Abstract: A multi-picture synthesizing method in a conference television system is disclosed by the present invention. The method includes: synthesizing multiple pictures into a bottom layer of a multi-picture image according to a preset multi-picture layout, creating at least one layer of image layer over a bottom layer of a multi-picture image, creating at least one image frame in each image layer, and adjusting a pre-output picture corresponding to the image frame according to output characteristics of each image frame, and outputting the pre-output picture into the corresponding image frame. The present invention further discloses a multi-picture synthesizing apparatus in a conference television system. According to the technical scheme of the present invention, the multi-picture synthesizing of a conference television system is implemented flexibly and simply.

Abstract: Using fewer bits to indicate the prediction mode used for encoding some of the non-frame-edge blocks of a frame. In an embodiment, fewer bits are used in case of boundary blocks of a slice, or slice group. In another embodiment, fewer bits are used when adjacent blocks are encoded using inter-frame coding or switchable intra-frame coding and such adjacent block cannot be used in predicting a block.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for predicting a pixel block of an image using a weighted sum of pixel blocks belonging to patches of a dictionary from a set of candidate patches, each patch being formed of a pixel block of an image and a causal neighborhood of this pixel block. The method is wherein a subset of candidate patches is obtained from the set of candidate patches and the dictionary is formed of a patch of the subset of candidate patches, called the first patch, and at least one other patch of said set of candidate patches, called the second patch.

Abstract: The method includes the following units: a coefficient number detecting unit (109) for detecting the number of coefficients which has a value other than 0 for each block according to the generated coefficient, a coefficient number storing unit (110) for storing the number of coefficients detected, a coefficient number coding unit (111) for selecting a table for variable length coding based on the numbers of coefficients in the coded blocks located on the periphery of a current block to be coded with reference to the selected table for variable length coding so as to perform variable length coding for the number of coefficients.

Abstract: A moving picture coding apparatus includes an intra-inter prediction unit which calculates a second motion vector by performing a scaling process on a first motion vector of a temporally neighboring corresponding block, when selectively adding, to a list, a motion vector of each of one or more corresponding blocks each of which is either a block included in a current picture to be coded and spatially neighboring a current block to be coded or a block included in a picture other than the current picture and temporally neighboring the current block, determines whether the second motion vector has a magnitude that is within a predetermined magnitude or not within the predetermined magnitude, and adds the second motion vector to the list when the intra-inter prediction unit determines that the second motion vector has a magnitude that is within the predetermined magnitude range.

Abstract: A method for processing a video image sequence with a number of successive images and an image processing device for processing a video image sequence are described.

Abstract: Systems and method for tile-based compression are disclosed. Image data, such as a frame, may be divided into tiles. The tiles may be sized based on a size of a line buffer. Tiles are compressed and decompressed individually. As portions of the image frame are updated, corresponding updated tiles may be compressed and stored. Likewise, as tiles are accessed they may be de-compressed and streamed to a requesting device. In some embodiments, a decoder operable to decompress tiles may be interposed between a memory device and a requesting device. Data encoding one or more compressed tiles may be grouped to enable decompression at a rate of four pixels per clock cycle. Methods for compressing image data including both RGB and RGB? components are disclosed.

Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus for decoding motion information in merge mode for reconstructing a moving picture signal coded at a low data rate while maintaining a high quality of an image. The apparatus for decoding motion information in merge mode discloses the position of a merge mode candidate and the configuration of a candidate in order to predict motion information in merge mode efficiently. Furthermore, a merge candidate indicated by the merge index of a current block can be efficiently reconstructed irrespective of a network environment by adaptively generating a merge candidate based on the number of valid merge candidate.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for coding a sequence of images. The method includes a step of coding at least one block of a current image of the sequence, implementing a prediction associating the block with at least one corresponding block in a reference image. The prediction includes the following steps, for at least one given block of the current image or of the reference image: determination of a plurality of control vectors for the block; at least one splitting of the block into sub-blocks; determination of a plurality of control vectors for the sub-blocks; and determination of a prediction value for at least one point of the current image. Moreover, the method includes a step of inserting, into a signal representative of the sequence, information regarding reconstruction of the control vectors for the given block.

