Mode decision for the H.264/AVC video coding standard

H.264/AVC video coding standard gives us a very promising future for the field of video broadcasting and communication because of its high coding efficiency compared with other older video coding standards. However, high coding efficiency also carries high computational complexity. Fast motion estimation and fast mode decision are two very useful techniques which can significantly reduce computational complexity. This thesis focuses on the field of fast mode decision. The goal of this thesis is that for very similar RD performance compared with H.264/AVC video coding standard, we aim to find new fast mode decision techniques which can afford significant time savings. [Continues.]