H.264/SVC Mode Decision Based on Mode Correlation and Desired Mode List

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel mode decision algorithm for H.264/SVC that leverages mode correlation and a desired mode list to significantly reduce encoding time while maintaining high video quality.

Contribution

The paper proposes a new algorithm that reduces redundant mode candidates in H.264/SVC encoding by exploiting layer correlations and mode probabilities, improving efficiency.

Findings

41.89% reduction in encoding time

Minimal PSNR loss of 0.02dB

Bit rate increase of only 0.05%

Abstract

The design of video encoders involves the implementation of fast mode decision (FMD) algorithm to reduce computation complexity while maintaining the performance of the coding. Although H.264/scalable video coding (SVC) achieves high scalability and coding efficiency, it also has high complexity in implementing its exhaustive computation. In this paper, a novel algorithm is proposed to reduce the redundant candidate modes by making use of the correlation among layers. The desired mode list is created based on the probability to be the best mode for each block in the base layer and a candidate mode selection in the enhancement layer by the correlations of modes among the reference frame and current frame. Our algorithm is implemented in joint scalable video model (JSVM) 9.19.15 reference software and the performance is evaluated based on the average encoding time, peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and bit rate. The experimental results show 41.89% improvement in encoding time with minimal loss of 0.02dB in PSNR and 0.05% increase in bit rate.