Patents by Inventor Minhua Zhou

Minhua Zhou 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: 20240146941
    Abstract: A method for encoding a video sequence is provided that includes signaling in the compressed bit stream that a subset of a plurality of partitioning modes is used for inter-prediction of a portion of the video sequence, using only the subset of partitioning modes for prediction of the portion of the video sequence, and entropy encoding partitioning mode syntax elements corresponding to the portion of the video sequence, wherein at least one partitioning mode syntax element is binarized according to a pre-determined binarization corresponding to the subset of partitioning modes, wherein the pre-determined binarization differs from a pre-determined binarization for the least one partitioning mode syntax element that would be used if the plurality of partitioning modes is used for inter-prediction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 10, 2024
    Publication date: May 2, 2024
    Inventor: Minhua Zhou
  • Publication number: 20240137551
    Abstract: Motion compensation requires a significant amount of memory bandwidth, especially for smaller prediction unit sizes. The worst case bandwidth requirements can occur when bi-predicted 4×8 or 8×4 PUs are used. To reduce the memory bandwidth requirements for such smaller PUs, methods are provided for restricting inter-coded PUs of small block sizes to be coded only in a uni-predictive mode, i.e., forward prediction or backward prediction. More specifically, PUs of specified restricted sizes in bi-predicted slices (B slices) are forced to be uni-predicted.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 29, 2023
    Publication date: April 25, 2024
    Inventor: Minhua Zhou
  • Publication number: 20240129502
    Abstract: In some aspects, the disclosure is directed to methods and systems for reducing memory utilization and increasing efficiency during affine merge mode for versatile video coding by utilizing motion vectors stored in a motion data line buffer for a prediction unit of a second coding tree unit neighboring a first coding tree unit to derive control point motion vectors for the first coding tree unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2023
    Publication date: April 18, 2024
    Applicant: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte. Limited
    Inventor: Minhua Zhou
  • Patent number: 11956446
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for parsing friendly and error resilient merge flag coding in video coding are provided. In some methods, in contrast to merging candidate list size dependent coding of the merge flag in the prior art, a merge flag is always encoded in the encoded bit stream for each inter-predicted prediction unit (PU) that is not encoded using skip mode. In some methods, in contrast to the prior art that allowed the merging candidate list to be empty, one or more zero motion vector merging candidates formatted according to the prediction type of the slice containing a PU are added to the merging candidate list if needed to ensure that the list is not empty and/or to ensure that the list contains a maximum number of merging candidates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Minhua Zhou
  • Publication number: 20240114175
    Abstract: Techniques for signaling of sample adaptive offset (SAO) information that may reduce the coding rate for signaling such information in the compressed bit stream are provided. More specifically, techniques are provided that allow SAO information common to two or more of the color components to be signaled using one or more syntax elements (flags or indicators) representative of the common information. These techniques reduce the need to signal SAO information separately for each color component.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 15, 2023
    Publication date: April 4, 2024
    Inventors: Woo-Shik Kim, Do-Kyoung Kwon, Minhua Zhou
  • Patent number: 11949871
    Abstract: In the subject architecture flexible binary arithmetic coding system, coding circuitry of an electronic device may receive video data that is to be coded (e.g., to be encoded or decoded) by binary arithmetic coding. The coding circuitry may also compute at least one of a least probable symbol (LPS) range or a most probable symbol (MPS) range based on a multiplication operation (e.g., without performing a table look-up operation). The coding circuitry may perform binary arithmetic coding on the video data using the at least one of the LPS range or the MPS range. The computation of the LPS range and/or the MPS range using the multiplication operation may have a lower computational cost than using a table look-up operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte. Ltd.
