Macroblock classification for complexity management of video encoders

摘要

Typically, many macroblocks (MBs) are skipped during encoding of H.263 or MPEG-4 SP video data, particularly at low bit-rates. In this paper, we describe an algorithm that predicts the occurrence of skipped MBs prior to encoding, making it possible to save significant computational effort by not coding these MBs. The algorithm estimates the energy of low-frequency quantized coefficients in order to classify each MB as ‘skipped’ or ‘not skipped’. Results show that the algorithm can deliver substantial computational savings at the expense of a small reduction in rate-distortion performance.