Thor Video Codec
draft-fuldseth-netvc-thor-00
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| Authors | Arild Fuldseth , Gisle Bjontegaard , Mo Zanaty | ||
| Last updated | 2015-07-06 | ||
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draft-fuldseth-netvc-thor-00
Network Working Group A. Fuldseth
Internet-Draft G. Bjontegaard
Intended status: Standards Track M. Zanaty
Expires: January 7, 2016 Cisco
July 6, 2015
Thor Video Codec
draft-fuldseth-netvc-thor-00
Abstract
This document provides a high-level description of the Thor video
codec. Thor is designed to achieve high compression efficiency with
moderate complexity, using the well-known hybrid video coding
approach of motion-compensated prediction and transform coding.
Status of This Memo
This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.
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Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute
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This Internet-Draft will expire on January 7, 2016.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2015 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.
This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
(http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
publication of this document. Please review these documents
carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
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the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
described in the Simplified BSD License.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.1. Requirements Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2. Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3. Block Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.1. Super Blocks and Coding Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.2. Special Processing at Frame Boundaries . . . . . . . . . 5
3.3. Transform Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.4. Prediction Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4. Intra Prediction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5. Inter Prediction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5.1. Multiple Reference Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5.2. Bi-Prediction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.3. Sub-Pixel Interpolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.3.1. Luma Poly-phase Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.3.2. Luma Special Filter Position . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5.3.3. Chroma Poly-phase Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
5.4. Motion Vector Coding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
5.4.1. Inter0 and Inter1 Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
5.4.2. Inter2 and Bi-Prediction Modes . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6. Transforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
7. Quantization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
8. Loop Filtering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
8.1. Deblocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
8.1.1. Luma deblocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
8.1.2. Chroma Deblocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
8.2. Constrained Low Pass Filter (CLPF1) . . . . . . . . . . . 16
9. Entropy coding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
9.1. Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
9.2. Low Level Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
9.2.1. CB Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
9.2.2. PB Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
9.2.3. TB Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
9.2.4. Super Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
9.2.5. CBP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
9.2.6. Transform Coefficients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
10. High Level Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
10.1. Sequence Header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
10.2. Frame Header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
11. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
12. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
13. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
14. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
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1. Introduction
This document provides a high-level description of the Thor video
codec. Thor is designed to achieve high compression efficiency with
moderate complexity, using the well-known hybrid video coding
approach of motion-compensated prediction and transform coding.
The Thor video codec is a block-based hybrid video codec similar in
structure to widespread standards. The high level encoder and
decoder structures are illustrated in Figure 1 and Figure 2
respectively.
+---+ +-----------+ +-----------+ +--------+
Input--+-->| + |-->| Transform |-->| Quantizer |-->| Entropy|
Video | +---+ +-----------+ +-----------+ | Coding |
| ^ - | +--------+
| | v |
| | +-----------+ v
| | | Inverse | Output
| | | Transform | Bitstream
| | +-----------+
| | |
| | v
| | +---+
| +------------------------>| + |
| | +-------------+ +---+
| | ___| Intra Frame | |
| | / | Prediction |<-----+
| | / +-------------+ |
| |/ v
| \ +-------------+ +---------+
| \ | Inter Frame | | Loop |
| \___| Prediction | | Filters |
| +-------------+ +---------+
| ^ |
| | v
| +------------+ +---------------+
| | Motion | | Reconstructed |
+----------->| Estimation |<--| Frame Memory |
+------------+ +---------------+
Figure 1: Encoder Structure
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+----------+ +-----------+
Input ------->| Entropy |----->| Inverse |
Bitstream | Decoding | | Transform |
+----------+ +-----------+
|
v
+---+
+------------------------>| + |
| +-------------+ +---+
| ___| Intra Frame | |
| / | Prediction |<-----+
| / +-------------+ |
|/ v
\ +-------------+ +---------+
\ | Inter Frame | | Loop |
\___| Prediction | | Filters |
+-------------+ +---------+
^ |-------------> Output
| v Video
+--------------+ +---------------+
| Motion | | Reconstructed |
| Compensation |<--| Frame Memory |
+--------------+ +---------------+
Figure 2: Decoder Structure
The remainder of this document is organized as follows. First, some
requirements language and terms are defined. Block structures are
described in detail, followed by intra-frame prediction techniques,
inter-frame prediction techniques, transforms, quantization, loop
filters, entropy coding, and finally high level syntax.
