阅读说明：本技术 视频编解码的方法、装置、设备以及存储介质 (Video coding and decoding method, device, equipment and storage medium ) 是由 许晓中 刘杉 李翔 于 2019-07-04 设计创作，主要内容包括：本申请各实施例提供了用于视频编解码的方法和装置。该方法可以包括：对编码视频比特流中的当前图像的块的预测信息进行解码,该预测信息指示帧间预测模式,该帧间预测模式标示候选列表中的一个候选基础运动矢量预测因子所相关联的偏移；利用一个或多个已有的候选基础运动矢量预测因子构建所述候选列表,并在新的运动矢量预测因子满足与所述一个或多个已有候选基础运动矢量预测因子的间距要求时,将所述新的运动矢量预测因子加入所述候选列表；对所述候选列表中特定的候选基础运动矢量预测因子的索引和所述偏移进行解码,以确定最终运动矢量,并根据最终运动矢量重建所述块的采样。(The embodiments of the application provide a method and a device for video coding and decoding. The method can comprise the following steps: decoding prediction information for a block of a current picture in an encoded video bitstream, the prediction information indicating an inter prediction mode indicating an offset associated with a candidate base motion vector predictor in a candidate list; constructing the candidate list by using one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors, and adding a new motion vector predictor to the candidate list when the new motion vector predictor satisfies a distance requirement with the one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors; decoding the index of the particular candidate base motion vector predictor in the candidate list and the offset to determine a final motion vector, and reconstructing samples of the block from the final motion vector.)

1. A video decoding method, comprising:

decoding prediction information for a block in a current picture from an encoded video bitstream, the prediction information indicating an inter-prediction mode indicating an offset associated with a candidate base motion vector predictor in a candidate list;

building the candidate list using one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors in response to the inter prediction mode;

adding a new motion vector predictor to the candidate list when the new motion vector predictor satisfies a distance requirement with the one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors;

decoding an index of a particular candidate base motion vector predictor in the candidate list and the offset associated with the particular candidate base motion vector predictor to determine a final motion vector for block reconstruction; and

reconstructing at least one sample of the block from the final motion vector.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

and determining the distance relation between the new motion vector predictor and the coverage window of the existing candidate basic motion vector predictor according to the position of the new motion vector predictor.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the coverage window for the existing candidate base MVP is defined by a rectangular area covering possible offsets of the existing candidate base MVP, the possible offsets comprising a maximum offset and a minimum offset.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein said coverage window for said existing candidate base motion vector predictor is defined by said rectangular area covering the largest or smallest shift of said existing candidate base motion vector predictor.

5. A method according to claim 3, wherein said coverage window of said existing candidate base motion vector predictor is defined by a first maximum offset in the X-axis and a second maximum offset in the Y-axis.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

excluding the new motion vector predictor from the candidate list when the new motion vector predictor does not satisfy the spacing requirement with the one or more existing base motion vector predictor candidates.

7. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

excluding the new motion vector predictor from the candidate list when the new motion vector predictor is located in an overlay window of an existing base motion vector predictor.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adding the new motion vector predictor after one or more candidate MV predictors in the candidate list when the new motion vector predictor does not meet the distance requirement with the existing candidate base motion vector predictor.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

scaling at least one predictor into the same reference picture, the at least one predictor selected from the group consisting of: the new motion vector predictor and the one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors;

and judging whether the new motion vector predictor satisfies the distance requirement with the one or more existing candidate basic motion vector predictors in the same reference picture.

10. An apparatus for video decoding, comprising:

a decoding module for decoding prediction information for a block of a current picture in an encoded video bitstream, the prediction information indicating an inter prediction mode indicating an offset associated with a candidate base motion vector predictor in a candidate list;

a list construction module for constructing the candidate list using one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors in response to the inter prediction mode;

a distance determination module configured to add a new motion vector predictor to the candidate list when the new motion vector predictor satisfies a distance requirement with the one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors;

a decoding module for decoding an index of a particular candidate base motion vector predictor in the candidate list and the offset associated with the particular candidate base motion vector predictor to determine a final motion vector for block reconstruction; and

a reconstruction module for reconstructing at least one sample of the block from the final motion vector.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the spacing determination module is configured to:

determining the distance relationship between the new motion vector predictor and the coverage window of the existing candidate basic motion vector predictor according to the position of the new motion vector predictor;

determining that the new motion vector predictor satisfies a distance requirement with the one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors when the distance relationship indicates that the new motion vector predictor does not overlap with the coverage window of the existing candidate base motion vector predictors.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the overlay window of the existing candidate base MVP is defined by a rectangular area covering possible offsets of the existing candidate base MVP, the possible offsets comprising a maximum offset and a minimum offset.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the coverage window for the existing candidate base motion vector predictor is defined by the rectangular region covering a maximum offset of the existing candidate base motion vector predictor; or

Said overlay window of said existing candidate base motion vector predictor is defined by said rectangular region covering a minimum offset of said existing candidate base motion vector predictor; or

The coverage window of the existing candidate base motion vector predictor is defined by a first maximum offset on the X-axis and a second maximum offset on the Y-axis.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the spacing determination module is further configured to:

excluding the new motion vector predictor from the candidate list when the new motion vector predictor does not satisfy the spacing requirement with the one or more existing base motion vector predictor candidates.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the spacing determination module is further configured to:

adding the new motion vector predictor after one or more candidate MV predictors in the candidate list when the new motion vector predictor does not meet the distance requirement with the existing candidate base motion vector predictor.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the spacing determination module is configured to:

scaling at least one predictor into the same reference picture, the at least one predictor selected from the group consisting of: the new motion vector predictor and the one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors;

and judging whether the new motion vector predictor satisfies the distance requirement with the one or more existing candidate basic motion vector predictors in the same reference picture.

17. A method for video encoding, comprising:

in an inter prediction mode, constructing a candidate list using one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors;

adding a new motion vector predictor to the candidate list when the new motion vector predictor satisfies a distance requirement with the one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors;

determining, for a current block of a current picture in a video stream, at least one candidate base motion vector predictor for predicting a motion vector predictor of the current block from the candidate list, generating prediction information of the current block, the prediction information indicating an inter prediction mode indicating an offset associated with one candidate base motion vector predictor in the candidate list; and

and encoding the candidate list and the prediction information of the current block, and generating an encoded video bit stream by using the encoding result.

18. A computer device, comprising: a processor and a memory, the memory having instructions stored therein, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform the method of any of claims 1-9 and 17.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by a computer for video processing, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1-9 and 17.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to video encoding technologies, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, a device, and a storage medium for video encoding and decoding.

Background

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may fall within the scope of various embodiments of the present specification, may not be admitted to be prior art at the time of filing, either explicitly or implicitly.

Video encoding and decoding may be performed using inter-picture prediction with motion compensation. Uncompressed digital video may comprise a series of images, each image having a spatial dimension, such as 1920x1080 luma samples and associated chroma samples. The image sequence may have a fixed or variable image rate (colloquially referred to as frame rate), for example 60 images per second or 60 Hz. Uncompressed video requires a higher bit rate. For example, 1080p604 with 8 bits per sample: 2: a video of 0 (1920 x1080 luma sample resolution at 60Hz frame rate) requires a bandwidth of approximately 1.5 gbits/sec. Such a video of one hour in length requires more than 600 gigabytes of storage space.

One purpose of video encoding and decoding is to reduce redundancy of an input video signal by compression. In some cases, compression may reduce bandwidth or memory requirements by at least two orders of magnitude. Lossless compression, lossy compression, or a combination thereof may be used. Lossless compression refers to a technique by which an exact copy of an original signal can be reconstructed from a compressed original signal. When lossy compression is used, the reconstructed signal may not be identical to the original signal, but the distortion between the original signal and the reconstructed signal is small enough to enable the reconstructed signal to serve the intended purpose. Lossy compression is widely used in the video domain. The amount of distortion allowed depends on the application, for example, some users of consumer live applications can tolerate more distortion than users of television programming applications. The achievable compression ratio may reflect: the greater the allowable/tolerable distortion, the higher the compression ratio that can be produced.

Motion compensation may be a lossy compression technique and may involve techniques that utilize blocks of sampled data from a previously reconstructed image or portion thereof (i.e., a reference image), after spatial shifting it in the direction indicated by a motion vector (hereafter MV), for predicting the newly reconstructed image or image portion. In some cases, the reference image may be the same as the image currently being reconstructed. The MV may have two dimensions X and Y, or three dimensions, the third being an indication of the reference picture used (the latter, indirectly, may be a temporal dimension).

