Performing Deblocking in Video Coding Based on Spatial-Domain Motion-Compensated Temporal Filtering

Employing block-based motion models in scalable video coding based on spatial-domain motion-compensated temporal filtering (SDMCTF) introduces artificial block-boundary discontinuities that adversely affect the video compression performance, particularly at low bit-rates. This paper focuses on the problem of deblocking in the context of SDMCTF-based video coding. One possible solution to this problem is the use of overlapped-block motion compensation (OBMC). An alternative solution is applying an adaptive deblocking filter, similar to the one used in H.264. With this respect, a novel adaptive deblocking filter, tailored to SDMCTF video coding is proposed. In terms of visual-quality, both approaches yield similar performance. However, adaptive deblocking is less complex than OBMC, as it requires up to 34% less processing time. Experimental results show that the two techniques significantly improve the subjective and objective quality of the decoded sequences, confirming the expected benefits brought by deblocking in SDMCTF-based video coding.