Inheritance in sample array multitree subdivision

• US 10,051,291 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2016
• Issued: 08/14/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Video Compression, LLC (General Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: GE Video Compression, LLC (General Electric Company)
• Inventors: Helle, Philipp, Marpe, Detlev, Oudin, Simon, Wiegand, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): SUH, JOSEPH JINWOO
• Application Number:
  US15/196,113
• Publication Number:
  US 20160309197A1
• Time in Patent Office: 776 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/124 Quantisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/129 Scanning of coding units, e.g. zig-zag scan of transform coefficients or flexible macroblock ordering [FMO]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/13 Adaptive entropy coding, e.g. adaptive variable length coding [AVLC] or context adaptive binary arithmetic coding [CABAC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/136 Incoming video signal characteristics or properties
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/159 Prediction type, e.g. intra-frame, inter-frame or bidirectional frame prediction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/176 the region being a block, e.g. a macroblock
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/30 using hierarchical techniques, e.g. scalability H04N19/63 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/439 using cascaded computational arrangements for performing a single operation, e.g. filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/44 Decoders specially adapted therefor, e.g. video decoders which are asymmetric with respect to the encoder
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/46 Embedding additional information in the video signal during the compression process H04N19/517, H04N19/68, H04N19/70 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/463 by compressing encoding parameters before transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/513 Processing of motion vectors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/52 by predictive encoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/53 Multi-resolution motion estimation; Hierarchical motion estimation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/593 involving spatial prediction techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/70 characterised by syntax aspects related to video coding, e.g. related to compression standards
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/96 Tree coding, e.g. quad-tree coding

Abstract

A better compromise between encoding complexity and achievable rate distortion ratio, and/or to achieve a better rate distortion ratio is achieved by using multitree sub-divisioning not only in order to subdivide a continuous area, namely the sample array, into leaf regions, but using the intermediate regions also to share coding parameters among the corresponding collocated leaf blocks. By this measure, coding procedures performed in tiles—leaf regions—locally, may be associated with coding parameters individually without having to, however, explicitly transmit the whole coding parameters for each leaf region separately. Rather, similarities may effectively exploited by using the multitree subdivision.

Claims

1. A decoder for reconstructing an array of information samples encoded in a data stream and representing a spatially sampled video information signal, the decoder comprising:

an extractor configured for

extracting, from the data stream, subdivision information and inheritance information associated with an inheritance coding block of the array of information samples and having a first hierarchy level of a sequence of hierarchy levels, the inheritance information indicating as to whether inheritance is used, wherein the inheritance coding block is composed of a set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks, each of which corresponds to a second hierarchy level of the sequence of hierarchy levels, the first hierarchy level being lower than the second hierarchy level, and each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks having a same resolution as that of the inheritance coding block,

extracting, from the data stream if the inheritance is used with respect to the inheritance coding block, an inheritance subset associated with the inheritance coding block, the inheritance subset including at least one syntax element of a predetermined syntax element type, and

extracting, from the data stream, respective residual information associated with each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks; and

a predictor configured for

copying the inheritance subset including the at least one syntax element into a set of syntax elements representing coding parameters used in an intra coding process corresponding to each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks,

determining, for each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks, a coding parameter used in the intra coding process associated with the corresponding non-overlapping coding sub-block based on the at least one syntax element, and

predicting a respective prediction signal for each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks based on the coding parameter determined for the coding sub-block, wherein

each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks is reconstructed based on the respective prediction signal and the respective residual information.

2. The decoder according to claim 1, wherein the inheritance information includes an inheritance flag indicating whether inheritance is used with respect to the inheritance coding block defined by the multi-tree subdivision, and the extractor is configured to extract the inheritance flag from the data stream.

3. The decoder according to claim 1, wherein the decoder is a hybrid decoder.

4. The decoder according to claim 1, wherein the decoder is configured to decode a residual for each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks.

5. The decoder according to claim 1, wherein the decoder is configured to extract, from the data stream, at least one syntax element of the predetermined syntax element type representing a coding parameter associated with a leaf region that is not a coding sub-block of an inheritance coding block.

6. The decoder according to claim 1, wherein the decoder is configured to, if inheritance is indicated not to be used, extract at least one syntax element of the predetermined syntax element type representing a coding parameter associated with leaf regions of the array of information samples for which inheritance is not used.

7. The decoder according to claim 1, wherein the decoder is configured to reconstruct the array of information samples by prediction in a prediction mode determined based on at least one syntax element of the predetermined syntax element type associated with leaf regions of the array of information samples.

