An image coding method includes: adding, to a candidate list, a first adjacent motion vector as a candidate for a predicted motion vector to be used for coding the current motion vector; selecting the predicted motion vector from the candidate list; and coding the current motion vector, wherein in the adding, the first adjacent motion vector indicating a position in a first reference picture included in a first reference picture list is added to the candidate list for the current motion vector indicating a position in a second reference picture included in a second reference picture list.

An image coding method includes: adding, to a candidate list, a first adjacent motion vector as a candidate for a predicted motion vector to be used for coding the current motion vector; selecting the predicted motion vector from the candidate list; and coding the current motion vector, wherein in the adding, the first adjacent motion vector indicating a position in a first reference picture included in a first reference picture list is added to the candidate list for the current motion vector indicating a position in a second reference picture included in a second reference picture list.

The disclosed invention is a enhancement to the Video Encoder component of the MPEG standard to improve both the efficiency and quality of the video presentation at the display device. The inventions described below pertain to the enhancement of video compression technology. In general, they are compatible with MPEG video standards (as in current art), but represent novel enhancements thereof. The above inventions apply to several transmission media and networks including cable, DSL, wireless, satellite and IP networks. Another category of invention in this disclosure enhances networking performance by recognizing that the transmitted information is video, rather than data. This invention can be scaled to other classes of multimedia data such as speech or audio or images.

The disclosed invention is a enhancement to the Video Encoder component of the MPEG standard to improve both the efficiency and quality of the video presentation at the display device. The inventions described below pertain to the enhancement of video compression technology. In general, they are compatible with MPEG video standards (as in current art), but represent novel enhancements thereof. The above inventions apply to several transmission media and networks including cable, DSL, wireless, satellite and IP networks. Another category of invention in this disclosure enhances networking performance by recognizing that the transmitted information is video, rather than data. This invention can be scaled to other classes of multimedia data such as speech or audio or images.

An example method includes obtaining, for a current block of video data, values of motion vectors (MVs) of an affine motion model of a neighboring block of video data; deriving, from the values of the MVs of the affine motion model of the neighboring block, values of predictors for MVs of an affine motion model of the current block; decoding, from a video bitstream, a representation of differences between the values of the MVs of the affine motion model for the current block and the values of the predictors; determining the values of the MVs of the affine motion model for the current block from the values of the predictors and the decoded differences; determining, based on the determined values of the MVs of the affine motion model for the current block, a predictor block of video data; and reconstructing the current block based on the predictor block.

An example method includes obtaining, for a current block of video data, values of motion vectors (MVs) of an affine motion model of a neighboring block of video data; deriving, from the values of the MVs of the affine motion model of the neighboring block, values of predictors for MVs of an affine motion model of the current block; decoding, from a video bitstream, a representation of differences between the values of the MVs of the affine motion model for the current block and the values of the predictors; determining the values of the MVs of the affine motion model for the current block from the values of the predictors and the decoded differences; determining, based on the determined values of the MVs of the affine motion model for the current block, a predictor block of video data; and reconstructing the current block based on the predictor block.

Disclosed is a low-complexity and yet efficient lossy method to compress distortion information for motion estimation, resulting in significant reduction in needed storage capacity. A system for implementing the method and a computer-readable medium for storing the method are also disclosed. The method includes determining and storing a distortion value for each trial motion vector in a plurality of trial motion vectors. Each trial motion vector specifies a position of a search region relative to a reference frame. The method further includes compressing each of the distortion values as a fixed number of bits based upon a minimum distortion value amongst the stored distortion values, and re-storing each compressed distortion value in place of its uncompressed value.

Disclosed is a low-complexity and yet efficient lossy method to compress distortion information for motion estimation, resulting in significant reduction in needed storage capacity. A system for implementing the method and a computer-readable medium for storing the method are also disclosed. The method includes determining and storing a distortion value for each trial motion vector in a plurality of trial motion vectors. Each trial motion vector specifies a position of a search region relative to a reference frame. The method further includes compressing each of the distortion values as a fixed number of bits based upon a minimum distortion value amongst the stored distortion values, and re-storing each compressed distortion value in place of its uncompressed value.

A method for RDO (Rate-Distortion Optimization) based on fit-curves contains at least the following steps: calculating a first fit-curve and a second fit-curve according to information regarding a first frame; carrying information regarding a second frame into the first and second fit-curves to calculate fit distortions and fit bit counts; calculating costs according to the fit distortions and the fit bit counts; determining the best block-division mode for the second frame according to the costs; and dividing the second frame into blocks according to the best block-division mode and encoding the second frame.

A method for RDO (Rate-Distortion Optimization) based on fit-curves contains at least the following steps: calculating a first fit-curve and a second fit-curve according to information regarding a first frame; carrying information regarding a second frame into the first and second fit-curves to calculate fit distortions and fit bit counts; calculating costs according to the fit distortions and the fit bit counts; determining the best block-division mode for the second frame according to the costs; and dividing the second frame into blocks according to the best block-division mode and encoding the second frame.