An open source reference implementation will be available soon at
github.com/cisco/thor.
2. Definitions
2.1. Requirements Language
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [RFC2119].
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2.2. Terminology
This document frequently uses the following terms.
SB: Super Block - 64x64 block (luma pixels) which can be divided
into CBs.
CB: Coding Block - Subdivision of a SB, down to 8x8 (luma pixels).
PB: Prediction Block - Subdivision of a CB, into 1, 2 or 4 equal
blocks.
TB: Transform Block - Subdivision of a CB, into 1 or 4 equal
blocks.
3. Block Structure
3.1. Super Blocks and Coding Blocks
Each frame is divided into 64x64 Super Blocks (SB) which are
processed in raster-scan order. Each SB can be divided into Coding
Blocks (CB) using a quad-tree structure. The smallest allowed CB
size is 8x8 luma pixels. The four CBs of a larger block are coded/
signaled in the following order; upleft, downleft, upright, and
downright.
The following modes are signaled at the CB level:
o Intra
o Inter0 (MV index, no residual information)
o Inter1 (MV index, residual information)
o Inter2 (explicit motion information, residual information)
o Bi-Prediction (explicit motion information, residual information)
3.2. Special Processing at Frame Boundaries
At frame boundaries some square blocks might not be complete. For
example, for 1920x1080 resolutions, the bottom row would consist of
rectangular blocks of size 64x56. Rectangular blocks at frame
boundaries are handled as follows. For each rectangular block, send
one bit to choose between:
o A rectangular inter0 block and
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o Further split.
For the bottom part of a 1920x1080 frame, this implies the following:
o For each 64x56 block, transmit one bit to signal a 64x56 inter0
block or a split into two 32x32 blocks and two 32x24 blocks.
o For each 32x24 block, transmit one bit to signal a 32x24 inter0
block or a split into two 16x16 blocks and two 16x8 blocks.
o For each 16x8 block, transmit one bit to signal a 16x8 inter0
block or a split into two 8x8 blocks.
Two examples of handling 64x56 blocks at the bottom row of a
1920x1080 frame are shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4 respectively.
64
+-------------------------------+
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
64 | 56 64x56 |
| SKIP |
| |
| |
| |
| |
- - - - - - - - - + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + - - -
Frame boundary | 8 |
+-------------------------------+
Figure 3: Super block at frame boundary
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64
+---------------+---------------+
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
64 +---------------+-------+-------+
| | | |
| | | |
| 32x24 | | |
| SKIP +---+---+-------+
| | | | 16x8 |
- - - - - - - - - + - - - - - - - +---+---+ - - - + - - -
Frame boundary | 8 | | | SKIP |
+---------------+---+---+-------+
Figure 4: Coding block at frame boundary
3.3. Transform Blocks
A CB can be divided into four smaller transform blocks (TBs).
3.4. Prediction Blocks
A CB can also be divided into smaller prediction blocks (PBs) for the
purpose of motion-compensated prediction. Horizontal, vertical and
quad split is used.
4. Intra Prediction
8 modes are used:
1. DC
2. Vertical (V)
3. Horizontal (H)
4. Upupright (north-northeast)
5. Upupleft (north-northwest)
6. Upleft (northwest)
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7. Upleftleft (west-northwest)
8. Downleftleft (west-southwest)
The definition of DC, vertical, and horizontal modes are
straightforward.
The upright and upleft directions are exactly 45 degrees.
The upupright, upupleft, and upleftleft directions are equal to
arctan(1/2) from the horizontal or vertical direction, since they are
defined by going one pixel horizontally and two pixels vertically (or
vice versa).
For the 5 angular intra modes (i.e. angle different from 90 degrees),
the pixels of the neighbor blocks are filtered before they are used
for prediction:
y(n) = (x(n-1) + 2*x(n) + x(n+1) + 2)/4
For the angular intra modes that are not 45 degrees, the prediction
sometimes requires sample values at a half-pixel position. These
sample values are determined by an additional filter:
z(n + 1/2) = (y(n) + y(n+1))/2
5. Inter Prediction
5.1. Multiple Reference Frames
Multiple reference frames are currently implemented as follows.
o Use a sliding-window process to keep the N most recent
reconstructed frames in memory. The value of N is signaled in the
sequence header.
o In the frame header, signal which of these frames shall be active
for the current frame.
o For each CB, signal which of the active frames to be used for MC.
