Abstract: An image processing method includes: combining a padding region with a picture, wherein any padding pixel included in the padding region is assigned with a predetermined pixel value; and encoding the picture having the padding region combined therewith. For example, the padding region is directly below a bottom edge of the picture. For another example, all of padding pixels included in the padding region have the same pixel value.

Abstract: A method and apparatus of image coding including a no-residue prediction mode are disclosed. At the encoder side, current predictors for a current coding unit are determined according to a target prediction process associated with a target prediction mode. The current predictors are determined based on pixel data including reconstructed pixels in the current slice or the current image. The target prediction process is applied to the current coding unit using the current predictors to generate prediction residues. A distortion condition or a cost measure for the prediction residues is determined. If the distortion condition is satisfied or the cost measure favors coding without the prediction residues, the current coding unit is encoded into current compressed bits of the current coding unit without compressed data associated with the prediction residues. A corresponding decoding method and apparatus are also disclosed.

Abstract: Method and apparatus of image coding using block prediction (BP) allowing multiple block sizes are disclosed. According to one method, first distortion for the current block coded using BP with a first block size is derived using at least partial second distortion for the current block coded using BP with a first block size. According to another method, a flag indicating whether the BP using variable block sizes is enabled. According to yet another method, when a current block is coded using BP by partitioning the current block into multiple partitions, predictors for two partitions in different reconstructed pixel line groups are derived from different reconstructed pixel line groups. According to still yet another method, for coding image data in a non-444 color sampling format using BP, the predictors for chrominance pixels in the current block are derived from the predictors for the luminance pixels of the current block.

Abstract: A video encoding apparatus includes a data buffer and a video encoding circuit. Encoding of a first frame includes: deriving reference pixels of a reference frame from reconstructed pixels of the first frame, respectively, and storing reference pixel data into the data buffer for inter prediction, wherein the reference pixel data include information of pixel values of the reference pixels. Encoding of a second frame includes performing prediction upon a coding unit in the second frame to determine a target predictor for the coding unit. The prediction performed upon the coding unit includes: checking if a search range on the reference frame for finding a predictor of the coding unit under an inter prediction mode includes at least one reference pixel of the reference frame that is not accessible to the video encoding circuit, and determining the target predictor for the coding unit according to a checking result.

Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure provide a method for merging compressed access units according to compression rates and/or positions of the respective compressed access units. The method can include receiving a sequence of compressed access units corresponding to a sequence of raw access units partitioned from an image or a video frame and corresponding to a sequence of memory spaces in a frame buffer, determining a merged access unit including at least two consecutive compressed access units based on compression rates and/or positions of the sequence of compressed access units. The merged access unit is to be stored in the frame buffer with a reduced gap between the at least two consecutive compressed access units compared with storing the at least two consecutive compressed access units in corresponding memory spaces in the sequence of memory spaces.

Abstract: An encoding method is used for encoding an image. The image includes a plurality of blocks each having a plurality of pixels. The encoding method includes: encoding a plurality of data partitions of block data of a block in the image to generate a plurality of compressed bitstream segments, respectively; and combining the compressed bitstream segments to generate an output bitstream of the block. A bit group based interleaving process is involved in generating the output bitstream. According to the bit group based interleaving process, each of the compressed bitstream segments is divided into a plurality of bit groups each having at least one bit, and the output bitstream includes consecutive bit groups belonging to different compressed bitstream segments, respectively.

Abstract: A video encoder has a processing circuit and a universal binary entropy (UBE) syntax encoder. The processing circuit processes pixel data of a video frame to generate encoding-related data, wherein the encoding-related data comprise at least quantized transform coefficients. The UBE syntax encoder processes a plurality of syntax elements to generate UBE syntax data. The encoding-related data are represented by the syntax elements. The processing circuit operates according to a video coding standard. The video coding standard supports arithmetic encoding. The UBE syntax data contain no arithmetic-encoded syntax data.

Abstract: A video compression system includes a video encoder and a bitstream processing circuit. The video encoder is hardware that performs hardware video encoding upon frames to generate a first bitstream. The first bitstream is output from an entropy encoding circuit of the video encoder. The bitstream processing circuit performs a bitstream post-processing operation upon the first bitstream to produce a second bitstream that is different from the first bitstream, and outputs the second bitstream as a compression output of the frames.

Abstract: A method and apparatus of coding using multiple coding modes with multiple color spaces are provided. For the encoder side, a coding mode is selected from a coding mode group. A corresponding color domain is associated with the coding mode and the corresponding color domain is selected from a color-domain group including at least two different color domains. The current coding unit is then encoded in the corresponding color domain using the coding mode. Furthermore, the syntax of the corresponding color domain is signaled in current coding unit syntaxes. The different color domains may include RGB color domain and YCoCg color domain. According to another method, if the midpoint prediction (MPP) mode is selected, a current block is color transformed into another color domain and the MPP coding process is performed in said another color domain.

Abstract: A perception-based image processing apparatus includes an image analyzing circuit and an application circuit. The image analyzing circuit obtains training data, sets a perception model according to the training data, performs an object detection of at least one frame, and generates an object detection information signal based at least partly on a result of the object detection of said at least one frame. The application circuit operates in response to the object detection information signal.