Abstract: A deblocking filter 24 performs filtering of decoded image data obtained by decoding image data encoded for each block, so as to remove block distortion. If at least one of block sizes on adjacent sides of two adjacent blocks is extended larger than a predetermined block size, a filter setting unit 41 sets the tap length to an extended length to increase the strength of distortion removal, or sets a filtering object pixel range to an extended range. When a macroblock having an extended size is used, the degree of smoothing is increased, and pixels including those distant from the block boundary are subjected to filtering. Consequently, even when various block sizes are employed or when blocks of extended sizes are used, images of high image quality can be achieved.

Abstract: A method of, and system for, selective video frame compression and decompression is presented. The disclosed technique is particularly suited for efficient event-driven searching in large databases. The technique involves designating certain frames in a video sequence as reference frames, to be compressed using a first compression technique, where the remaining frames are compressed using a second compression technique. The first compression technique may be implemented without requiring data from any neighboring frames.

Abstract: Compression of an image is performed based on prediction of target blocks of an image from candidate source blocks of the image. Heuristics are used for identifying the candidate source blocks, for example, source blocks are selected from within a cluster of similar blocks obtained by K-means clustering. For each target block, a region adjacent to the target block is identified and a set of candidate source blocks along with candidate source regions adjacent to the candidate source blocks are identified. The candidate source regions are ranked based on the differences between the candidate source regions and the target source region. Each candidate source block is described using its rank and residual information describing differences between the candidate source block and the target block. The candidate source block that can be described using a minimum amount of information is selected for predicting the target block.

Abstract: The image coding method is used to code images to generate a coded stream. The image coding method includes: writing, into a sequence parameter set in the coded stream to be generated, a first parameter representing a first bit-depth that is a bit-depth of a reconstructed sample in the images; and writing, into the sequence parameter set, a second parameter which is different from the first parameter and represents a second bit-depth that is a bit-depth of an Intra Pulse Code Modulation (IPCM) sample in the images.

Abstract: A color component predictive method determines a base color component and uses the base color component to compute offsets for other color components. The block is then able to be coded using the base color component and the offsets of the other color components. For decoding, the base color component is used with the offsets to regenerate the other color components.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an image processing device and a method that can reduce degradation of the quality of decoded images. An image processing device in the present disclosure includes: a determination unit that determines that block distortion is likely to be observed when a predictor used in generating a predicted image of a current image being processed differs from a predictor corresponding to an adjacent image located adjacent to the current image; a control unit that performs control to have a higher strength set in a deblocking filtering process for the current image, when the determination unit determines that block distortion is likely to be observed; and a filtering unit that performs, under the control of the control unit, the deblocking filtering process on the current image. The present disclosure can be applied to image processing devices.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention include systems and methods for identifying and locating an object in an image. In embodiments, an object in an image may be identified by segmenting a first image of an object into one or more superpixels; extracting local descriptors from the first image, each of the descriptors having an interest point with a location; correlating the local descriptors to the superpixels based on locations of the local descriptors and superpixels; determining a probability for an object label for each of a set of the superpixels; and assigning an object label to each of the set of the superpixels based on the probability and a smoothness factor that includes weighting in terms of one or more of spatial, colors, angular distances between superpixels. The superpixels of an image may be concatenated to predict an object label for the image and to determine the location of the image.

Abstract: An image data decoding apparatus and method are based on an availability of reference data. The image data decoding apparatus may include a core to process decoding of image data, and an availability determining device to receive, from the core, availability verification request information with respect to a reference area of a first frame included in the image data, to determine an availability with respect to the reference area based on the received availability verification request information, and to transmit, to the core, the determined availability. When the reference area is available, the core may process decoding of a second frame based on the reference area.