In some video compression techniques, the MVs for a region of sampled data may be predicted from other MVs, e.g., those MVs that are associated with another region of sampled data that is spatially adjacent to the region in the reconstruction and that precede the MV in decoding order. This can greatly reduce the amount of data required to encode the MV, thereby eliminating redundancy and increasing compression. For example, MV prediction can work efficiently because when encoding an input video signal derived from a camera (referred to as natural video), there is a statistical possibility that a region larger than the region to which a single MV is applicable moves in a similar direction, and thus, in some cases, prediction can be performed using similar motion vectors derived from MVs of neighboring regions. This results in the MVs found for a given region being similar or identical to the MVs predicted from the surrounding MVs and, in turn, after entropy encoding, can be represented by fewer bits than the number of bits used when it was encoded directly. In some cases, MV prediction may be an example of lossless compression of a signal (i.e., MV) derived from an original signal (i.e., sample stream). In other cases, MV prediction itself may be lossy, such as the loss caused by rounding errors that occur when the predictor is calculated from some surrounding MVs.

Various MV prediction mechanisms are described in h.265/HEVC (ITU-t h.265 recommendation, high efficiency video coding, 2016 month 12). Among the many MV prediction mechanisms provided by h.265, described herein is a technique hereinafter referred to as spatial merging.

In techniques using MV predictors with offsets, each indicated offset can cover a possible reference region. This is equivalent to representing a series of MVs. When there are multiple MV predictors available, such as predictors in the HEVC merge candidate MV predictor list, there may be some merge candidate MV predictors that are close enough to each other. If the two merge candidate MV predictors are too close to each other, it is possible that one MV candidate MV predictor plus the allowed offset is equal to or very close to the other MV candidate MV predictor. In this case, there is some redundancy in the signaling of the MV and its offset, resulting in higher signaling cost and lower coding efficiency.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present application provide methods and apparatus for video encoding/decoding. In some examples, an apparatus for video decoding includes a receiving circuit and a processing circuit. The processing circuit decodes prediction information for a block of a current picture in the encoded video bitstream. The prediction information indicates an inter prediction mode indicating an offset associated with one of the candidate base motion vector predictors in the candidate list. In response to the inter prediction mode, the processing circuitry constructs the candidate list using one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors. Further, the processing circuit adds a new motion vector predictor to the candidate list when the new motion vector predictor satisfies a spacing requirement from the one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors. The processing circuitry decodes an index of a particular candidate base motion vector predictor in the candidate list and an offset associated with the candidate base motion vector predictor to determine a final motion vector for block reconstruction, and reconstructs samples of the block from the final motion vector.

In some embodiments, the processing circuitry determines a distance relationship of the new motion vector predictor to an existing coverage window of the candidate base motion vector predictor. In one example, the coverage window for the existing candidate base motion vector predictor is defined by a rectangular area covering the possible offsets of the existing candidate base motion vector predictor. In another example, the coverage window of an existing candidate base motion vector predictor is defined by a rectangular area covering the largest offset of the existing candidate base motion vector predictor. In another example, the coverage window of an existing candidate base motion vector predictor is defined by a rectangular area covering the smallest offset of the existing candidate base motion vector predictor. In another example, the coverage window for the existing candidate base motion vector predictors is defined by a first maximum offset on the X-axis and a second maximum offset on the Y-axis.

In some embodiments, the processing circuitry excludes the new motion vector predictor from the candidate list when the new motion vector predictor does not meet a spacing requirement from the one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors. For example, when a new motion vector predictor is located in the overlay window of an existing base motion vector predictor, the processing circuit excludes the new motion vector predictor from the candidate list. In some examples, the processing circuitry adds the new motion vector predictor after one or more candidate MV predictors in the candidate list when the new motion vector predictor does not meet the spacing requirement from the existing candidate base motion vector predictors.

In some embodiments, the processing circuit scales at least one of the new motion vector predictor and the one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors into the same reference picture.

Embodiments of the present application also provide an apparatus for video decoding, including:

a decoding module for decoding prediction information for a block of a current picture in an encoded video bitstream, the prediction information indicating an inter prediction mode indicating an offset associated with a candidate base motion vector predictor in a candidate list;

a list construction module for constructing the candidate list using one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors in response to the inter prediction mode;

a distance determination module configured to add a new motion vector predictor to the candidate list when the new motion vector predictor satisfies a distance requirement with the one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors;

a decoding module for decoding an index of a particular candidate base motion vector predictor in the candidate list and the offset associated with the particular candidate base motion vector predictor to determine a final motion vector for block reconstruction; and

a reconstruction module for reconstructing at least one sample of the block from the final motion vector.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a method for video encoding, including:

in an inter prediction mode, constructing a candidate list using one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors;

adding a new motion vector predictor to the candidate list when the new motion vector predictor satisfies a distance requirement with the one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors;

determining, for a current block of a current picture in a video stream, at least one candidate base motion vector predictor for predicting a motion vector predictor of the current block from the candidate list, generating prediction information of the current block, the prediction information indicating an inter prediction mode indicating an offset associated with one candidate base motion vector predictor in the candidate list; and

and encoding the candidate list and the prediction information of the current block, and generating an encoded video bit stream by using the encoding result.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer device comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory has stored therein instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform the method of the embodiments.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer of video processing, cause the computer to perform the method of embodiments.

The embodiments of the present application can reduce the signaling cost of coding the MV and the offset thereof, and improve the coding performance.

Drawings

Other features, properties, and various advantages of the subject matter of the present application will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a diagram of a current block and its surrounding spatial merge candidate MV predictors in an example.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a simplified block diagram of a communication system of an embodiment.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a simplified block diagram of a communication system of an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a simplified block diagram of a decoder of an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a simplified block diagram of an encoder of an embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of an encoder of another embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of a decoder of another embodiment.

Fig. 8 is an example of spatial and temporal candidate MV predictors in some examples.

FIG. 9 is an example of a UMVE of an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 10 is an example of a UMVE of an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of an overlay window in some examples.

FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of an overlay window in some examples.

FIG. 13 is a schematic illustration of an overlay window in some examples.

Fig. 14 is a flow chart of an exemplary process of an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a computer system according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Referring to fig. 1, according to one technique of spatial merging, a current block (101) includes samples that have been found by an encoder during a motion search process, which samples are predictable from previous blocks of the same size that have resulted in spatial offsets. In addition, the MVs may be derived from metadata associated with one or more reference pictures, rather than directly encoding the MVs. For example, the MVs associated with any of the five surrounding samples a0, a1 and B0, B1, B2 (102-106, respectively) are used to obtain the MVs from the metadata of the most recent reference picture (in decoding order). In h.265, MV prediction can use the same reference picture predictor used by neighboring blocks.

Fig. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a communication system (200) according to an embodiment disclosed herein. The communication system (200) includes a plurality of terminal devices that can communicate with each other through, for example, a network (250). For example, the communication system (200) comprises a first pair of terminal devices, the terminal device (210) and the terminal device (220), interconnected by a network (250). In the embodiment of fig. 2, the first terminal device (210) and the second terminal device (220) perform unidirectional data transmission. For example, a first end device (210) may encode video data, such as a stream of video pictures captured by the end device (210), for transmission over a network (250) to a second end device (220). The encoded video data is transmitted in the form of one or more encoded video streams. The second terminal device (220) may receive the encoded video data from the network (250), decode the encoded video data to recover the video data, and display a video picture according to the recovered video data. Unidirectional data transmission is common in applications such as media services.

In another embodiment, a communication system (200) includes a third terminal device (230) and a fourth terminal device (240) that perform bidirectional transmission of encoded video data, which may occur, for example, during a video conference. For bi-directional data transmission, each of the third terminal device (230) and the fourth terminal device (240) may encode video data (e.g., a stream of video pictures captured by the terminal device) for transmission over the network (250) to the other of the third terminal device (230) and the fourth terminal device (240). Each of the third terminal device (230) and the fourth terminal device (240) may also receive encoded video data transmitted by the other of the third terminal device (230) and the fourth terminal device (240), and may decode the encoded video data to recover the video data, and may display video pictures on an accessible display device according to the recovered video data.

In the embodiment of fig. 2, the first terminal device (210), the second terminal device (220), the third terminal device (230), and the fourth terminal device (240) may be a server, a personal computer, and a smart phone, but the principles disclosed herein may not be limited thereto. Embodiments disclosed herein are applicable to laptop computers, tablet computers, media players, and/or dedicated video conferencing equipment. Network (250) represents any number of networks that communicate encoded video data between first terminal device (210), second terminal device (220), third terminal device (230), and fourth terminal device (240), including, for example, wired (wired) and/or wireless communication networks. The communication network (250) may exchange data in circuit-switched and/or packet-switched channels. The network may include a telecommunications network, a local area network, a wide area network, and/or the internet. For purposes of this application, the architecture and topology of the network (250) may be immaterial to the operation disclosed herein, unless explained below.

