Intraprediction method and apparatus using video symmetry and video encoding and decoding method and apparatus

• US 20060274956A1
• Filed: 02/28/2006
• Published: 12/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Jeong-hoon, Lee, Sang-rae, Sohn, Yu-mi, Kim, So-young
• Granted Patent: US 8,098,731 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/238
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/11 among a plurality of spatial predictive coding modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/136 Incoming video signal characteristics or properties
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/176 the region being a block, e.g. a macroblock
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/60 using transform coding

Abstract

An intraprediction method which improves compression efficiency using the symmetry of a video in the intraprediction of the video and a video encoding and decoding method and apparatus using the intraprediction method. The intraprediction method includes performing intraprediction by predicting a first region to be encoded in a video based on axial symmetry of a second region of the video with respect to a predetermined axis.

Claims

1. An intraprediction method comprising performing intraprediction by predicting information in a second region to be encoded in a video based on an axial symmetry of a first region of the video with respect to a predetermined axis.

2. The intraprediction method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined axis is a symmetry axis and the performing intraprediction comprises:

detecting a symmetric region of the video;

determining the symmetry axis of the symmetric region; and

dividing the symmetric region into the first region and the second region and predicting the information in the second region based on the first region.

3. The intraprediction method of claim 2, wherein the symmetry axis divides the symmetric region into the first region and the second region and minimizes a difference between the first region and the second region.

4. The intraprediction method of claim 2, wherein the information in the second region is predicted based on the axial symmetry of the first region with respect to the symmetry axis.

5. The intraprediction method of claim 2, wherein the symmetric region of the video is detected using contour detection.

6. The intraprediction method of claim 2, wherein the symmetric region of the video is detected using motion vector tracking.

7. The intraprediction method of claim 2, further comprising performing motion estimation and compensation on the information in the second region.

8. The intraprediction method of claim 1, wherein the second region to be encoded comprises a macroblock which is predicted based on an axial symmetry of an adjacent macroblock of the first region with respect to a boundary between the macroblock and the adjacent macroblock.

9. An intraprediction apparatus which performs intraprediction by predicting information in a second region to be encoded in a video based on an axial symmetry of a first region of the video with respect to a symmetry axis.

10. The intraprediction apparatus of claim 9, comprising:

a symmetric region detecting unit which detects a symmetric region of the video;

a symmetry axis determining unit which determines the symmetry axis of the symmetric region; and

a mirroring unit which divides the symmetric region into the first region and the second region and predicts the information in the second region based on the first region.

11. The intraprediction apparatus of claim 10, wherein the symmetry axis divides the symmetric region into the first region and the second region and minimizes a difference between the first region and the second region.

12. The intraprediction apparatus of claim 10, wherein the mirroring unit predicts the information in the second region based on the axial symmetry of the first region with respect to the symmetry axis.

13. The intraprediction apparatus of claim 10, wherein the symmetric region detecting unit comprises a contour detector that detects a contour of the video and determines whether the contour is symmetric.

14. The intraprediction apparatus of claim 10, wherein the symmetric region detecting unit comprises a motion vector tracking unit that tracks motion vectors of blocks of the video, detects a contour of an image of the video, and determines whether the contour is symmetric.

15. The intraprediction apparatus of claim 9, wherein the second region to be encoded comprises a macroblock and the macroblock is predicted through the axial symmetry of an adjacent macroblock of the first region with respect to a boundary between the macroblock and the adjacent macroblock.

16. A video encoding method comprising:

detecting a symmetric region of a video to be encoded in an intraprediction mode;

determining a symmetry axis of the symmetric region and predicting a first portion of the symmetric region based on a second portion of the symmetric region with respect to the symmetry axis; and

calculating a difference between the first portion and the second portion and performing compression encoding on information about the difference and information about the symmetric region.

17. The video encoding method of claim 16, wherein the symmetry axis divides the symmetric region into the first portion and the second portion and minimizes a difference between the first portion and the second portion.

18. The video encoding method of claim 16, wherein the first portion of the symmetric region is predicted based on an axial symmetry of a previously encoded symmetric region.

19. A video encoder comprising:

an intraprediction unit which detects a symmetric region of a video and predicts a first portion of the symmetric region based on a second portion of the symmetric region with respect to a symmetry axis; and

a compression unit which performs compression encoding on information about a difference between a video predicted by the intraprediction unit and an original video and information about the symmetric region.

20. The video encoder of claim 19, wherein the intraprediction unit divides the symmetric region into the first portion and a second portion using a line and determines a line that minimizes a difference between the first portion and the second portion as the symmetry axis.

21. The video encoder of claim 19, wherein the intraprediction unit predicts pixel values of the first portion of the symmetric region based on an axial symmetry of the second portion.

22. A video decoding method of decoding a video from a compression-encoded bitstream, the video decoding method comprising:

detecting a symmetric region from a video included in the compression-encoded bitstream; and

decoding a first portion of the symmetric region to generate a decoded first portion and then a second portion of the symmetric region with respect to a symmetry axis of the symmetric region and predicting information in the second portion using the decoded first portion.

23. The video decoding method of claim 22, wherein the symmetry axis divides the symmetric region into the first portion and the second portion and minimizes a difference between the first portion and the second portion.

24. The video decoding method of claim 22, wherein pixel values of the second portion are predicted based on an axial symmetry of the first portion with respect to the symmetry axis.

25. The video decoding method of claim 22, wherein the symmetric region is detected from symmetric region information included in the compression-encoded bitstream.

26. The video decoding method of claim 22, further comprising reconstructing original video by adding the information in the second portion and a residual included in the compression-encoded bitstream.

27. A video decoder that decodes a video from a compression-encoded bitstream, the video decoder comprising:

an intraprediction unit which detects a symmetric region from a video included in the compression-encoded bitstream, decodes a first portion of the symmetric region to generate a decoded first portion and then a second portion of the symmetric region with respect to a symmetry axis of the symmetric region, and predicts information in the second portion based on the decoded first portion.

28. The video decoder of claim 27, wherein the intraprediction unit determines a line that divides the detected symmetric region into portions by passing through the detected symmetric region and minimizes a difference between the first portion and the second portion as the symmetry axis.

29. The video decoder of claim 27, wherein the intraprediction unit predicts pixel values of the second portion based on an axial symmetry of the first portion with respect to the symmetry axis.

30. The video decoder of claim 27, wherein the intraprediction unit detects the symmetric region from symmetric region information included in the compression-encoded bitstream.

31. The video decoder of claim 27, further comprising an adder which reconstructs original video by adding a video predicted by the intraprediction unit and a residual included in the compression-encoded bitstream.