Abstract: To provide an image coding device having high coding efficiency and an image decoding device. A plurality of prediction procedures that uses various types of correlations between pixels are adaptively applied with a coded signal as a reference. With respect to an input pixel, first residual and prediction information are obtained by a first prediction unit that carries out in-screen prediction and the like, second residual and prediction information are obtained by a second prediction unit for predicting a first residual as a serial additional process, and third residual and prediction information are obtained by a third prediction unit for directly predicting a pixel to be coded as a parallel additional process on the input pixel. Which of either the second residual or the third residual to code is determined based on the coding cost, and the signal is switched in the first switching unit.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, an image encoder includes a sorter, a PCM (pulse code modulation) pixel inserter, an encoding unit and an output stream generator. The sorter accepts an input stream comprising a plurality of original pixels included in original image data in a raster scan order and changes arrangement of the original pixels to generate sorted data. The PCM pixel inserter outputs a PCM pixel in accordance with a predetermined PCM pixel insertion interval. The encoding unit conducts difference encoding processing by using the PCM pixel and the sorted data to generate encoded data. The output stream generator inserts the PCM pixel at a PCM insertion position in the encoded data corresponding to a coordinate of the original pixel to generate an output stream.

Abstract: A method codes a sequence of digital images, each image having the same image format and including a number of pixels with assigned pixel values. Motion parameters between first and second images are determined, where based on said motion parameters a motion compensation is performed for coding the sequence of images, where said motion parameters are included in the coded sequence of images. The motion parameters between a first image and a second image include a scalar field having scalar values for a plurality of image positions in the image format. The scalar field is determined such that gradient vectors derived from the scalar field correspond to motion vectors for the motion compensation.

Abstract: A method of decoding an image including performing entropy-decoding to obtain quantized transformation coefficients of at least one transformation unit in a coding unit of the image, performing inverse-quantization and inverse-transformation on the quantized transformation coefficients of the at least one transformation unit to obtain residuals, and performing inter prediction for at least one prediction unit in the coding unit to generate a predictor and restoring the image by using the residuals and the predictor.

Abstract: An apparatus for decoding an image includes an entropy decoder that performs entropy-decoding to obtain quantized transformation coefficients of at least one transformation unit in a coding unit of the image, an inverse transformer that performs inverse-quantization and inverse-transformation on the quantized transformation coefficients of the at least one transformation unit to obtain residuals, and a restorer that performs inter prediction for at least one prediction unit in the coding unit to generate a predictor and restores the image by using the residuals and the predictor.

Abstract: A direction-adaptive image upsampling system and method using double interpolation is disclosed. Each of double interpolation (DI) units with different interpolation functions receives an input image and generates a corresponding double-interpolated image and an associated double-interpolated difference. A decision unit receives the double-interpolated differences from the DI units for deciding the DI unit that has an optimal interpolation around a pixel under process. An adaptive selector selects the double-interpolated image associated with the DI unit having the optimal interpolation as an output image.

Abstract: A method of encoding an image by transforming a group of prediction units into a frequency domain. A prediction unit may be predicted by using prediction values of the prediction units in the group of prediction units, instead of pixels generated by encoding and then restoring the other prediction units in the group of prediction units. Thus, an encoding compression ratio may be increased as a result of grouping the prediction units.

Abstract: According to an embodiment, an image encoding apparatus includes a parameter selector and an output selector. The parameter selector selects a coding parameter controlling the first encoder. The coding parameter makes a first code amount generated by the first encoder smaller than a target code amount if the coding parameter is applied to the first pixel group. The output selector selects the encoding result from the first encoder provided that the first code amount generated by the first encoder when the selected coding parameter is applied to the second pixel group is smaller than the second code amount generated by the second encoder.