By way of example, fig. 3 illustrates the placement of a video encoder and a video decoder in a streaming environment. The subject matter disclosed herein is equally applicable to other video-enabled applications including, for example, video conferencing, digital TV, storing compressed video on digital media including CDs, DVDs, memory sticks, and the like.

The streaming system may include an acquisition subsystem (313), which may include a video source (301), such as a digital camera, that creates an uncompressed video picture stream (302). In an embodiment, the video picture stream (302) includes samples taken by a digital camera. The video picture stream (302) is depicted as a thick line to emphasize a high data amount video picture stream compared to the encoded video data (304) (or encoded video code stream), the video picture stream (302) being processable by an electronic device (320), the electronic device (320) comprising a video encoder (303) coupled to a video source (301). The video encoder (303) may comprise hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software to implement or embody aspects of the disclosed subject matter as described in more detail below. The encoded video data (304) (or encoded video codestream (304)) is depicted as a thin line to emphasize the lower data amount of the encoded video data (304) (or encoded video codestream (304)) as compared to the video picture stream (302), which may be stored on a streaming server (305) for future use. One or more streaming client subsystems, such as client subsystem (306) and client subsystem (308) in fig. 3, may access streaming server (305) to retrieve copies (307) and copies (309) of encoded video data (304). The client subsystem (306) may include, for example, a video decoder (310) in an electronic device (330). The video decoder (310) decodes incoming copies (307) of the encoded video data and generates an output video picture stream (311) that may be presented on a display (312), such as a display screen, or another presentation device (not depicted). In some streaming systems, encoded video data (304), video data (307), and video data (309) (e.g., video streams) may be encoded according to certain video encoding/compression standards. Examples of such standards include ITU-T H.265. In an embodiment, the Video Coding standard under development is informally referred to as next generation Video Coding (VVC), and the present application may be used in the context of the VVC standard. The present application may be used in the context of the VVC standard.

It should be noted that electronic device (320) and electronic device (330) may include other components (not shown). For example, the electronic device (320) may include a video decoder (not shown), and the electronic device (330) may also include a video encoder (not shown).

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of a video decoder (410) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The video decoder (410) may be disposed in an electronic device (430). The electronic device (430) may include a receiver (431) (e.g., a receive circuit). The video decoder (410) may be used in place of the video decoder (310) in the fig. 3 embodiment.

The receiver (431) may receive one or more encoded video sequences to be decoded by the video decoder (410); in the same or another embodiment, the encoded video sequences are received one at a time, wherein each encoded video sequence is decoded independently of the other encoded video sequences. The encoded video sequence may be received from a channel (401), which may be a hardware/software link to a storage device that stores encoded video data. The receiver (431) may receive encoded video data as well as other data, e.g., encoded audio data and/or auxiliary data streams, which may be forwarded to their respective usage entities (not labeled). The receiver (431) may separate the encoded video sequence from other data. To prevent network jitter, a buffer memory (415) may be coupled between the receiver (431) and the entropy decoder/parser (420) (hereinafter "parser (420)). "in some applications, the buffer memory (415) is part of the video decoder (410). In other cases, the buffer memory (415) may be disposed external (not labeled) to the video decoder (410). While in other cases a buffer memory (not labeled) is provided external to the video decoder (410), e.g., to prevent network jitter, and another buffer memory (415) may be configured internal to the video decoder (410), e.g., to handle playout timing. The buffer memory (415) may not be required to be configured or may be made smaller when the receiver (431) receives data from a store/forward device with sufficient bandwidth and controllability or from an isochronous network. Of course, for use over traffic packet networks such as the internet, a buffer memory (415) may also be required, which may be relatively large and may be of an adaptive size, and may be implemented at least partially in an operating system or similar element (not labeled) external to the video decoder (410).

The video decoder (410) may include a parser (420) to reconstruct symbols (421) from the encoded video sequence. The categories of these symbols include information for managing the operation of the video decoder (410), as well as potential information to control a display device, such as a display screen (412), that is not an integral part of the electronic device (430), but may be coupled to the electronic device (430), as shown in fig. 4. The control Information for the display device may be a parameter set fragment (not shown) of Supplemental Enhancement Information (SEI message) or Video Usability Information (VUI). The parser (420) may parse/entropy decode the received encoded video sequence. Encoding of the encoded video sequence may be performed in accordance with video coding techniques or standards and may follow various principles, including variable length coding, Huffman coding, arithmetic coding with or without contextual sensitivity, and so forth. A parser (420) may extract a subgroup parameter set for at least one of the subgroups of pixels in the video decoder from the encoded video sequence based on at least one parameter corresponding to the group. A subgroup may include a Group of Pictures (GOP), a picture, a tile, a slice, a macroblock, a Coding Unit (CU), a block, a Transform Unit (TU), a Prediction Unit (PU), and so on. The parser (420) may also extract information from the encoded video sequence, such as transform coefficients, quantizer parameter values, motion vectors, and so on.

The parser (420) may perform entropy decoding/parsing operations on the video sequence received from the buffer memory (415), thereby creating symbols (421).

The reconstruction of the symbol (421) may involve a number of different units depending on the type of the encoded video picture or portion of the encoded video picture (e.g., inter and intra pictures, inter and intra blocks), among other factors. Which units are involved and the way in which they are involved can be controlled by subgroup control information parsed from the coded video sequence by a parser (420). For the sake of brevity, such a subgroup control information flow between parser (420) and a plurality of units below is not described.

In addition to the functional blocks already mentioned, the video decoder (410) may be conceptually subdivided into several functional units as described below. In a practical embodiment operating under business constraints, many of these units interact closely with each other and may be integrated with each other. However, for the purposes of describing the disclosed subject matter, a conceptual subdivision into the following functional units is appropriate.

The first unit is a sealer/inverse transform unit (451). The sealer/inverse transform unit (451) receives the quantized transform coefficients as symbols (421) from the parser (420) along with control information including which transform scheme to use, block size, quantization factor, quantization scaling matrix, etc. The sealer/inverse transform unit (451) may output a block comprising sample values, which may be input into the aggregator (455).

In some cases, the output samples of sealer/inverse transform unit (451) may belong to an intra-coded block; namely: predictive information from previously reconstructed pictures is not used, but blocks of predictive information from previously reconstructed portions of the current picture may be used. Such predictive information may be provided by intra picture prediction unit (452). In some cases, the intra picture prediction unit (452) generates a surrounding block of the same size and shape as the block being reconstructed using the reconstructed information extracted from the current picture buffer (458). For example, the current picture buffer (458) buffers a partially reconstructed current picture and/or a fully reconstructed current picture. In some cases, the aggregator (455) adds, on a per-sample basis, the prediction information generated by the intra prediction unit (452) to the output sample information provided by the scaler/inverse transform unit (451).

In other cases, the output samples of sealer/inverse transform unit (451) may belong to inter-coded and potential motion compensated blocks. In this case, motion compensated prediction unit (453) may access reference picture memory (457) to extract samples for prediction. After motion compensating the extracted samples according to the sign (421), the samples may be added to the output of the scaler/inverse transform unit (451), in this case referred to as residual samples or residual signals, by an aggregator (455), thereby generating output sample information. The fetching of prediction samples by motion compensated prediction unit (453) from addresses within reference picture memory (457) may be controlled by motion vectors, and the motion vectors are used by motion compensated prediction unit (453) in the form of the symbol (421), e.g., comprising X, Y and a reference picture component. Motion compensation may also include interpolation of sample values fetched from the reference picture memory (457), motion vector prediction mechanisms, etc., when using sub-sample exact motion vectors.

The output samples of the aggregator (455) may be employed in a loop filter unit (456) by various loop filtering techniques. The video compression techniques may include in-loop filter techniques that are controlled by parameters included in the encoded video sequence (also referred to as an encoded video bitstream) and that are available to the loop filter unit (456) as symbols (421) from the parser (420). However, in other embodiments, the video compression techniques may also be responsive to meta-information obtained during decoding of previous (in decoding order) portions of the encoded picture or encoded video sequence, as well as to sample values previously reconstructed and loop filtered.

The output of the loop filter unit (456) may be a stream of samples that may be output to a display device (412) and stored in a reference picture memory (457) for subsequent inter picture prediction.

Once fully reconstructed, some of the coded pictures may be used as reference pictures for future prediction. For example, once the encoded picture corresponding to the current picture is fully reconstructed and the encoded picture is identified (by, e.g., parser (420)) as a reference picture, current picture buffer (458) may become part of reference picture memory (457) and a new current picture buffer may be reallocated before reconstruction of a subsequent encoded picture begins.