Abstract: A method and apparatus of encoding frames with a frame type structure adaptively according to a current encoding status after receiving a request for an IDR frame or receiving an indication of picture data loss are disclosed. If the check result of the current encoding status is true, the second frame type structure is the same as the first frame type structure; and if the check result of the current encoding status is false, the second frame type structure is different from the first frame type structure. Another method and apparatus of encoding frames with a reference frame structure and a frame type structure adaptively according to one or more current encoding statuses after receiving an indication of picture data loss are disclosed. The system may use two different check results to adaptively select the reference frame structure and the frame type structure.

Abstract: A video encoder includes a video encoding circuit and a slice decision circuit. The video encoding circuit encodes a first slice in a frame according to a first coding unit boundary between an end of the first slice and a start of a second slice in the frame, and outputs a first bitstream of the first slice. The slice decision circuit predicts the first coding unit boundary before a bitstream of a last coding unit of the first slice is generated by the video encoding circuit, and informs the video encoding circuit of the first coding unit boundary. The video encoding circuit refers to the first coding unit boundary predicted by the slice decision circuit to ensure that a bitstream size of the first bitstream is constrained by a predetermined bitstream size threshold.

Abstract: Method and apparatus of video coding using coding modes including Intra Block Copy (IntraBC) for a video coding system incorporating multi-stage pipeline processing is disclosed. In order to overcome data dependency issue due to the use of pipeline architecture, a first embodiment uses constrained previous reconstructed region for IntraBC estimation by excluding unavailable reconstructed previous reconstructed data due to the multi-stage pipeline processing. In the second embodiment, the unavailable reconstructed data is replaced by source pixel data.

Abstract: A buffer device is used by a compressor/decompressor with block prediction for storing information needed to encode/decode a pixel line. Vector information (e.g., final block prediction vector information and/or partial block prediction vector information) of at least one later pixel group is computed while a current pixel group is being encoded/decoded. The buffer device does not need to store vector information of all pixel groups of one pixel line at the same time. For example, one pixel line is composed of M pixel groups; and when the compressor/decompressor is encoding/decoding the current pixel line, final/partial vector information sets of at most K pixel groups are allowed to be stored in the buffer device simultaneously, where K is a positive integer smaller than M.

Abstract: A method and apparatus of image coding including adaptive entropy coding are disclosed. According to this method, input pixels associated with a group of symbols generated from image or video data are received. Maximum bit-depth of the group of symbols is then determined. If the maximum bit-depth of the group of symbols is smaller than a first bit-depth threshold, the group of symbols is encoded or decoded using Golomb-Rice coding. If the maximum bit-depth of the group of symbols is greater than or equal to the first bit-depth threshold, the group of symbols is encoded or decoded using second entropy coding, where the second entropy coding is different from the Golomb-Rice coding. Outputs corresponding to encoded or decoded output associated with the group of symbols are provided. The maximum bit-depth of the group of symbols is signaled at the encoder or recovered at the decoder by parsing the bitstream.

Abstract: An encoding method includes applying a search range constraint on a search range of a block in a current frame, and encoding the block in the current frame with pixel information in a reference frame according to inter prediction performed based on the search range of the block in the current frame, wherein a resolution of the current frame is different from a resolution of the reference frame.

Abstract: A data processing apparatus includes a storage element and a clock controller. The storage element has storage partitions, including a first storage partition and a second storage partition. The clock controller controls clock driving of the first storage partition and the second storage partition. When a processing circuit is configured to operate in a first condition to process a first data sample with a first bit width, the clock controller enables clock driving of both of the first storage partition and the second storage partition. When the processing circuit is configured to operate in a second condition to process a second data sample with a second bit width, the clock controller enables clock driving of the first storage partition and disables clock driving of the second storage partition.

Abstract: An adaptive video encoding method includes: encoding, by an encoding circuit, a current frame to generate a current encoded frame; and after the current frame is encoded, obtaining quantization parameter information of at least one encoded frame, wherein the at least one encoded frame includes the current encoded frame, and referring to the quantization parameter information to adaptively adjust a frame rate of at least one next frame to be actually encoded by the encoding circuit.

Abstract: An image processing method includes at least the following steps: partitioning a picture into a plurality of slices, wherein each slice row in the picture includes at least one slice; generating a compressed picture by encoding each of the slices; and controlling at least one of start of transmission of encoded data of a slice row and end of the transmission of encoded data of the slice row according to a transmission synchronization event.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for IntraBC (Intra-block copy) coding for a coding region are disclosed. The method operates to receive input data associated with a current block in the coding region and determine a maximum memory size of a reconstructed sample memory for storing a constrained previous reconstructed region, wherein the constrained previous reconstructed region comprises a group of previous reconstructed samples processed before the current block. The method then derives an IntraBC predictor from a valid previous reconstructed region within the constrained previous reconstructed region stored in the reconstructed sample memory, and applies IntraBC encoding or decoding to the current block using the IntraBC predictor derived.