Image predictive coding method

• US 6,859,559 B2
• Filed: 08/28/2002
• Issued: 02/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sun Patent Trust
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Shen, Sheng Mei, Boon, Choong Seng, Tan, Thiow Keng
• Primary Examiner(s): GRANT II, JEROME
• Application Number:
  US10/229,151
• Publication Number:
  US 20030059120A1
• Time in Patent Office: 909 Days
• Field of Search: 382/238, 382/236, 382/232, 382/248, 382/250, 382/251, 358/261.2, 358/432, 358/433
• US Class Current: 382/238
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/105 Selection of the reference unit for prediction within a chosen coding or prediction mode, e.g. adaptive choice of position and number of pixels used for prediction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/11 among a plurality of spatial predictive coding modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/119 Adaptive subdivision aspects, e.g. subdivision of a picture into rectangular or non-rectangular coding blocks
• 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 19/137 Motion inside a coding unit, e.g. average field, frame or block difference
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/146 Data rate or code amount at the encoder output
• 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 19/154 Measured or subjectively estimated visual quality after decoding, e.g. measurement of distortion use of rate-distortion criteria H04N19/147
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/176 the region being a block, e.g. a macroblock
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/18 the unit being a set of transform coefficients
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/182 the unit being a pixel
• 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 19/48 using compressed domain processing techniques other than decoding, e.g. modification of transform coefficients, variable length coding [VLC] data or run-length data motion estimation in a transform domain H04N19/547; processing of decoded motion vectors H04N19/513
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/507 using conditional replenishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/51 Motion estimation or motion compensation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/593 involving spatial prediction techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/61 in combination with predictive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/619 the transform being operated outside the prediction loop
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/63 : using sub-band based transform, e.g. wavelets
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/649 : the transform being applied to non rectangular image segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/70 : characterised by syntax aspects related to video coding, e.g. related to compression standards

Abstract

There is disclosed image predictive coding apparatus and method, image predictive decoding apparatus and method, and recording medium which stores therein the image predictive coding method or the image predictive decoding method, of which the transform efficiency is remarkably improved in comparison with the prior art. According to the image predictive coding apparatus and method, when dividing inputted image data to be coded into image data of a plurality of small regions which are adjacent to each other and coding the image data of an objective small region to be processed among the image data of the plurality of divided small regions which are adjacent to each other, reconstructed image data of a reproduction small region adjacent to the image data of the objective small region to be processed is used as image data of an intra-frame prediction small region of the objective small region to be processed, the image data of the intra-frame prediction small region is used as image data of an optimum prediction small region and image data of a difference small region which are differences between the image data of the objective small region to be processed and the image data of the optimum prediction small region is generated. Then, the generated image data of the difference small region is coded and outputted, and then the coded image data of the difference small region is decoded, so that the reconstructed image data of the reproduction small region is generated by adding the decoded image data of the difference small region to the image data of the optimum prediction small region.

Claims

1. An image predictive coding method comprising:

sampling an image signal into a plurality of blocks;

transforming the image signal of the blocks into a two-dimensional array of DCT coefficients having a DC coefficient and AC coefficients;

quantizing the two-dimensional array of DCT coefficients into quantized DCT coefficients; and

predicting a quantized DC coefficient and quantized AC coefficients of a current block from DCT coefficients of an immediately adjacent block adaptively selected from either a left block or an above block.

2. An image predictive coding method of claim 1, further comprising providing an indication bit which indicates if the quantized AC coefficients of the current block are predicted from the immediately adjacent block.