Abstract: An encoding and decoding method and apparatus are disclosed. whereby, According to the disclosed method, in response to a current frame including a current block being a P frame, a motion vector and an intra-mode-to-inter mode ratio of a frame encoded and decoded previously to the current frame are analyzed in order to determine a temporal search range and a spatial search range of a reference frame.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for variable accuracy inter-picture timing specification for digital video encoding is disclosed. Specifically, the present invention discloses a system that allows the relative timing of nearby video pictures to be encoded in a very efficient manner. In one embodiment, the display time difference between a current video picture and a nearby video picture is determined. The display time difference is then encoded into a digital representation of the video picture. In a preferred embodiment, the nearby video picture is the most recently transmitted stored picture. For coding efficiency, the display time difference may be encoded using a variable length coding system or arithmetic coding. In an alternate embodiment, the display time difference is encoded as a power of two to reduce the number of bits transmitted.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to a method, apparatus, and recording medium for encoding an intra-prediction mode of an image using variable length codes, including: determining an intra prediction mode of a current block; determining an intra prediction mode having smallest mode number among intra prediction modes of encoded adjacent blocks as Most Probable Mode; generating and allocating variable length codes in ascending order from shorter code with higher similarity for directivity with MPM for all intra-prediction modes; and encoding intra prediction mode of current block based on allocated variable length codes, and thereby generates efficient variable length codes in consideration of high correlation in the intra-prediction modes of current block and peripheral blocks even if intra-prediction mode of current block does not match MPM derived with reference to peripheral blocks, and efficiently compressing information on intra-prediction mode of current block using variable length codes, thereby improving intra

Abstract: An image processing apparatus for processing an input moving image including a plurality of access units arranged every first period. The image processing apparatus includes a motion vector calculation unit which calculates a motion vector of an object included in the input moving image every second period, a motion vector conversion unit which converts the motion vector by multiplying the calculated motion vector by a predetermined gain, and a gain calculation unit which calculates the predetermined gain in accordance with a brightness in a user environment and supplies the predetermined gain to the motion vector conversion unit.

Abstract: Inter-color image prediction is based on color grading modeling. Prediction is applied to the efficient coding of images and video signals of high dynamic range. Prediction models may include a color transformation matrix that models hue and saturation color changes and a non-linear function modeling color correction changes. Under the assumption that the color grading process uses a slope, offset, and power (SOP) operations, an example non linear prediction model is presented.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for encoding an image is provided. An image coding unit, including a region that deviates from a boundary of a current picture, is divided to obtain a coding unit having a smaller size than the size of the image coding unit, and encoding is performed only in a region that does not deviate from the boundary of the current picture. A method and apparatus for decoding an image encoded by the method and apparatus for encoding an image is also provided.

Abstract: An image decoding method for decoding an image using plural intra prediction modes, including decoding first binary data and second binary data, the first binary data indicating a first intra prediction mode to decode the image, the second binary data indicating a second intra prediction mode to decode the image, wherein in the decoding, coded data is obtained which includes a first context adaptive segment, a second context adaptive segment, a first bypass segment, and a second bypass segment. The first context adaptive segment and the second context adaptive segment are decoded by context adaptive binary arithmetic decoding which is arithmetic decoding using a variable probability updated based on decoded data, and the first bypass segment and the second bypass segment are decoded by bypass decoding which is arithmetic decoding using a predetermined fixed probability.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method in which a motion vector corresponding to the difference between the coordinates of an encoding target block and the coordinates of a reference block is calculated, a horizontal-direction fine adjustment filter Hh and a vertical-direction fine adjustment filter Hv are generated and applied to the reference block, which is further assigned to the encoding target block in order to generate a motion-compensated prediction image.