The video decoder (410) may perform decoding operations according to predetermined video compression techniques, such as in the ITU-t h.265 standard. The encoded video sequence may conform to the syntax specified by the video compression technique or standard used, in the sense that the encoded video sequence conforms to the syntax of the video compression technique or standard and the configuration files recorded in the video compression technique or standard. In particular, the configuration file may select certain tools from all tools available in the video compression technology or standard as the only tools available under the configuration file. For compliance, the complexity of the encoded video sequence is also required to be within the limits defined by the level of the video compression technique or standard. In some cases, the hierarchy limits the maximum picture size, the maximum frame rate, the maximum reconstruction sampling rate (measured in units of, e.g., mega samples per second), the maximum reference picture size, and so on. In some cases, the limits set by the hierarchy may be further defined by a Hypothetical Reference Decoder (HRD) specification and metadata signaled HRD buffer management in the encoded video sequence.

In an embodiment, receiver (431) may receive additional (redundant) data along with the encoded video. The additional data may be part of an encoded video sequence. The additional data may be used by the video decoder (410) to properly decode the data and/or more accurately reconstruct the original video data. The additional data may be in the form of, for example, a temporal, spatial, or Signal Noise Ratio (SNR) enhancement layer, a redundant slice, a redundant picture, a forward error correction code, etc.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a video encoder (503) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The video encoder (503) is disposed in the electronic device (520). The electronic device (520) includes a transmitter (540) (e.g., a transmission circuit). The video encoder (503) may be used in place of the video encoder (303) in the fig. 3 embodiment.

Video encoder (503) may receive video samples from a video source (501) (not part of electronics (520) in the fig. 5 embodiment) that may capture video images to be encoded by video encoder (503). In another embodiment, the video source (501) is part of the electronic device (520).

The video source (501) may provide a source video sequence in the form of a stream of digital video samples to be encoded by the video encoder (503), which may have any suitable bit depth (e.g., 8-bit, 10-bit, 12-bit … …), any color space (e.g., bt.601ycrcb, RGB … …), and any suitable sampling structure (e.g., YCrCb4:2:0, YCrCb4:4: 4). In the media service system, the video source (501) may be a storage device that stores previously prepared video. In a video conferencing system, the video source (501) may be a camera that captures local image information as a video sequence. Video data may be provided as a plurality of individual pictures that are given motion when viewed in sequence. The picture itself may be constructed as an array of spatial pixels, where each pixel may comprise one or more samples, depending on the sampling structure, color space, etc. used. The relationship between pixels and samples can be readily understood by those skilled in the art. The following text focuses on describing the samples.

According to an embodiment, the video encoder (503) may encode and compress pictures of a source video sequence into an encoded video sequence (543) in real-time or under any other temporal constraints required by the application. It is a function of the controller (550) to perform the appropriate encoding speed. In some embodiments, the controller (550) controls and is functionally coupled to other functional units as described below. For simplicity, the couplings are not labeled in the figures. The parameters set by the controller (550) may include rate control related parameters (picture skip, quantizer, lambda value of rate distortion optimization technique, etc.), picture size, group of pictures (GOP) layout, maximum motion vector search range, etc. The controller (550) may be used to have other suitable functions relating to the video encoder (503) optimized for a certain system design.

In some embodiments, the video encoder (503) operates in an encoding loop. As a brief description, in an embodiment, an encoding loop may include a source encoder (530) (e.g., responsible for creating symbols, such as a symbol stream, based on input pictures and reference pictures to be encoded) and a (local) decoder (533) embedded in the video encoder (503). The decoder (533) reconstructs the symbols to create sample data in a similar manner as the (remote) decoder creates the sample data (since any compression between the symbols and the encoded video bitstream is lossless in the video compression techniques considered in this application). The reconstructed sample stream (sample data) is input to a reference picture memory (534). Since the decoding of the symbol stream produces bit accurate results independent of decoder location (local or remote), the content in the reference picture store (534) also corresponds bit-accurately between the local encoder and the remote encoder. In other words, the reference picture samples seen by the prediction portion of the encoder are identical to the sample values that the decoder would see if prediction was used during decoding. This reference picture synchronization philosophy (and the drift that occurs if synchronization cannot be maintained due to, for example, channel errors) is also used in some related techniques.

The operation of local decoder (533) may be the same as a "remote" decoder, such as video decoder (410) that has been described in detail above in connection with fig. 4. However, referring briefly also to fig. 4, when symbols are available and the entropy encoder (545) and parser (420) are able to losslessly encode/decode the symbols into an encoded video sequence, the entropy decoding portion of the video decoder (410), including the buffer memory (415) and parser (420), may not be fully implemented in the local decoder (533).

At this point it can be observed that any decoder technique other than the parsing/entropy decoding present in the decoder must also be present in the corresponding encoder in substantially the same functional form. For this reason, the present application focuses on decoder operation. The description of the encoder techniques may be simplified because the encoder techniques are reciprocal to the fully described decoder techniques. A more detailed description is only needed in certain areas and is provided below.

During operation, in some embodiments, the source encoder (530) may perform motion compensated predictive coding. The motion compensated predictive coding predictively codes an input picture with reference to one or more previously coded pictures from the video sequence that are designated as reference pictures. In this way, an encoding engine (532) encodes differences between pixel blocks of an input picture and pixel blocks of a reference picture, which may be selected as a prediction reference for the input picture.

The local video decoder (533) may decode encoded video data for a picture that may be designated as a reference picture based on the symbols created by the source encoder (530). The operation of the encoding engine (532) may be a lossy process. When the encoded video data can be decoded at a video decoder (not shown in fig. 5), the reconstructed video sequence may typically be a copy of the source video sequence with some errors. The local video decoder (533) replicates a decoding process, which may be performed on reference pictures by the video decoder, and may cause reconstructed reference pictures to be stored in the reference picture cache (534). In this way, the video encoder (503) may locally store a copy of the reconstructed reference picture that has common content (no transmission errors) with the reconstructed reference picture to be obtained by the remote video decoder.

The predictor (535) may perform a prediction search against the coding engine (532). That is, for a new picture to be encoded, predictor (535) may search reference picture memory (534) for sample data (as candidate reference pixel blocks) or some metadata, such as reference picture motion vectors, block shapes, etc., that may be referenced as appropriate predictions for the new picture. The predictor (535) may operate on a block-by-block basis of samples to find a suitable prediction reference. In some cases, from search results obtained by predictor (535), it may be determined that the input picture may have prediction references taken from multiple reference pictures stored in reference picture memory (534).

The controller (550) may manage encoding operations of the source encoder (530), including, for example, setting parameters and subgroup parameters for encoding video data.

The outputs of all of the above functional units may be entropy encoded in an entropy encoder (545). The entropy encoder (545) losslessly compresses the symbols generated by the various functional units according to techniques such as huffman coding, variable length coding, arithmetic coding, etc., to convert the symbols into an encoded video sequence.

The transmitter (540) may buffer the encoded video sequence created by the entropy encoder (545) in preparation for transmission over a communication channel (560), which may be a hardware/software link to a storage device that will store the encoded video data. The transmitter (540) may combine the encoded video data from the video encoder (503) with other data to be transmitted, such as encoded audio data and/or an auxiliary data stream (sources not shown).

The controller (550) may manage the operation of the video encoder (503). During encoding, the controller (550) may assign a certain encoded picture type to each encoded picture, but this may affect the encoding techniques applicable to the respective picture. For example, pictures may be generally assigned to any of the following picture types:

intra pictures (I pictures), which may be pictures that can be encoded and decoded without using any other picture in the sequence as a prediction source. Some video codecs tolerate different types of intra pictures, including, for example, Independent Decoder Refresh ("IDR") pictures. "the person skilled in the art knows variants of picture I and their corresponding applications and features.

Predictive pictures (P pictures), which may be pictures that may be encoded and decoded using intra prediction or inter prediction that uses at most one motion vector and reference index to predict sample values of each block.

Bi-predictive pictures (B-pictures), which may be pictures that can be encoded and decoded using intra-prediction or inter-prediction that uses at most two motion vectors and reference indices to predict sample values of each block. Similarly, multiple predictive pictures may use more than two reference pictures and associated metadata for reconstructing a single block.

A source picture may typically be spatially subdivided into multiple blocks of samples (e.g., blocks of 4 x 4, 8 x 8, 4 x 8, or 16 x 16 samples) and encoded block-wise. These blocks may be predictively encoded with reference to other (encoded) blocks that are determined according to the encoding allocation applied to their respective pictures. For example, a block of an I picture may be non-predictive encoded, or the block may be predictive encoded (spatial prediction or intra prediction) with reference to an already encoded block of the same picture. The pixel block of the P picture can be prediction-coded by spatial prediction or by temporal prediction with reference to one previously coded reference picture. A block of a B picture may be prediction coded by spatial prediction or by temporal prediction with reference to one or two previously coded reference pictures.