    Inventor: Minhua Zhou
  • Publication number: 20240107052
    Abstract: A system includes memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The processor processes a received bitstream to generate quantized data and control data. The process also generates decoded motion data based on a portion of the control data, fetches one or more reference blocks associated with a current prediction unit (PU) of a DPR based on the decoded motion data and generates refined motion data based on the decoded motion data and the one or more reference blocks. The processor further generates one or more inter-prediction blocks based on the refined motion data and the one or more reference blocks by performing a motion compensation operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2023
    Publication date: March 28, 2024
    Inventor: Minhua ZHOU
  • Publication number: 20240080459
    Abstract: A method for sample adaptive offset (SAO) filtering in a video encoder is provided that includes estimating SAO parameters for color components of a largest coding unit (LCU) of a picture, wherein estimating SAO parameters includes using at least some non-deblock-filtered reconstructed pixels of the LCU to estimate the SAO parameters, performing SAO filtering on the reconstructed LCU according to the estimated SAO parameters, and entropy encoding SAO information for the LCU in a compressed video bit stream, wherein the SAO information signals the estimated SAO parameters for the LCU.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2023
    Publication date: March 7, 2024
    Inventors: Woo-Shik Kim, Madhukar Budagavi, Minhua Zhou
  • Patent number: 11924443
    Abstract: A method for coding a video sequence is provided that includes encoding a portion of a picture in the video sequence in lossless coding mode, and signaling a lossless coding indicator in a compressed bit stream, wherein the lossless coding indicator corresponds to the portion of a picture and indicates whether or not the portion of the picture is losslessly coded. A method for decoding a compressed video bit stream is provided that includes determining that lossless coding mode is enabled, decoding a lossless coding indicator from the compressed video bit stream, wherein the lossless coding indicator corresponds to a portion of a picture in the compressed video bit stream and indicates whether or not the portion of the picture is losslessly coded, and decoding the portion of the picture in lossless coding mode when the lossless coding indicator indicates the portion of the picture is losslessly coded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Minhua Zhou
  • Patent number: 11917176
    Abstract: A video decoder is provided that includes memory and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor may be configured to convert a bitstream into inter-prediction parameters and reconstruct motion data based on the inter-prediction parameters. The processor may further be configured to refine the motion data based on finding a match between a current template of a current picture and a reference template of a reference picture and perform a motion compensation operation with the refined motion data and a reference block to generate an inter-prediction block. The processor may be configured to add the inter-prediction block to an inter-residual block to produce a reconstructed block. The motion data may be reconstructed without refined motion data associated with a previous prediction unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: AVAGO TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL SALES PTE. LIMITED
    Inventor: Minhua Zhou
  • Publication number: 20240048732
    Abstract: A method for processing a prediction unit (PU) to generate predicted samples is provided that includes computing predicted samples for samples of the PU using sample-based angular intra-prediction (SAP) when lossless coding is enabled for the PU, and computing predicted samples for the samples of the PU using block-based angular intra-prediction when lossless coding is not enabled for the PU. Computation of the predicted using SAP includes determining an intra-prediction angle for the PU, and computing a predicted sample for each sample of the samples in the PU based on linear interpolation of two reference samples adjacent to the sample, wherein the two reference samples are selected according to the intra-prediction angle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2023
    Publication date: February 8, 2024
    Inventor: Minhua Zhou
  • Publication number: 20240048707
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for sub-picture based raster scanning coding order. The method includes dividing an image into even sub-pictures, and encoding parallel sub-pictures on multi-cores in raster scanning order within sub-pictures, wherein from core to core, coding of the sub-picture is independent around sub-picture boundaries, and wherein within a core, coding of a sub-picture is at least one of dependent or independent around sub-picture boundaries.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 20, 2023
    Publication date: February 8, 2024
    Inventor: Minhua Zhou
  • Patent number: 11882300
