Quadtree-Structured Interframe Coding Of HDTV Sequences

Abstract

A new coding technique for high definition television (HDTV) image sequences is proposed. This technique makes use of the fact that the prediction error image in a motion-compensated temporal DPCM structure is weakly correlated in spatial dimensions. As a consequence, it can be shown, that the prediction error image can be directly coded using an adaptive quadtree mean decomposition coder. This new scheme was termed quadtree-structured difference pulse code modulation (QSDPCM). As an important property, the QSDPCM method does not rely on computationally burdensome spatial decorrelation techniques and hence, the decoder complexity of the QSDPCM algorithm is extremely low. This makes the QSDPCM algorithm an attractive candidate for application in future broadcast HDTV networks where a large number of high-quality but low-cost decoders might be an issue. Simulations have been carried out for typical HDTV sequences at 125Mbitis and 250Mbitis where the primary data rate was 827Mbit/s. A significant improvement of this coder compared to an earlier version was achieved by incorporation of half-pixel accuracy motion compensation. Besides the practical considerations, four new and interesting theorems are obtained.© (1988) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.