Combined with re-ordering, this allows for MPEG-1 style B frames.
A desirable extension is to allow long-term reference frames in
addition to the short-term reference frames defined by the sliding-
window process.
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5.2. Bi-Prediction
In case of bi-prediction, two reference indices and two motion
vectors are signaled per CB. In the current version, PB-split is not
allowed in bi-prediction mode. Sub-pixel interpolation is performed
for each motion vector/reference index separately before doing an
average between the two predicted blocks:
p(x,y) = (p0(x,y) + p1(x,y))/2
5.3. Sub-Pixel Interpolation
5.3.1. Luma Poly-phase Filter
Inter prediction uses traditional block-based motion compensated
prediction with quarter pixel resolution. A separable 6-tap poly-
phase filter is the basis method for doing MC with sub-pixel
accuracy. The luma filter coefficients are as follows:
1/4 phase: [3,-15,111,37,-10,2]/128
2/4 phase: [3,-17,78,78,-17,3]/128
3/4 phase: [2,-10,37,111,-15,3]/128
With reference to Figure 5, a fractional sample value, e.g. i0,0
which has a phase of 1/4 in the horizontal dimension and a phase of
1/2 in the vertical dimension is calculated as follows:
a0,j = 3*A-2,i - 15*A-1,i + 111*A0,i + 37*A1,i - 10*A2,i + 2*A3,i
where j = -2,...,3
i0,0 = (3*a0,-2 - 17*a0,-1 + 78*a0,0 + 78*a0,1 - 17*a0,2 + 3*a0,3 +
8192)/16384
However, some of the sub-pixel positions have different filters which
can be non-separable and/or have different filter coefficients. The
minimum sub-block size is 8x8.
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+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|A | | | |A |a |b |c |A |
|-1,-1| | | | 0,-1| 0,-1| 0,-1| 0,-1| 1,-1|
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|A | | | |A |a |b |c |A |
|-1,0 | | | | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 1,0 |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|d | | | |d |e |f |g |d |
|-1,0 | | | | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 1,0 |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|h | | | |h |i |j |k |h |
|-1,0 | | | | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 1,0 |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|l | | | |l |m |n |o |l |
|-1,0 | | | | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 1,0 |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|A | | | |A |a |b |c |A |
|-1,1 | | | | 0,1 | 0,1 | 0,1 | 0,1 | 1,1 |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
Figure 5: Sub-pixel positions
5.3.2. Luma Special Filter Position
For the fractional pixel position having exactly 2 quarter pixel
offsets in each dimension, a non-separable filter is used to
calculate the interpolated value. With reference to Figure 5, the
center position j0,0 is calculated as follows:
j0,0 =
[0*A-1,-1 + 1*A0,-1 + 1*A1,-1 + 0*A2,-1 +
1*A-1,0 + 2*A0,0 + 2*A1,0 + 1*A2,0 +
1*A-1,1 + 2*A0,1 + 2*A1,1 + 1*A2,1 +
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0*A-1,2 + 1*A0,2 + 1*A1,2 + 0*A2,2 + 8]/16
5.3.3. Chroma Poly-phase Filter
Chroma interpolation is performed with 1/8 pixel resolution using the
following poly-phase filter.
1/8 phase: [-2, 58, 10,-2]/64
2/8 phase: [-4, 54, 16, -2]/64
3/8 phase: [-4, 44, 28, -4]/64
4/8 phase: [-4, 36, 36, -4]/64
5/8 phase: [-4, 28, 44, -4]/64
6/8 phase: [-2, 16, 54, -4]/64
7/8 phase: [-2, 10, 58, -2]/64
5.4. Motion Vector Coding
5.4.1. Inter0 and Inter1 Modes
Inter0 and inter1 modes imply signaling of a motion vector index to
choose a motion vector from a list of candidate motion vectors with
associated reference frame index. A list of motion vector candidates
are derived from at most two different neighbor blocks, each having a
unique motion vector/reference frame index. Signaling of the motion
vector index uses 0 or 1 bit, dependent on the number of unique
motion vector candidates. If the chosen neighbor block is coded in
bi-prediction mode, the inter0 or inter1 block inherits both motion
vectors, both reference indices and the bi-prediction property of the
neighbor block.
