Multiple-Reference-Frame Based Fast Motion Estimation & Mode Decision for H.263-to-H.264 Transcoder

To-H.264 transcoding, due to its high practical values for a wide range of realtime video applications, has become an active research topic. However, most of the previous works do not address a very important new feature of H.264, multiple-reference-frame motion estimation. In this paper, employing forward domain vector selection (FDVS) and top-down splitting algorithms, a novel fast multiple-reference-frame based motion estimation & mode decision algorithm for H.263-to-H.264 transcoder is proposed. Potential block-sizes reduction and early-stop strategies are also adopted to accelerate the processing. Moreover, a novel adaptive search range selection algorithm is proposed to further speed up the motion search while the coding efficiency is not compromised. Proposed algorithm can also be extended to support transcoding other format videos to H.264, such as MPEG2-to-H.264. Experimental results show that the computational complexity can be reduced to about 11% of reference transcoder with negligible PSNR drop and a little bit-rate increase.

[1]  Yun He,et al.  Efficient fast ME predictions and early-termination strategy based on H.264 statistical characters , 2003, Fourth International Conference on Information, Communications and Signal Processing, 2003 and the Fourth Pacific Rim Conference on Multimedia. Proceedings of the 2003 Joint.

[2]  Zhi Zhou,et al.  Motion information and coding mode reuse for MPEG-2 to H.264 transcoding , 2005, 2005 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems.

[3]  Zhi Zhou,et al.  Fast variable block-size motion estimation algorithm based on merge and slit procedures for H.264/MPEG-4 AVC , 2004, 2004 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (IEEE Cat. No.04CH37512).

[4]  Mohammed Ghanbari,et al.  Heterogeneous Video Transcoding to Lower Spatio-Temporal Resolutions and Different Encoding Formats , 2000, IEEE Trans. Multim..

[5]  Ming-Ting Sun,et al.  Early-stop and motion vector reuse for MPEG-2 to H.264 transcoding , 2004, IS&T/SPIE Electronic Imaging.

[6]  Jill M. Boyce,et al.  Fast mode decision and motion estimation for H.264 with a focus on MPEG-2/H.264 transcoding , 2005, 2005 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems.

[7]  Ming-Ting Sun,et al.  Motion Vector Refinement for High-Performance Transcoding , 1999, IEEE Trans. Multim..

[8]  Oscar C. Au,et al.  Fast multi-block selection for H.264 video coding , 2004, 2004 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (IEEE Cat. No.04CH37512).