Abstract: Disclosed is an imaging apparatus capable of, when a JPEG compression encoding is performed by dividing an image after an image processing into a plurality of blocks, simply performing the JPEG compression encoding and a combination of images after the encoding without encoding efficiency deterioration or a limitation in an image size of the block. The imaging apparatus includes an image processor for horizontally dividing image data into a plurality of blocks and supplying the blocks to an encoder without passing through a storage unit, the encoder for simultaneously storing an initiation address of a corresponding line to be encoded in a corresponding block and a data length after the corresponding line is encoded in the storage unit, and storing information used for a predictive encoding in the storage unit in every corresponding line to be encoded in the corresponding block.

Abstract: A spatial prediction method capable of reducing the complexity of spatial prediction includes: detecting an edge (E) overlapping the current block by obtaining a horizontal gradient (Gy) and a vertical gradient (Gx) between pixels within a block adjacent to the current block; calculating an integer slope of the edge; determining, for each pixel position within the current block, a sub-pel position being an intersection between (i) a line that has the integer slope and passes through the pixel position and (ii) a boundary of the adjacent block; and predicting, for each pixel position, a pixel value at the pixel position based on a pixel value interpolated in the sub-pel position, wherein the boundary of the adjacent block is a row or a column that is the closest to the current block, among rows or columns of pixels included in the adjacent block.

Abstract: An image encoding device has: a first acquisition unit and a second acquisition unit that acquire a moving image; an encoding unit that encodes the acquired moving image in accordance with a predetermined encoding order and a predetermined encoding method; and a reception unit that receives an instruction to stop performing a process. When the reception unit receives the instruction, the encoding unit uses a last acquired image as an image that was to be acquired after the last acquired image and encodes all acquired images.

Abstract: A method and apparatus of image data compression and decompression are disclosed. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the compression method partitions the image data into access units and encodes each access unit into a bitstream according to a target bit budget. Each access unit is encoded using first data compression to generate a first bitstream and the residual data is further encoded using second data compression to generate a second bitstream if the first bitstream is smaller than the target bit budget. In one example, the second data compression comprises bit plane coding applied to bit plane-ordered data, wherein the bit plane-ordered data is generated by scanning from a most significant bit to a least significant bit of the residual data in a bit plane-wise order. The decompression method comprises steps to recover reconstructed data from the first and second bitstreams.

Abstract: A pixel block is compressed by providing a respective color component prediction for each pixel in the block. A difference between color components of two neighboring pixels is calculated and compared to a threshold. If the difference is smaller than the threshold, the prediction is calculated based on a first linear combination of the color components of these two neighboring pixels. However, if the difference exceeds the threshold, a second or third linear combination of the color components of the neighboring pixels is employed in the prediction. A guiding bit associated with the selected linear combination may be used. A prediction error is calculated based on the color component of the pixel and the provided prediction. The compressed block comprises an encoded representation of the prediction error and any guiding bit.

Abstract: For determining a prediction mode parameter, a macroblock of an image is divided into a plurality of blocks; most prediction mode parameters corresponding to a plurality of first blocks along a left most edge of the macroblock are determined; most prediction mode parameters corresponding to a plurality of second blocks along a top most edge of the macroblock are determined; and the most prediction mode parameters of the first and second blocks are stored into a buffer allocated with designated position for the plurality of blocks.

Abstract: A technique for eliminating the unnaturalness in a generated moving image while achieving high speed processing in an image processing apparatus which includes a deblocking filter is provided. A transcoder includes an MPEG2 decoder, a strength evaluation circuit, and an H.264 encoder. The strength evaluation circuit calculates a filter strength parameter on the basis of an image feature value parameter acquired by the MPEG2 decoder. The H.264 encoder applies a deblocking filter to an input image on the basis of the filter strength parameter in a coding process. The H.264 encoder codes a picture while the strength evaluation circuit performs a filter strength calculation process on a subsequent picture concurrently.

Abstract: A video transcoder is disclosed. The video transcoder generally comprises a processor and a video digital signal processor. The processor may be formed on a first die. The video digital signal processor may be formed on a second die and coupled to the processor. The video digital signal processor may have (i) a first module configured to perform a first operation in decoding an input video stream in a first format and (ii) a second module configured to perform a second operation in coding an output video stream in a second format, wherein the first operation and the second operation are performed in parallel.

