Scalable video coding with enhanced base layer

• US 9,544,587 B2
• Filed: 05/14/2013
• Issued: 01/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Minoo, Koohyar, Luthra, Ajay K., Baylon, David M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Vaughn, Jr., William C
• Assistant Examiner(s): PEREZ FUENTES, LUIS M
• Application Number:
  US13/893,369
• Publication Number:
  US 20130301702A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,337 Days
• Field of Search: 375/240.02
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 19/12 Selection from among a plurality of transforms or standards, e.g. selection between discrete cosine transform [DCT] and sub-band transform or selection between H.263 and H.264
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/136 Incoming video signal characteristics or properties
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/167 Position within a video image, e.g. region of interest [ROI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/172 the region being a picture, frame or field
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/184 the unit being bits, e.g. of the compressed video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/30 using hierarchical techniques, e.g. scalability H04N19/63 takes precedence
• 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

Abstract

Disclosed is a method comprising: (a) receiving a layer 0 bitstream, the layer 0 bitstream including coding information for the layer 0 bitstream; (b) receiving a layer 1 bitstream, the layer 1 bitstream including coding information for the layer 1 bitstream; and (c) reconstructing the layer 0 bitstream using previously received information for another layer 0 bitstream and previously received information for another layer 1 bitstream.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

dividing a video stream into at least one low frequency sub-band partition and at least one high frequency sub-band partition;

decomposing the video stream into a layer 0 bitstream and a layer 1 bitstream, the layer 0 bitstream decomposed based on the at least one low frequency sub-band partition, the layer 1 bitstream decomposed based on the at least one high frequency sub-band partition;

encoding the layer 0 bitstream and the layer 1 bitstream, the layer 0 bitstream encoded using at least one of coding information for the layer 0 bitstream or coding information for the layer 1 bitstream, the layer 1 bitstream encoded using the coding information for the layer 1 bitstream; and

reconstructing the video stream, the reconstructing including decoding the encoded layer 0 bitstream and the encoded layer 1 bitstream and recombining the decoded layer 0 bitstream and layer 1 bitstream into a reconstructed video stream using at least one of the coding information for the layer 0 bitstream or the coding information for the layer 1 bitstream.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the layer 1 bitstream includes complementary information to the layer 0 bitstream.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein reconstructing uses a highest quality or highest resolution reference information available based on a plurality of frequency sub-band partitions divided from the video stream.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the reference information includes reference picture information identified using a reconstructed video stream created based on the coding information for at least one of the layer 0 bitstream or the layer 1 bitstream.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the reference information is derived from a layer 0 bitstream.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the reference information is derived from a layer 1 bitstream.

7. The method of claim 4 wherein the reference information is derived from a combination of a layer 0 bitstream and a layer 1 bitstream.

8. The method of claim 3 wherein using the highest quality or highest resolution reference information available improves the quality of interpolated or non-interpolated reference samples used for the reconstruction of a layer 0 bitstream.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

decomposing the video stream into a layer 2 bitstream based on at least one high frequency sub-band partition of the video stream different from the at least one high frequency sub-band partition used for decomposing the layer 1 bitstream; and

encoding the layer 2 bitstream using coding information for the layer 2 bitstream,

wherein reconstructing the video stream includes decoding the layer 2 bitstream and recombining the decoded layer 2 bitstream into the reconstructed video stream using the coding information for the layer 2 bitstream.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

adjusting the layer 0 coding information based on corresponding coding information in the layer 1 bitstream.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the corresponding coding information of the layer 0 bitstream and layer 1 bitstream comprises motion information.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the motion information comprises partitioning information and motion vectors.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein if a portion of coding information of the layer 0 bitstream is unavailable, then reconstructing a portion of the layer 0 bitstream using coding information corresponding to the portion of coding information from the layer 1 bitstream.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the corresponding coding information of the layer 0 bitstream and layer 1 bitstream comprises motion information.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the motion information comprises partitioning information and motion vectors.

16. An apparatus comprising:

a processor;

a divider including instructions executable by the processor to divide a video stream into at least one low frequency sub-band partition and at least one high frequency sub-band partition;

a channel analyzer including instructions executable by the processor to decompose the video stream into a layer 0 bitstream and a layer 1 bitstream, the layer 0 bitstream decomposed based on the at least one low frequency sub-band partition, the layer 1 bitstream decomposed based on the at least one high frequency sub-band partition; and

an encoder including instructions executable by the processor to encode the layer 0 bitstream and the layer 1 bitstream, the layer 0 bitstream encoded using at least one of coding information for the layer 0 bitstream or coding information for the layer 1 bitstream, the layer 1 bitstream encoded using the coding information for the layer 1 bitstream.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 further comprising a reconstruction loop including instructions executable by the processor to decode the encoded layer 0 bitstream and encoded layer 1 bitstream and to recombine the decoded layer 0 bitstream and the decoded layer 1 bitstreams into a reconstructed video stream using the coding information for at least one of the layer 0 bitstream or the layer 1 bitstream.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17 further comprising a buffer to store the reconstructed video stream.

19. The apparatus according to claim 17 wherein at least one of the reconstructed video stream and coding information is used as coding information for the encoder.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the coding information is at least one of reference picture information and coding information of the reconstructed video stream.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the reference picture information is derived from the layer 0 bitstream.

22. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the reference picture information is derived from the layer 1 bitstream.