A novel co-decoding scheme to reduce memory in MPEG-2 MP@ML decoder

This paper presents an encoding algorithm which allows a main profile main level MPEG-2 decoder to reduce the external dedicated memory. Typically, for most TV applications, a 16 Mbit SDRAM is needed, but using a new compression approach it is possible to reduce this amount of memory to less than 8 Mbits for PAL sequences. The REMPEG50 (reduced memory MPEG decoder and 50% frame compression) is a modified architecture of a MPEG-2 decoder that needs only one half of the external memory while keeping a full compatibility with the standard MPEG-2 decoder. When compared to a "pure" MPEG-2 decompression scheme, this shows a very good trade-off between loss of MPEG-2 quality over different bit rates and overall increased complexity.