Method and apparatus for eliminating the transpose buffer during a decomposed forward or inverse 2-dimensional discrete cosine transform through operand decomposition, storage and retrieval

• US 6,295,546 B1
• Filed: 12/31/1998
• Issued: 09/25/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Compaq Computer Corporation (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Adiletta, Matthew J.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGO, CHUONG D
• Application Number:
  US09/223,494
• Time in Patent Office: 999 Days
• Field of Search: 708/400, 708/401, 708/402, 708/403, 708/404, 708/405
• US Class Current: 708/402
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/126 Details of normalisation or weighting functions, e.g. normalisation matrices or variable uniform quantisers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/14 Coding unit complexity, e.g. amount of activity or edge presence estimation H04N19/146 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/149 by estimating the code amount by means of a model, e.g. mathematical model or statistical model
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/15 by monitoring actual compressed data size at the memory before deciding storage at the transmission buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/152 by measuring the fullness of the transmission buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/159 Prediction type, e.g. intra-frame, inter-frame or bidirectional frame prediction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/169 characterised by the coding unit, i.e. the structural portion or semantic portion of the video signal being the object or the subject of the adaptive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/176 the region being a block, e.g. a macroblock
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/177 the unit being a group of pictures [GOP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/192 the adaptation method, adaptation tool or adaptation type being iterative or recursive
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/42 characterised by implementation details or hardware specially adapted for video compression or decompression, e.g. dedicated software implementation H04N19/635 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/423 characterised by memory arrangements H04N19/433 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/61 in combination with predictive coding

Abstract

A method and apparatus is presented for video image compression using a unique operand decomposition technique combined with an innovative data scatter and retrieve process. This combination of features allows the use of single ported RAM structures where multiported RAMS would normally be used, such as when retrieving two operands in the same time cycle. As applied to the Discrete Cosine Transformation this method and appatatus additionally allows elimination of the usual prior art use of a separate transpose matrix buffer. The elimination of the separate transpose matrix buffer is accomplished by combining the transpose matrix intermediate results memory storage with the memory buffer used for the other intermediate results in a double buffer system. The double buffer memory locations are chosen so that the intermediate storage register address are orthogonal to the initial source addresses, thereby using one of the properties of the Discrete Cosine Transform to improve speed of operation and reduce the circuit area and system cost.

Claims

1. A computer system including a processor for performing matrix transform operations, comprising:

a single-ported RAM memory having memory cell locations for storing operands,

said processor operable to store operands at memory cell locations of said RAM memory selected to permit retrieval of said operands in a desired sequence and collision free retrieval by said processor of pairs of said operands from identified ones of said memory cell locations during a single memory cycle,

said processor further being operable to perform a matrix transform operation on said pair of retrieved operands to produce transformed values of said operands, and then to store said transformed values at the same memory cell locations at which the operands of said retrieved pair of operands were stored.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said apparatus wherein said matrix transform operations include a discrete cosine transformation and an inverse discrete cosine transformation, and said system further comprises;

a discrete cosine transformation circuit,

a quantization transformation circuit, and

wherein said single ported RAM structure comprises a single double buffer memory element logically connected between said discrete cosine transformation circuit and said quantization transformation circuit, wherein said single double buffer memory element is the only buffer memory element.

3. A method for video signal compression and decompression, comprising:

receiving a video signal comprised of data elements;

performing at least one of a discrete cosine transform operation and a quantization transform operation on said video signal utilizing a processor and a single double buffer memory element, wherein said performing step further includes the steps of,

storing said data elements in said double buffer memory element, said double buffer memory element being comprised of single ported RAM cells, said storing step further comprising the steps of,

storing an initial operand in each of said single ported RAM cells via the use of a specific ordering of said initial operands in said buffer,

retrieving a pair of said initial operands from said double buffer memory in a single memory cycle, said processor performing at least one of said discrete cosine transform operation and said quantization transform operation on said pair of said initial operands to produce an intermediate transformed value of each of said initial operands,

storing in the same ones of said single ported RAM cells said intermediate transformed values of said initial operands, and

said processor performing said discrete cosine transform and said quantization transform to generate at least one of a compressed video signal and a decompressed video signal.

4. A method for video signal decompression, comprising:

receiving a compressed video signal comprised of data elements;

performing by a data processor at least one of an inverse discrete cosine transform operation and an inverse quantization transform operation on said video signal utilizing a single double buffer memory element, wherein said performing step further includes the steps of,

storing said data elements in said double buffer memory element, said double buffer memory element being comprised of single ported RAM cells, said storing step further comprising the steps of,

storing an initial operand in each of said single ported RAM cells via the use of a specific ordering of said initial operands in said buffer,

retrieving a pair of said initial operands from said double buffer memory in a single memory cycle, said data processor performing at least one of said inverse discrete cosine transform operation and said inverse quantization transform operation said pair of said initial operands,

storing in the same ones of said single ported RAM cells said intermediate transformed values of said initial operands, and

said data processor performing said inverse discrete cosine transform and said inverse quantization transform to generate a decompressed video signal.