The video encoder (503) may perform encoding operations according to a predetermined video encoding technique or standard, such as the ITU-t h.265 recommendation. In operation, the video encoder (503) may perform various compression operations, including predictive coding operations that exploit temporal and spatial redundancies in the input video sequence. Thus, the encoded video data may conform to syntax specified by the video coding technique or standard used.

In an embodiment, the transmitter (540) may transmit the additional data while transmitting the encoded video. The source encoder (530) may use such data as part of an encoded video sequence. The additional data may include temporal/spatial/SNR enhancement layers, redundant pictures and slices, among other forms of redundant data, SEI messages, VUI parameter set fragments, and the like.

The captured video may be provided as a plurality of source pictures (video pictures) in a time sequence. Intra image prediction (often referred to simply as intra prediction) exploits spatial correlation in a given picture, while inter image prediction exploits (temporal or other) correlation between images. In an embodiment, the particular picture being encoded/decoded, referred to as the current picture, is partitioned into blocks. When a block in a current picture is similar to a reference block in a reference picture that has been previously encoded in video and is still buffered, the block in the current picture may be encoded by a vector called a motion vector. The motion vector points to a reference block in a reference picture, and in the case where multiple reference pictures are used, the motion vector may have a third dimension that identifies the reference picture.

In some embodiments, bi-directional prediction techniques may be used in inter-picture prediction. According to bi-directional prediction techniques, two reference pictures are used, e.g., a first reference picture and a second reference picture, both of which precede the current picture in the video in decoding order (but may be past and future in display order, respectively). A block in a current picture may be encoded by a first motion vector pointing to a first reference block in a first reference picture and a second motion vector pointing to a second reference block in a second reference picture. In particular, the block may be predicted by a combination of a first reference block and a second reference block.

Furthermore, merge mode techniques may be used in inter picture prediction to improve coding efficiency.

According to some embodiments disclosed herein, prediction such as inter-picture prediction and intra-picture prediction is performed in units of blocks. For example, according to the HEVC standard, pictures in a sequence of video pictures are partitioned into Coding Tree Units (CTUs) for compression, the CTUs in the pictures having the same size, e.g., 64 × 64 pixels, 32 × 32 pixels, or 16 × 16 pixels. In general, a CTU includes three Coding Tree Blocks (CTBs), which are one luminance CTB and two chrominance CTBs. Further, each CTU may be further split into one or more Coding Units (CUs) in a quadtree. For example, a 64 × 64-pixel CTU may be split into one 64 × 64-pixel CU, or 4 32 × 32-pixel CUs, or 16 × 16-pixel CUs. In an embodiment, each CU is analyzed to determine a prediction type for the CU, such as an inter prediction type or an intra prediction type. Furthermore, depending on temporal and/or spatial predictability, a CU is split into one or more Prediction Units (PUs). In general, each PU includes a luma Prediction Block (PB) and two chroma blocks PB. In an embodiment, a prediction operation in encoding (encoding/decoding) is performed in units of prediction blocks. Taking a luma prediction block as an example of a prediction block, the prediction block includes a matrix of pixel values (e.g., luma values), such as 8 × 8 pixels, 16 × 16 pixels, 8 × 16 pixels, 16 × 8 pixels, and so on.

Fig. 6 is a diagram of a video encoder (603) according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. A video encoder (603) is used to receive a processing block (e.g., a prediction block) of sample values within a current video picture in a sequence of video pictures and encode the processing block into an encoded picture that is part of an encoded video sequence. In this embodiment, a video encoder (603) is used in place of the video encoder (303) in the embodiment of fig. 3.

In an HEVC embodiment, a video encoder (603) receives a matrix of sample values for a processing block, e.g., a prediction block of 8 × 8 samples, etc. The video encoder (603) uses, for example, rate-distortion (RD) optimization to determine whether the encoding of the processing block is better in intra mode, inter mode, or bi-prediction mode. When encoding a processing block in intra mode, the video encoder (603) may use intra prediction techniques to encode the processing block into an encoded picture; and when the processing block is encoded in inter mode or bi-prediction mode, the video encoder (603) may encode the processing block into the encoded picture using inter prediction or bi-prediction techniques, respectively. In some video coding techniques, the merge mode may be an inter-picture prediction sub-mode, in which motion vectors are derived from one or more motion vector predictors without resorting to coded motion vector components outside of the predictors. In some other video coding techniques, there may be motion vector components that are applicable to the subject block. In an embodiment, the video encoder (603) comprises other components, such as a mode decision module (not shown) for determining a processing block mode.

In the embodiment of fig. 6, the video encoder (603) comprises an inter encoder (630), an intra encoder (622), a residual calculator (623), a switch (626), a residual encoder (624), a general controller (621), and an entropy encoder (625) coupled together as shown in fig. 6.

The inter encoder (630) is used to receive samples of a current block (e.g., a processing block), compare the block to one or more reference blocks in a reference picture (e.g., blocks in previous and subsequent pictures), generate inter prediction information (e.g., redundant information descriptions, motion vectors, merge mode information according to inter coding techniques), and calculate inter prediction results (e.g., predicted blocks) using any suitable technique based on the inter prediction information. In some embodiments, the reference picture is a decoded reference picture that is decoded based on encoded video information.

An intra encoder (622) is used to receive samples of a current block (e.g., a processing block), in some cases compare the block to already encoded blocks in the same image, generate quantized coefficients after transformation, and in some cases also generate intra prediction information (e.g., intra prediction direction information according to one or more intra coding techniques). In an embodiment, the intra encoder (622) also computes intra prediction results (e.g., predicted blocks) based on the intra prediction information and reference blocks in the same picture.

The universal controller (621) is used to determine universal control data and control other components of the video encoder (603) based on the universal control data. In an embodiment, a general purpose controller (621) determines a mode of a block and provides a control signal to a switch (626) based on the mode. For example, when the mode is intra, the general purpose controller (621) controls the switch (626) to select an intra mode result for use by the residual calculator (623), and controls the entropy encoder (625) to select and add intra prediction information in the code stream; and when the mode is an inter mode, the general purpose controller (621) controls the switch (626) to select an inter prediction result for use by the residual calculator (623), and controls the entropy encoder (625) to select and add inter prediction information in the code stream.

A residual calculator (623) is used to calculate the difference (residual data) between the received block and the prediction result selected from the intra encoder (622) or the inter encoder (630). A residual encoder (624) is operative based on the residual data to encode the residual data to generate transform coefficients. In an embodiment, a residual encoder (624) is used to transform the residual data in the frequency domain and generate transform coefficients. The transform coefficients are then subjected to a quantization process to obtain quantized transform coefficients. In various embodiments, the video encoder (603) also includes a residual decoder (628). A residual decoder (628) is used to perform the inverse transform and generate decoded residual data. The decoded residual data may be suitably used by an intra encoder (622) and an inter encoder (630). For example, inter encoder (630) may generate a decoded block based on decoded residual data and inter prediction information, and intra encoder (622) may generate a decoded block based on decoded residual data and intra prediction information. The decoded blocks are processed appropriately to generate a decoded picture, and in some embodiments, the decoded picture may be buffered in a memory circuit (not shown) and used as a reference picture.

An entropy coder (625) is used to format the code stream to produce coded blocks. The entropy encoder (625) generates various information according to a suitable standard such as the HEVC standard. In an embodiment, the entropy encoder (625) is used to obtain general control data, selected prediction information (e.g., intra prediction information or inter prediction information), residual information, and other suitable information in the code stream. It should be noted that, according to the disclosed subject matter, there is no residual information when a block is encoded in the merge sub-mode of the inter mode or bi-prediction mode.

Fig. 7 is a diagram of a video decoder (710) according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. A video decoder (710) is for receiving an encoded image that is part of an encoded video sequence and decoding the encoded image to generate a reconstructed picture. In an embodiment, the video decoder (710) is used in place of the video decoder (310) in the fig. 3 embodiment.

In the fig. 7 embodiment, video decoder (710) includes an entropy decoder (771), an inter-frame decoder (780), a residual decoder (773), a reconstruction module (774), and an intra-frame decoder (772) coupled together as shown in fig. 7.