    Abstract: In some aspects, the disclosure is directed to methods and systems for reducing memory utilization and increasing efficiency during affine merge mode for versatile video coding by utilizing motion vectors stored in a motion data line buffer for a prediction unit of a second coding tree unit neighboring a first coding tree unit to derive control point motion vectors for the first coding tree unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte. Limited
    Inventor: Minhua Zhou
  • Patent number: 11876982
    Abstract: A method for encoding a video sequence is provided that includes signaling in the compressed bit stream that a subset of a plurality of partitioning modes is used for inter-prediction of a portion of the video sequence, using only the subset of partitioning modes for prediction of the portion of the video sequence, and entropy encoding partitioning mode syntax elements corresponding to the portion of the video sequence, wherein at least one partitioning mode syntax element is binarized according to a pre-determined binarization corresponding to the subset of partitioning modes, wherein the pre-determined binarization differs from a pre-determined binarization for the least one partitioning mode syntax element that would be used if the plurality of partitioning modes is used for inter-prediction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Minhua Zhou
  • Patent number: 11863782
    Abstract: Motion compensation requires a significant amount of memory bandwidth, especially for smaller prediction unit sizes. The worst case bandwidth requirements can occur when bi-predicted 4×8 or 8×4 PUs are used. To reduce the memory bandwidth requirements for such smaller PUs, methods are provided for restricting inter-coded PUs of small block sizes to be coded only in a uni-predictive mode, i.e., forward prediction or backward prediction. More specifically, PUs of specified restricted sizes in bi-predicted slices (B slices) are forced to be uni-predicted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Minhua Zhou
  • Publication number: 20230421789
    Abstract: A method for decoding a compressed video bit stream in a video decoder to recover a video sequence, the video decoder including a plurality of decoder processing cores is provided. The method includes determining that a picture is encoded in the compressed bit stream as a pre-determined number of independently encoded sub-pictures, and dispatching a first encoded sub-picture of the pre-determined number of sub-pictures to a first decoder processing core of the plurality of decoder processing cores and a second encoded sub-picture of the pre-determined number of sub-pictures to a second decoder processing core of the plurality of decoder processing cores, wherein the first encoded sub-picture and the second encoded sub-picture are independently decoded in parallel on the respective first and second decoder processing cores.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2023
    Publication date: December 28, 2023
    Inventor: Minhua Zhou
  • Publication number: 20230421808
    Abstract: A method of compressing digital image data is provided that includes selecting an entropy code for encoding a line of pixels in the digital image data, wherein the entropy code is selected from a plurality of variable length entropy codes, using spatial prediction to compute a pixel predictor and a pixel residual for a pixel in the line of pixels, and selectively encoding the pixel residual using one of the entropy code or run mode encoding.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2023
    Publication date: December 28, 2023
    Inventors: Ying Chen, Madhukar Budagavi, Minhua Zhou
  • Patent number: 11849154
    Abstract: Techniques for signaling of sample adaptive offset (SAO) information that may reduce the coding rate for signaling such information in the compressed bit stream are provided. More specifically, techniques are provided that allow SAO information common to two or more of the color components to be signaled using one or more syntax elements (flags or indicators) representative of the common information. These techniques reduce the need to signal SAO information separately for each color component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Woo-Shik Kim, Do-Kyoung Kwon, Minhua Zhou
  • Publication number: 20230396768
    Abstract: A method is provided that includes receiving a coded largest coding unit in a video decoder, wherein the coded largest coding unit includes a coded coding unit structure and a plurality of coded quantization parameters, and decoding the coded largest coding unit based on the coded coding unit structure and the plurality of coded quantization parameters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 23, 2023
    Publication date: December 7, 2023
    Inventors: Minhua Zhou, Mehmet Umut Demircin, Madhukar Budagavi
  • Publication number: 20230396806
    Abstract: A method for encoding a picture of a video sequence in a bit stream that constrains slice header processing overhead is provided. The method includes computing a maximum slice rate for the video sequence, computing a maximum number of slices for the picture based on the maximum slice rate, and encoding the picture wherein a number of slices used to encode the picture is enforced to be no more than the maximum number of slices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 16, 2023
    Publication date: December 7, 2023
    Inventor: Minhua Zhou