For block sizes less than 64x64, inter0 has only one motion vector
candidate, and its value is always zero.
Which neighbor blocks to use for motion vector candidates depends on
the availability of the neighbor blocks (i.e. whether the neighbor
blocks have already been coded, belong to the same slice and are not
outside the frame boundaries). Four different availabilities, U, UR,
L, and LL, are defined as illustrated in Figure 6. If the neighbor
block is intra it is considered to be available but with a zero
motion vector.
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| |
| U | UR
-----------+-----------+-----------
| |
| current |
L | block |
| |
| |
-----------+-----------+
|
|
LL |
|
Figure 6: Availability of neighbor blocks
Based on the four availabilities defined above, each of the motion
vector candidates is derived from one of the nine possible neighbor
blocks defined in Figure 7.
+----+----+ +----+ +----+----+
| UL | U0 | | U1 | | U2 | UR |
+----+----+------+----+----+----+----+
| L0 | |
+----+ |
| |
| |
+----+ current |
| L1 | block |
+----+ |
| |
+----+ |
| L2 | |
+----+--------------------------+
| LL |
+----+
Figure 7: Motion vector candidates
The choice of motion vector candidates depends on the availability of
neighbor blocks as shown in Table 1.
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+----+-----+----+-----+---------------------------+
| U | UR | L | LL | Motion vector candidates |
+----+-----+----+-----+---------------------------+
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | zero vector |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | U2, zero vector |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | NA |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | U2,zero vector |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | L2, zero vector |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | U2,L2 |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | NA |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | U2,L2 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | NA |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | NA |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | NA |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | NA |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | L2, zero vector |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | U2,L2 |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | NA |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | U2,L2 |
+----+-----+----+-----+---------------------------+
Table 1: Motion vector candidates for different availability of
neighbor blocks
5.4.2. Inter2 and Bi-Prediction Modes
Motion vectors are coded using motion vector prediction. The motion
vector predictor is defined as the median of the motion vectors from
three neighbor blocks. Definition of the motion vector predictor
uses the same definition of availability and neighbors as in Figure 6
and Figure 7 respectively. The three vectors used for median
filtering depends on the availability of neighbor blocks as shown in
Table 2. If the neighbor block is coded in bi-prediction mode, only
the first motion vector (in transmission order), MV0, is used as
input to the median operator.
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+----+-----+----+-----+--------------------------------------+
| U | UR | L | LL | Motion vectors for median filtering |
+----+-----+----+-----+--------------------------------------+
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 x zero vector |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | U0,U1,U2 |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | NA |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | U0,U2,UR |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | L0,L1,L2 |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | UL,U2,L2 |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | NA |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | U0,UR,L2,L0 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | NA |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | NA |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | NA |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | NA |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | L0,L2,LL |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | U2,L0,LL |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | NA |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | U0,UR,L0 |
+----+-----+----+-----+--------------------------------------+
Table 2: Neighbor blocks used to define motion vector predictor
through median filtering
6. Transforms
Transforms are applied at the TB or CB level, implying that transform
sizes range from 4x4 to 64x64. The transforms form an embedded
structure meaning the transform matrix elements of the smaller
transforms can be extracted from the larger transforms.
7. Quantization
For the 32x32 and 64x64 transform sizes, only the 16x16 low frequency
coefficients are quantized and transmitted.
Quantizer step-size control is not implemented yet, but some sort of
sub-frame control is desired.
8. Loop Filtering
8.1. Deblocking
8.1.1. Luma deblocking
Luma deblocking is performed on an 8x8 grid as follows:
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1. For each vertical edge between two 8x8 blocks, calculate the
following for each of line 2 and line 5 respectively:
d = abs(a-b) + abs(c-d),
where a and b, are on the left hand side of the block edge and c
and d are on the right hand side of the block edge:
a b | c d
2. For each line crossing the vertical edge, perform deblocking if
and only if all of the following conditions are true:
* d2+d5 < beta(QP)
* The edge is also a transform block edge
* abs(mvx(left)) > 2, or abs(mvx(right)) > 2, or
abs(mvy(left)) > 2, or abs(mvy(right)) > 2, or
One of the transform blocks on each side of the edge has non-
zero coefficients, or
One of the transform blocks on each side of the edge is coded
using intra mode.