An entropy decoder (771) may be used to reconstruct certain symbols from an encoded picture, which represent syntax elements that constitute the encoded picture. Such symbols may include, for example, a mode used to encode the block (e.g., intra mode, inter mode, bi-prediction mode, a merge sub-mode of the latter two, or another sub-mode), prediction information (e.g., intra prediction information or inter prediction information) that may identify certain samples or metadata for use by an intra decoder 772 or an inter decoder 780, respectively, residual information in the form of, for example, quantized transform coefficients, and so forth. In an embodiment, when the prediction mode is inter or bi-directional prediction mode, inter prediction information is provided to an inter decoder (780); and providing the intra prediction information to an intra decoder (772) when the prediction type is an intra prediction type. The residual information may be inverse quantized and provided to a residual decoder (773).

An inter-frame decoder (780) is configured to receive inter-frame prediction information and generate an inter-frame prediction result based on the inter-frame prediction information.

An intra decoder (772) is used for receiving intra prediction information and generating a prediction result based on the intra prediction information.

A residual decoder (773) is used to perform inverse quantization to extract dequantized transform coefficients and process the dequantized transform coefficients to convert the residual from the frequency domain to the spatial domain. The residual decoder (773) may also need some control information (to obtain the quantizer parameter QP) and that information may be provided by the entropy decoder (771) (data path not labeled as this is only low-level control information).

A reconstruction module (774) is used to combine in spatial domain the residuals output by the residual decoder (773) with the prediction results (which may be output by an inter prediction module or an intra prediction module) to form a reconstructed block, which may be part of a reconstructed picture, which in turn may be part of a reconstructed video. It should be noted that other suitable operations, such as deblocking operations, may be performed to improve visual quality.

It should be noted that video encoder (303), video encoder (503), and video encoder (603) as well as video decoder (310), video decoder (410), and video decoder (710) may be implemented using any suitable techniques. In an embodiment, video encoder (303), video encoder (503), and video encoder (603), and video decoder (310), video decoder (410), and video decoder (710) may be implemented using one or more integrated circuits. In another embodiment, the video encoder (303), the video encoder (503), and the video encoder (603), and the video decoder (310), the video decoder (410), and the video decoder (710) may be implemented using one or more processors executing software instructions.

Aspects of the disclosure provide techniques that enable pruning candidate motion vectors with offsets in a merge list.

In general, the motion vector of a block may be explicitly coded, signaling this difference to the motion vector predictor (e.g., advanced motion vector prediction or AMVP mode); or, implicitly, entirely by a previously coded or generated motion vector. The latter method is called a merge mode, and refers to merging a current block into a previously encoded block by using motion information of the current block.

During decoding, both AMVP mode and merge mode construct a candidate list.

Fig. 8 is an example of spatial and temporal candidate motion information in some examples.

For merge modes in inter prediction, the merge candidate motion information in the candidate list is mainly formed by examining motion information from spatial or temporal neighboring blocks of the current block. In the example of FIG. 8, candidate blocks A1, B1, B0, A0, and B2 are checked in order. When any one of the candidate blocks is a valid candidate block, which is encoded using a motion vector, for example, then the motion information of the valid candidate block may be added to the merge candidate list. By performing some reduction operations, it can be ensured that duplicate candidate motion information is not put into the list again. The candidate blocks a1, B1, B0, a0, and B2 are adjacent to corners of the current block and are referred to as corner candidate blocks.

After the spatial candidate motion information, the temporal candidate motion information is also added to the list by examination. In some examples, the co-located block of the current block may be found in a specified reference picture. The motion information at the C0 position of the co-located block (the lower right corner of the current block) is taken as temporal merging candidate motion information. If the block at this position is not encoded using inter mode or is not available, the C1 position (at the outer lower right corner of the center of the co-located block) is used instead. The present application provides a technique for further improving the merging mode.

The Advanced Motion Vector Prediction (AMVP) mode of HEVC refers to predicting motion information of a current block using motion information of spatial and temporal neighboring blocks while further encoding a prediction residual. Examples of spatial and temporal neighboring candidate motion information are also shown in fig. 8.

In some embodiments, in AMVP mode, a motion vector predictor list is formed in which there are two candidate predictors. For example, the list includes a first candidate predictor and a second candidate predictor. The first candidate predictor is from the first available motion vector of the left edge, in order of spatial domain a0, a1 positions. The second candidate predictor is from the first available motion vector at the top edge, in the order of spatial B0, B1, and B2 positions. If no valid motion vector can be found from the checked position of the left edge or the top edge, the candidate predictors are not filled into the list. If there are two identical candidate predictors available, only one will remain in the list. If the list is not full (with two different candidate predictors), the temporal co-located motion vector from the C0 location (after scaling) is taken as another candidate predictor. If motion information at the C0 location is not available, then location C1 is used instead.

In some examples, if there are still insufficient candidate motion vector predictors, a zero motion vector may be added to the list.

In some embodiments, the prediction offset may be signaled above the existing merge candidate predictors. For example, a technique called final motion vector expression (UMVE) uses a special merge mode in which the offset (magnitude and direction) is marked above the existing merge candidate predictors. In this technique, some syntax elements are labeled to describe such an offset, which may be, for example, a prediction direction IDX, a base candidate IDX, a distance IDX, a search direction IDX, and so on. For example, the prediction direction IDX is used to indicate which prediction direction (temporal prediction direction, e.g., the L0 reference direction, the L1 reference direction, or the L0 and L1 reference directions) is used by the UMVE mode. The base candidate IDX is used to indicate which of the existing merge candidate predictors is to be the starting point (base candidate predictor) for applying the offset. The distance IDX is used to indicate how much the offset is with respect to the starting point (in the x or y direction, but not both). The offset magnitude is selected from a fixed number of options. The search direction IDX is used to indicate the direction (x or y, + or-direction) in which the offset is applied.

In one example, assume that the starting point MV is MV _ S and the offset is MV _ offset. Then, the final MV predictor is MV _ final — MV _ S + MV _ offset.

FIG. 9 is an example of a UMVE of an embodiment of the present application. According to an embodiment, in fig. 9, the starting point MV is shown by (911) (e.g., according to the prediction direction IDX and the base candidate IDX), the offset is shown by (912) (e.g., according to the distance IDX and the search direction IDX), and the final MV predictor is shown by (913). According to another embodiment, in fig. 9, the starting point MV is shown by (921) (e.g. according to the prediction direction IDX and the base candidate IDX), the offset is shown by (922) (e.g. according to the distance IDX and the search direction IDX), and the final MV predictor is shown by (923).

FIG. 10 is an example of a UMVE of an embodiment of the present application. For example, the starting point MV is shown by (1011) (e.g., according to the prediction direction IDX and the base candidate IDX). In the example of FIG. 10, 4 search directions are used, e.g., + Y, -Y, + X, and-X, and these four search directions may be indexed by 0, 1, 2, 3. The distance may be indexed by 0 (the distance to the start point MV is 0), 1 (the distance to the start point MV is 1s, s represents a unit distance), 2 (the distance to the start point MV is 2s), 3 (the distance to the start point is 3s), and the like. Therefore, when the search direction IDX is 3 and the distance IDX is 2, the final MV predictor is shown by (1015).

In another example, a combination of search direction and distance may be indexed. For example, the starting point MV is shown by (1021) (e.g., according to the prediction direction IDX and the base candidate IDX). As shown in fig. 10, the combination of search direction and distance is indexed by 0-12.

In the related art with biased MV predictors, each indicated bias can cover various possible reference regions. This is roughly equivalent to a range representing MVs. When multiple MV predictors are available, such as those in the HEVC merge candidate list, there may be some merge candidate MV predictors that are close enough to each other. When the two merge candidate MV predictors are too close to each other, it is possible that one candidate MV plus the allowed offset is equal to the other candidate MV, or very close to the other candidate MV. In the related art, there is some redundancy in the signaling of MVs and their offsets.

Aspects of the disclosure provide techniques that may reduce the signaling cost of MV coding and improve coding performance. In particular, in some embodiments, the merge candidate list may be modified so that when MV shifting is used, a new candidate MV predictor can be properly processed if there are already candidate MV predictors in the list that are located near the new candidate MV predictor.

Note that while one-dimensional offsets to existing merge candidate MVs are used in the present application (e.g., having one of an x-component and a y-component, but not both), the techniques of the present application may be suitably modified and applied to other offset allocations around existing candidate MV predictors, e.g., two-dimensional offsets having both an x-component and a y-component (e.g., both non-zero x-component and non-zero y-component).

It should also be noted that while merge mode is used in the present application, the techniques of the present application may also be used in skip mode.

According to some embodiments, an overlay window is defined for reducing the candidate MV predictors.

In an embodiment, the overlay window is defined as the smallest rectangular area that covers all possible offset values (search points).

FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of an overlay window in some examples. In the example of fig. 11, the overlay window is defined by the starting point MV in the reference picture and the maximum offsets in the positive and negative x-direction and y-direction.

In another embodiment, the search directions of the offsets along the x and y directions are fixed (both in either a positive or negative direction). The search direction for the offset along the x-direction is one of a positive x-direction or a negative x-direction, but not both positive and negative directions, and the search direction for the offset along the y-direction is one of a positive y-direction or a negative y-direction, but not both positive and negative directions.

FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of an overlay window in some examples. In the example of fig. 12, the overlay window is defined by the starting point MV in the reference picture and the maximum offset in the positive x-direction and the positive y-direction.

In another embodiment, the size of the overlay window is not defined by the maximum offset in the x and y directions from the start MV, but by an offset smaller than this maximum offset.

FIG. 13 is a schematic illustration of an overlay window in some examples. In the example of fig. 13, the overlay window is defined by a rectangular area centered at the starting point MV, and the minimum offsets are in the positive, negative x-direction and y-direction.

According to an aspect of the application, the overlay window is used to determine whether the new candidate MV predictor is close to the existing candidate MV predictor, e.g., by determining whether the new candidate MV predictor overlaps the overlay window of the existing candidate MV predictor.

In an embodiment, the new candidate MV predictor is determined to overlap the coverage window of the existing candidate MV predictors when the new candidate MV predictor is within the coverage window of the existing candidate MV predictors in the merge list.

In another embodiment, the new candidate MV predictor is determined to overlap the coverage window of the existing candidate MV predictors when the new candidate MV predictor is within the coverage window of the existing candidate MV predictors in the merge list and the new candidate MV predictor is on the horizontal search axis or the vertical search axis of the existing candidate MV predictors.

In another embodiment, the new candidate MV predictor is determined to overlap the coverage window of the existing candidate MV predictors when the new candidate MV predictor is located within the coverage window of the existing candidate MV predictors in the merge list and one of the new candidate MV predictor or the offset point of the new candidate MV predictor is located at one of the offset points of the existing candidate MV predictors in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction.

In another embodiment, the new candidate MV predictor is determined to overlap an existing candidate coverage window in the merge list when the new candidate MV predictor coverage window overlaps an existing candidate coverage window in the merge list.

In another embodiment, the new candidate MV predictor is determined to overlap the existing candidate coverage window when the new candidate MV predictor's coverage window overlaps the existing candidate MV predictor's coverage window in the merge list and the new candidate MV predictor's x or y components are the same as the existing candidate MV predictor's corresponding components (both the new candidate MV predictor and the existing candidate MV predictor are on the same horizontal line or the same vertical line).

In another embodiment, the new candidate MV predictor is determined to overlap the coverage window of the existing candidate MV predictors when the coverage window of the new candidate MV predictor overlaps the coverage window of the existing candidate MV predictors in the merge list, and the x or y components of the MVs of the new candidate MV predictor are the same as the corresponding components of the existing candidate MV predictors (both the new candidate MV predictor and the existing candidate MV predictor are on the same horizontal line or the same vertical line), and the one or more offset points of the new candidate MV predictor overlap the one or more offset points of the existing candidate MV predictors.

In some examples, the new candidate MV predictor points to a different first reference picture than the second reference picture to which the compared existing candidate MV predictor points, and one or both of the new candidate MV predictor and the existing candidate MV predictor are scaled such that, after scaling, the new candidate MV predictor and the existing candidate MV predictor point to the same reference picture. In one example, the new candidate MV predictor comes from L0 (reference list) and thus points to the L0 reference picture. The existing candidate MV predictors are from L1 (reference list) and thus point to L1 reference picture. Then, in one example, the existing candidate MV predictors (MVs) are scaled to the reference picture of the new candidate MV predictor, such that the overlay window generated by the scaled MVs using the existing candidate MV predictors can be compared to the overlay window of the new candidate MV predictor.

Note that when the new candidate MV predictor (or the coverage window of the new candidate MV predictor) overlaps with the coverage window of the existing candidate MV predictors, the new candidate MV predictor is processed with lower priority. In one example, the new candidate MV predictor is excluded from the merge candidate MV predictor list, thereby skipping the new candidate MV predictor and processing (e.g., checking) the next available candidate MV predictor. In another example, the new candidate MV predictor is placed in the merge list after all other possible merge candidate MV predictors have been checked for addition to the merge candidate list.

Fig. 14 is a high level flow chart of an exemplary process (1400) of an embodiment of the present application. The process (1400) may be used to reconstruct a block encoded with intra mode, thereby generating a prediction block for the block being reconstructed. In various embodiments, process (1400) is performed by processing circuitry, e.g., processing circuitry in terminal devices (210), (220), (230), and (240), processing circuitry that performs the functions of video encoder (303), processing circuitry that performs the functions of video decoder (310), processing circuitry that performs the functions of video decoder (410), processing circuitry that performs the functions of intra prediction module (452), processing circuitry that performs the functions of video encoder (503), processing circuitry that performs the functions of predictor (535), processing circuitry that performs the functions of intra encoder (622), processing circuitry that performs the functions of intra decoder (772), etc. In some embodiments, process (1400) is implemented by software instructions, such that when processing circuitry executes the software instructions, the processing circuitry performs process (1400). The process starts (S1401) and proceeds to (S1410).

At (S1410), prediction information for a block is determined from the encoded video bitstream. The prediction information indicates an inter prediction mode indicating an offset associated with a candidate base motion vector predictor in the candidate list.

At (S1420), the candidate list is formed of one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors.

At (S1430), the processing circuit determines whether the new candidate motion vector predictor satisfies a distance relationship with one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors. When the new candidate motion vector predictor satisfies the pitch relationship, the process proceeds to (S1440); otherwise, the process proceeds to (S1450).

At (S1440), the new candidate motion vector predictor is added to the candidate list. Then, the process proceeds to (S1499), and terminates.

At (S1450), in one example, the new candidate motion vector predictor is excluded from the candidate list. In another example, the new candidate motion vector predictors are added to the candidate list in a relatively low checking order. For example, the new candidate motion vector predictor is added to the candidate list after all other possible candidate MV predictors have been checked into the candidate list. Then, the process proceeds to (S1499), and terminates.

In some examples, the processing circuit is further to decode a candidate index of a particular candidate base motion vector predictor, and an offset index from the encoded video bitstream. Based on the candidate index and the offset index of the offset, the processing circuit determines a particular candidate base motion vector predictor and offset and combines the particular candidate base motion vector predictor and offset to determine a final motion vector. The processing circuit then reconstructs the samples for the block based on the final motion vector.

Embodiments of the present application also provide an apparatus for video decoding. The apparatus may include:

a decoding module for decoding prediction information for a block of a current picture in an encoded video bitstream, the prediction information indicating an inter prediction mode indicating an offset associated with a candidate base motion vector predictor in a candidate list;

a list construction module for constructing the candidate list using one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors in response to the inter prediction mode;

a distance determination module configured to add a new motion vector predictor to the candidate list when the new motion vector predictor satisfies a distance requirement with the one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors;

a decoding module for decoding an index of a particular candidate base motion vector predictor in the candidate list and the offset associated with the particular candidate base motion vector predictor to determine a final motion vector for block reconstruction; and

a reconstruction module for reconstructing at least one sample of the block from the final motion vector.

In some embodiments, the distance determination module may:

determining the distance relationship between the new motion vector predictor and the coverage window of the existing candidate basic motion vector predictor according to the position of the new motion vector predictor;

determining that the new motion vector predictor satisfies a distance requirement with the one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors when the distance relationship indicates that the new motion vector predictor does not overlap with the coverage window of the existing candidate base motion vector predictors.

In some embodiments, the distance determination module may further exclude the new motion vector predictor from the candidate list when the new motion vector predictor does not satisfy the distance requirement with the one or more existing base motion vector predictor candidates.

In some embodiments, the distance determination module may further add the new motion vector predictor after one or more candidate MV predictors in the candidate list when the new motion vector predictor does not meet the distance requirement with the existing candidate base motion vector predictors.

In some embodiments, the distance determination module may scale at least one predictor selected from the group consisting of: the new motion vector predictor and the one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors; and determining whether the new motion vector predictor satisfies a distance requirement with the one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors in the same reference picture.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a method for video encoding. The method can comprise the following steps:

in an inter prediction mode, constructing a candidate list using one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors;

adding a new motion vector predictor to the candidate list when the new motion vector predictor satisfies a distance requirement with the one or more existing candidate base motion vector predictors;

determining, for a current block of a current picture in a video stream, at least one candidate base motion vector predictor for predicting a motion vector predictor of the current block from the candidate list, generating prediction information of the current block, the prediction information indicating an inter prediction mode indicating an offset associated with one candidate base motion vector predictor in the candidate list; and

and encoding the candidate list and the prediction information of the current block, and generating an encoded video bit stream by using the encoding result.