8. A method for reconstructing an array of information samples encoded in a data stream and representing a spatially sampled video information signal, comprising:

extracting, from the data stream, subdivision information;

extracting, from the data stream, inheritance information associated with an inheritance coding block of the array of information samples and having a first hierarchy level of a sequence of hierarchy levels, the inheritance information indicating as to whether inheritance is used, wherein the inheritance coding block is composed of a set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks, each of which corresponds to a second hierarchy level of the sequence of hierarchy levels, the first hierarchy level being lower than the second hierarchy level of the sequence of hierarchy levels, and each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks has a same resolution as that of the at least one inheritance coding block;

if inheritance is used with respect to the inheritance coding block according to the inheritance information, extracting, from the data stream, an inheritance subset associated with the inheritance coding block, the inheritance subset including at least one syntax element of a predetermined syntax element type;

extracting, from the data stream, respective residual information associated with each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks;

copying the inheritance subset including the at least one syntax element into a set of syntax elements representing coding parameters used in an intra coding process corresponding to each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks;

determining, for each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks, a coding parameter used in the intra coding process associated with the corresponding non-overlapping coding sub-block based on the at least one syntax element;

predicting a respective prediction signal for each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks based on the coding parameter determined for the coding sub-block; and

reconstructing each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks based on the respective prediction signal and the respective residual information.

9. A non-transitory computer readable digital storage medium having stored thereon a computer program having a program code, which, when read by the computer, causes the computer to perform a method according to claim 8.

10. An encoder for encoding an array of information samples representing a spatially sampled video information signal into a data stream, comprising:

a data stream inserter for

inserting, into the data stream, subdivision information and inheritance information associated with an inheritance coding block of the array of information samples and having a first hierarchy level of a sequence of hierarchy levels, the inheritance information indicating as to whether inheritance is used, wherein the inheritance coding block is composed of a set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks, each of which corresponds to a second hierarchy level of the sequence of hierarchy levels, the first hierarchy level being lower than the second hierarchy level, and each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks having a same resolution as that of the inheritance coding block,

inserting, into the data stream if inheritance is indicated to be used with respect to the inheritance coding block, an inheritance subset including at least one syntax element of a predetermined syntax element type associated with the inheritance coding block, wherein, during decoding, at least one syntax element in the inheritance subset is to be copied into, or to be used as a prediction for, a set of syntax elements representing coding parameters used in an intra coding process corresponding to each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks in order to reconstruct the coding sub-block, and

inserting, into the data stream, respective residual information for each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks so that each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks in the inheritance coding block is to be reconstructed based on a respective prediction signal, generated based on one or more of the coding parameters used in the intra coding process, and the respective residual information specific to the non-overlapping coding sub-block.

11. A method for encoding an array of information samples representing a spatially sampled video information signal into a data stream, comprising

inserting the subdivision information into the data stream;

inserting, into the data stream, inheritance information associated with an inheritance coding block of the array of information samples and having a first hierarchy level of a sequence of hierarchy levels, the inheritance information indicating as to whether inheritance is used, wherein the inheritance coding block is composed of a set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks sub regions, each of which corresponds to a second hierarchy level of the sequence of hierarchy levels, the first hierarchy level being lower than the second hierarchy level, and each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks having a same resolution as that of the inheritance coding block;

inserting, into the data stream if inheritance is indicated to be used with respect to the inheritance coding block, an inheritance subset including at least one syntax element of a predetermined syntax element type associated with the inheritance coding block, wherein, during decoding, at least one syntax element in the inheritance subset is to be copied into, or to be used as a prediction for, a set of syntax elements representing coding parameters used in an intra coding process corresponding to each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks in order to reconstruct the coding sub-block; and

inserting, into the data stream, respective residual information for each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks so that each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks in the inheritance coding block is to be reconstructed based on a respective prediction signal, generated based on one or more of the coding parameters used in the intra coding process, and the respective residual information specific to the non-overlapping coding sub-block.

12. A non-transitory computer readable digital storage medium having stored thereon a computer program having a program code, which, when read by the computer, causes the computer to perform a method according to claim 11.

13. A machine readable non-transitory medium for storing data associated with a multi-view signal, comprising a data stream stored in the non-transitory machine readable medium, the data stream comprising an array of information samples representing a spatially sampled video information signal, sub-division information, and inheritance information associated with an inheritance coding block of the array of information samples and having a first hierarchy level of a sequence of hierarchy levels, the inheritance information indicating as to whether inheritance is used, wherein the inheritance coding block composed of a set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks, each of which corresponds to a second hierarchy level, the first hierarchy level being lower than the second hierarchy level, and each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks having a same resolution as that of the inheritance coding block,

the data stream further comprising respective residual information associated with each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks and, if inheritance is indicated to be used with respect to the inheritance coding block, an inheritance subset including at least one syntax element of a predetermined syntax element type associated with the inheritance coding block, so that the at least one syntax element associated with the inheritance coding block is to be copied as, or to be used as a prediction for, a corresponding syntax element representing a coding parameter used in an intra coding process associated with the corresponding non-overlapping coding sub-block, and each of the set of non-overlapping coding sub-blocks is to be reconstructed based on a respective prediction signal, generated based on the coding parameter used in the intra coding process, and the respective residual information specific to the non-overlapping coding sub-block.