Abstract: A system and method for effectively performing an intra prediction procedure with an electronic device includes an encoder that utilizes a delta value comparison procedure to identify optimal delta values for creating optimal predicted blocks of image data corresponding to original blocks of image data. The encoder then utilizes the original blocks and the optimal predicted blocks to generate residual blocks that represent the original blocks in an encoded format. The encoder then generates a bitstream containing the delta value information and the residual block for storage or transmission purposes. A decoder may decode the delta values and the residual block to reconstruct the image block.

Abstract: Inter-color image prediction is based on multi-channel multiple regression (MMR) models. Image prediction is applied to the efficient coding of images and video signals of high dynamic range. MMR models may include first order parameters, second order parameters, and cross-pixel parameters. MMR models using extension parameters incorporating neighbor pixel relations are also presented. Using minimum means-square error criteria, closed form solutions for the prediction parameters are presented for a variety of MMR models.

Abstract: A method, a system, an apparatus, and a computer readable medium for transmission of data across a network are disclosed.

Abstract: An image coding method includes coding first binary data indicating a first intra prediction mode and second binary data indicating a second intra prediction mode, wherein in the coding, a first context adaptive portion which is part of the first binary data and a second context adaptive portion which is part of the second binary data are coded by context adaptive binary arithmetic coding, a first bypass portion which is different part of the first binary data and a second bypass portion which is different part of the second binary data are coded by bypass coding, and coded data is generated which includes the first context adaptive portion, the second context adaptive portion, the first bypass portion, and the second bypass portion, the first bypass portion and the second bypass portion being included subsequent to the first context adaptive portion and the second context adaptive portion.

Abstract: A system and a method for decoding at least a portion of an image includes determining a current prediction mode based on a combination of a prediction mode residue and a function of at least one previous prediction mode and decoding the portion of the image using the current prediction mode.

Abstract: An image decoding method, according to the present invention, includes the steps of: deriving an MPM candidate mode from neighboring blocks adjacent to a target block to be decoded; generating an MPM list using the MPM candidate mode derived from the neighboring blocks; and deriving an intra prediction mode for the target block to be decoded using the generated MPM list. According to the present invention, image compression efficiency can be improved.

Abstract: An image processing system is provided for encoding images based on example-based compression. The system selects a set of candidate dictionary predictor entries to encode a portion of an image based at least in part on the neighbors of the portion. The spatial continuity between portions of the image is exploited by the image processing system by selecting corresponding dictionary predictor entries that have the same offset vector as the portion of the image and its neighboring portions.

Abstract: Encoders and methods of encoding that incorporate deblocking into the encoding process. An encoder performs a two-cycle encoding process. First, an original block is processed and then reconstructed and deblocked. The reconstruction and the deblocked reconstruction are compared to the original and an intermediate block is created that contains the portions of the reconstruction or the deblocked reconstruction that are more similar to the original. In the second cycle, the intermediate block serves to generate a modified original block, which is then used in a prediction process to create a new prediction block. The new prediction block as compared to the original gives new residuals. The new prediction and new residuals are entropy coded to generate the encoded video data. The new prediction block and new residuals incorporate the deblocking elements selectively identified during the first cycle, thereby eliminating the need for deblocking at the decoder.

Abstract: Scalable Video Coding is recently attracting attentions due to its high flexibility. The current H.264/AVC scalable extension has adopted the Motion Compensated Temporal Filter (MCTF) framework to provide temporal scalability. In this paper, described is another fast motion estimation (ME) algorithm based on the MCTF framework. Simulation results show that the herein described algorithm can reduce the encoding complexity significantly while maintaining similar bit rate and PSNR, comparing with existing fast ME algorithms implemented in the reference software.