The processing of the new motion vector predictor is the same as the processing method described in the decoding method in the above embodiment, and is not described again here.

The techniques described above may be implemented as computer software using computer readable instructions and physically stored in one or more computer readable media. For example, FIG. 15 is a computer system (1500) suitable for implementing some embodiments of the present application.

The computer software may be encoded using any suitable machine code or computer language and may employ assembly, compilation, linking or similar mechanisms to generate instruction code. These instruction codes may be executed directly by one or more computer Central Processing Units (CPUs), Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), etc., or by operations of code interpretation, microcode execution, etc.

The instructions may be executed in various types of computers or computer components, including, for example, personal computers, tablets, servers, smart phones, gaming devices, internet of things devices, and so forth.

The components illustrated in FIG. 15 for computer system (1500) are exemplary in nature and are not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of computer software implementing embodiments of the application. Neither should the component arrangement be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary embodiment of the computer system (1500).

The computer system (1500) may include some human interface input devices. Such human interface input devices may be responsive to input by one or more human users through, for example, tactile input (such as keystrokes, swipes, data glove movements), audio input (such as speech, taps), visual input (such as gestures), olfactory input (not shown). The human interface device may also be used to capture certain media that are not necessarily directly related to human conscious input, such as audio (such as speech, music, ambient sounds), images (such as scanned images, photographic images obtained from still image cameras), video (such as two-dimensional video, three-dimensional video including stereoscopic video).

The human interface input device may include one or more of the following (only one depicted each): keyboard (1501), mouse (1502), touch pad (1503), touch screen (1510), data glove (not shown), joystick (1505), microphone (1506), scanner (1507), camera (1508).

The computer system (1500) may also include certain human interface output devices. Such human interface output devices may stimulate the perception of one or more human users through, for example, tactile output, sound, light, and smell/taste. Such human interface output devices may include tactile output devices (e.g., tactile feedback through a touch screen (1510), data glove (not shown), or joystick (1505), but there may also be tactile feedback devices that do not act as input devices), audio output devices (such as speakers (1509), headphones (not shown)), visual output devices, and printers (not shown), wherein the visual output devices such as screen (1510), virtual reality glasses (not shown), holographic display, and smoke box (not shown), the screen (1310) includes a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) screen, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) screen, a plasma screen, an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) screen, each with or without touch screen input capability, each with or without haptic feedback capability, some of these screens are capable of outputting two-dimensional visual output or more than three-dimensional output by means such as stereoscopic image output.

The computer system (1500) may also include human-accessible storage devices and their associated media, such as optical media (including CD/DVD ROM/RW (1520) or similar media with CD/DVD), thumb drives (1522), removable hard or solid state drives (1523), conventional magnetic media (such as tapes and floppy disks (not shown)), special purpose ROM/ASIC/PLD based devices (such as secure dongles (not shown)), and so forth.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the term "computer-readable medium" used in connection with the presently disclosed subject matter does not include transmission media, carrier waves, or other transitory signals.

The computer system (1500) may also include an interface to connect to one or more communication networks. The network may be, for example, a wireless network, a wired network, an optical network. The network may also be a local network, a wide area network, a metropolitan area network, an internet of vehicles and industrial network, a real time network, a delay tolerant network, and so forth. Examples of networks include local area networks (such as ethernet, wireless LAN), cellular networks (including global system for mobile communications (GSM), third generation mobile communications (3G), fourth generation mobile communications (4G), fifth generation mobile communications (5G), Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc.), television wired or wireless wide area digital networks (including cable, satellite, and terrestrial broadcast television), vehicular and industrial networks (including CANBus), and so forth. Some networks typically require an external network interface adapter that connects to some universal data port or peripheral bus (1549), such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port of computer system (1500); others are typically integrated into the core of the computer system (1500) by connecting to a system bus as described below (e.g., an ethernet interface into a personal computer system or a cellular network interface into a smartphone computer system). Using any of these networks, the computer system (1500) may communicate with other entities. Such communication may be unidirectional, receive-only (e.g., broadcast TV), unidirectional transmit-only (e.g., CAN bus to certain CAN bus devices), or bidirectional communication to other computer systems using a local or wide area digital network. Certain protocols and protocol stacks may be used on each of those networks and network interfaces as described above.

The human interface device, human accessible storage device, and network interface described above may be connected to the kernel 1540 of the computer system 1500.

The core (1540) may include one or more Central Processing Units (CPUs) (1541), Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) (1542), special purpose programmable processing units in the form of Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) (1543), hardware accelerators (1544) for specific tasks, and so forth. These devices, as well as Read Only Memory (ROM) (1545), random access memory (1546), internal mass storage (e.g., internal non-user accessible hard drives, SSD) (1547), etc., may be interconnected via a system bus (1548). In some computer systems, the system bus (1548) may be accessed in the form of one or more physical plugs, enabling expansion by additional CPUs, GPUs, etc. The peripheral devices may be connected to the system bus (1549) of the core either directly or through a peripheral bus (1548). The architecture of the peripheral bus includes PCI, USB, etc.

The CPU (1541), GPU (1542), FPGA (1543) and accelerator (1544) may execute certain instructions, which in combination may constitute the aforementioned computer code. The computer code may be stored in ROM (1545) or RAM (1546). Intermediate data may also be stored in RAM (1546) while permanent data may be stored, for example, in internal mass storage (1547). Fast storage and reading to any memory device may be achieved through the use of cache memory, which may be closely associated with one or more CPUs (1541), GPUs (1542), mass storage (1547), ROM (1545), RAM (1546), and the like.

Computer readable media may have computer code thereon to perform various computer-implemented operations. The media and computer code may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present application, or they may be of the kind well known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts.

By way of example, and not limitation, a computer system having architecture (1500), and in particular core (1540), may provide functionality that is implemented by a processor (including CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, accelerators, etc.) executing software in one or more tangible computer-readable media. Such computer-readable media may be media associated with user-accessible mass storage as described above, as well as some storage of the non-transitory kernel (1540), such as kernel internal mass storage (1547) or ROM (1545). Software implementing embodiments of the application may be stored in such a device and executed by the kernel (1540). The computer readable medium may include one or more memory devices or chips, according to particular needs. The software may cause the core (1540), and in particular the processors therein (including CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, etc.), to perform certain processes or certain portions of certain processes described herein, including defining data structures stored in RAM (1546), and modifying these data structures according to software-defined processes. Additionally or alternatively, the computer system may provide the same functionality as logical hardwired or other components in a circuit (e.g., accelerator 1544), may operate in place of or in conjunction with software to perform certain processes or certain portions of certain processes described herein. Where appropriate, reference to software may include logic and vice versa. Where appropriate, reference to a computer-readable medium may include circuitry (e.g., an Integrated Circuit (IC)) storing executable software, circuitry comprising executable logic, or both. This application includes any suitable combination of hardware and software.

Appendix A: abbreviations

Joint Exploration Model (JEM)

VVC scalable video coding multifunctional video coding

BMS benchmark set reference set

Motion Vector of MV

HEVC High Efficiency Video Coding

Supplemental Enhancement Information of SEI (supplemental Enhancement Information)

Video Utility Information Video Usability Information

GOPs Group of Pictures

TUs Transform Units, Transform Units

Prediction unit of Prediction Units of PUs

Coding Tree Units of CTUs

Coding Tree Blocks of CTBs

Prediction of PBs Prediction Blocks

HRD, Hypothetical Reference Decoder Hypothetical Reference Decoder

SNR Signal Noise Ratio

CPU Central Processing unit of CPU Central Processing Units

Graphics Processing Units

CRT Cathode Ray Tube

Liquid-Crystal Display (LCD)

OLED Organic Light-Emitting Diode

Compact Disc (CD)

DVD Digital Video Disc

ROM Read-Only Memory

RAM (Random Access Memory) Random Access Memory

ASIC Application-Specific Integrated Circuit Application Specific Integrated Circuit

Programmable Logic Device (PLD)

Local Area Network (LAN)

Global System for Mobile communications (GSM)

Long-Term Evolution of Long-Term Evolution

CANBus Controller Area Network Bus

Universal Serial Bus (USB)

PCI Peripheral Component Interconnect

FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array

Solid-state drive solid-state disk (SSD)

IC Integrated Circuit

Coding Unit (CU)

While the present application has described several exemplary embodiments, various alterations, permutations, and various substitutions of the embodiments are within the scope of the present application. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various systems and methods which, although not explicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of the application and are thus within its spirit and scope. .