Noise estimation and reduction apparatus for video signal processing

• US 6,285,710 B1
• Filed: 12/12/1995
• Issued: 09/04/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Thomson Licensing SA (Vantiva SA)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing SA (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Hurst, Robert Norman Jr., Lee, Jungwoo
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Richard
• Application Number:
  US08/571,044
• Time in Patent Office: 2,093 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.7137, H04/N.732, 348/384, 348/390, 348/402, 348/404, 348/405, 348/407, 348/409-413, 348/415, 348/416, 348/607, 348/618, 348/620, 348/623, 348/699, 348/571, 382/232, 382/236, 382/238, 382/251, 364/553, 375/240.01, 375/240.03, 375/240-2-2, 375/240.18, 375/240.2, 375/240.24
• US Class Current: 375/240.12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/124 Quantisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/126 Details of normalisation or weighting functions, e.g. normalisation matrices or variable uniform quantisers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/503 involving temporal prediction adaptive coding with adaptive selection between spatial and temporal predictive coding H04N19/107; adaptive coding with adaptive selection among a plurality of temporal predictive coding modes H04N19/109
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/61 in combination with predictive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/82 involving filtering within a prediction loop
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/85 using pre-processing or post-processing specially adapted for video compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/21 Circuitry for suppressing or minimising disturbance, e.g. moiré or halo

Abstract

Video signal compression apparatus generates residues representing pixel value differences between predicted and real pixel values of a current frame of a video signal. Noise reduction circuitry, in the form of nonlinear processing functions, attenuates lower amplitude residues greater than higher amplitude residues and is responsive to a noise estimate. The processed residues are transformed to provide a compressed video data output. The nonlinear processing functions attenuate noise and reduce image distortion.

Claims

1. Apparatus for compressing an image representative video signal containing pixel data comprising:

means for estimating noise in said video signal and providing an output;

means for generating residues having lower and higher amplitude components, said residues representing differences of pixel values between predicted pixel values and real pixel values of a current frame of said video signal being compressed;

nonlinear processing means, coupled to said generating means, for attenuating lower amplitude residues greater than higher amplitude residues and providing processed residues at an output, wherein a transfer function of said nonlinear processing means is responsive to said noise estimate; and

transform means for transforming said processed residues and providing a compressed video data output.

2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein

said noise estimate is produced as a function of pixel prediction error.

3. The apparatus set forth in claim 2 wherein

said noise estimate is produced when motion in an image area is substantially zero.

4. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein

said transfer function responds to said noise estimate at variable time intervals.

5. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 further including

a filter with a variable time constant for temporally filtering said noise estimate and wherein said transfer function of said nonlinear processing means is responsive to said temporally filtered noise estimate.

6. The apparatus set forth in claim 5 wherein

said variable time constant filter provides a longer (slower) filter time constant for increasing noise estimate values and a shorter (faster) filter time constant for reducing noise estimate values.

7. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 further including

a filter for spatially filtering said noise estimate;

and wherein said transfer function of said nonlinear processing means is responsive to said spatially filtered noise estimate.

8. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein

said transfer function is a coring function with a coring window, said window having a width w for attenuating said lower amplitude residues, and w is responsive to said noise estimate.

9. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein

said apparatus processes said pixel data on a block by block basis and the degree of coring within a coring function is responsive to motion in a pixel block.

10. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein

said apparatus processes said pixel data on a block by block basis and said a coring function is applied only to residues corresponding to pixel blocks exhibiting image motion below a predetermined threshold.

11. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein

said noise estimate is inversely related to the degree of motion in an area of an image.

12. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein

said nonlinear processing means provides a plurality of selectable transfer functions including a linear transfer function.

13. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein

said transfer function is a coring function with a coring window and said coring function is a function of a change in image content of said current frame.

14. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein

said transfer function is a coring function with a coring window and said coring function substantially comprises an identity function outside said coring window.

15. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein

said transfer function is a coring function with a coring window and said coring function substantially comprises a convex-downward and continuously increasing function inside said window.

16. Apparatus for filtering noise in a signal comprising:

an input processor for receiving and processing said signal to provide an output suitable for filtering; and

a nonlinear processing means, coupled to said input processor, for attenuating lower amplitude components of said processed output more than higher amplitude components and for providing a filtered output, wherein the transfer function of said nonlinear processing means is in the class of coring functions, having a coring window, that substantially provide;

(a) an identity function, in which the output is equal to the input, outside said coring window; and

(b) a convex-downward and continuously increasing function inside said coring window.

17. The apparatus set forth in claim 16 wherein

said transfer function is adaptively selected from a plurality of coring functions that include a transfer function in said class.

18. The apparatus set forth in claim 17 wherein

said transfer function is selected based on an estimate of noise in said video signal.

19. The apparatus set forth in claim 16 wherein

said transfer function is a piece-wise linear transfer function.

20. The apparatus set forth in claim 16 wherein

said transfer function is represented by (f(x)) and inside said coring window is of the form $f$

(x)=W

(xW)n

where n is an integer and W is a coring window width for attenuating said lower amplitude components and the magnitude of x is less than or equal to W.

21. Video signal compression apparatus comprising:

means for estimating noise in a video signal and providing an output;

nonlinear processing means for adaptively filtering said video signal with a coring function and providing a filtered video output signal, said coring function substantially providing a convex-downward and continuously increasing function inside a coring window of said coring function, wherein said coring function is responsive to said noise estimate; and

transform means for compressing said filtered video output signal to provide a compressed video data output.