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Method and apparatus for detecting motion vectors based on hierarchical motion estimation

  • US 5,926,231 A
  • Filed: 12/09/1996
  • Issued: 07/20/1999
  • Est. Priority Date: 08/10/1995
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A method for encoding a video signal having a current frame and a preceding frame based on motion vectors between the current and the preceding frames estimated within a frame duration, wherein the current frame is divided into a plurality of search blocks of an identical size and the preceding frame is divided into a corresponding number of search regions, each search region being further divided into a multiplicity of candidate blocks of said identical size, which comprises the steps of:

  • (a) grouping the candidate blocks for each search region into a multiple number of search areas of different hierarchies from a highest hierarchy to a lowest hierarchy, each hierarchy having a different threshold value, wherein the search area of the highest hierarchy includes a smaller number of candidate blocks than that of the lowest hierarchy;

    (b) motion-estimating each of the search blocks corresponding to each search area starting from the highest hierarchy to the lowest hierarchy to provide a estimated motion vector for each of the search blocks, wherein the motion vector represents the displacement between each of the search blocks and a candidate block which yields a minimum error function smaller than a threshold value of a hierarchy containing the candidate block; and

    (c) providing the estimated motion vectors obtained from the step (b) as the motion vectors of the current frame.

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