spatially arranged in transform blocks. A further variant of this idea is to use the same function for the dependency of a symbolization parameter on previously coded/decoded transform coefficients for different sizes of the current transform coefficient's transform block, different information component types of the current transform coefficient's transform block and/or different frequency portions the current transform coefficient is located within the transform block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: GE Video Compression, LLC
    Inventors: Tung Nguyen, Heiner Kirchhoffer, Detlev Marpe