3. If deblocking is performed, calculate a delta value as follows:
delta = clip((18*(c-b) - 6*(d-a) + 16)/32,tc,-tc),
where tc is a QP-dependent value.
4. Next, modify two pixels on each side of the block edge as
follows:
a' = a + delta/2
b' = b + delta
c' = c + delta
d' = d + delta/2
5. The same procedure is followed for horizontal block edges.
The relative positions of the samples, a, b, c, d and the motion
vectors, MV, are illustrated in Figure 8.
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|
| block edge
|
+---+---+---+---+
| a | b | c | d |
+---+---+---+---+
|
mv | mv
x,left | x,right
|
mv mv
y,left y,right
Figure 8: Deblocking filter pixel positions
8.1.2. Chroma Deblocking
Chroma deblocking is performed on a 4x4 grid as follows:
1. Delocking of the edge between two 4x4 blocks is performed if and
only if:
* The pixels on either side of the block edge belongs to an
intra block.
* The block edge is also an edge between two transform blocks.
2. If deblocking is performed, calculate a delta value as follows:
delta = clip((4*(c-b) + (d-a) + 4)/8,tc,-tc),
where tc is a QP-dependent value.
3. Next, modify one pixel on each side of the block edge as follows:
b' = b + delta
c' = c + delta
8.2. Constrained Low Pass Filter (CLPF1)
A low-pass filter is applied after the deblocking filter and operates
on 64x64 block units as follows:
o 64x64 blocks that are encoded as 64x64 inter0 with a zero MV are
not subject to filtering.
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o For other 64x64 blocks, one bit (CLPFflag) is sent to signal
filtering on/off.
o When the CLPFflag is equal to 1, perform filtering as follows:
Delta = max(-1,min(1,(A+B+C+D-4X+2)>>2))
X' = X + Delta
The relative positions of the pixel values A, B, C, D, and X are
shown in Figure 9.
+---+
| A |
+---+---+---+
| B | X | C |
+---+---+---+
| D |
+---+
Figure 9: Constrained low pass filter pixel positions
9. Entropy coding
9.1. Overview
The following information is signaled at the sequence level:
o Sequence header
The following information is signaled at the frame level:
o Frame header
The following information is signaled at the CB level:
o Super-mode (mode, split, reference index for uni-prediction)
o Intra prediction mode
o PB-split (none, hor, ver, quad)
o TB-split (none or quad)
o Reference frame indices for bi-prediction
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o Motion vector candidate index
o Transform coefficients if TB-split=0
The following information is signaled at the TB level:
o CBP (8 combinations of CBPY, CBPU, and CBPV)
o Transform coefficients
The following information is signaled at the PB level:
o Motion vector differences
9.2. Low Level Syntax
9.2.1. CB Level
super-mode (inter0/split/inter1/inter2-ref0/intra/inter2-ref1/inter2-ref2/inter-ref3,..)
if (mode == inter0 || mode == inter1)
mv_idx (one of up to 2 motion vector candidates)
else if (mode == INTRA)
intra_mode (one of up to 8 intra modes)
tb_split (NONE or QUAD, coded jointly with CBP for tb_split=NONE)
else if (mode == INTER)
pb_split (NONE,VER,HOR,QUAD)
tb_split_and_cbp (NONE or QUAD and CBP)
else if (mode == BIPRED)
mvd_x0, mvd_y0 (motion vector difference for first vector)
mvd_x1, mvd_y1 (motion vector difference for second vector)
ref_idx0, ref_idx1 (two reference indices)
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9.2.2. PB Level
if (mode == INTER2 || mode == BIPRED)
mvd_x, mvd_y (motion vector differences)
9.2.3. TB Level
if (mode != INTER0 and tb_split == 1)
cbp (8 possibilities for CBPY/CBPU/CBPV)
if (mode != INTER0)
transform coefficients
9.2.4. Super Mode
For each block of size NxN (64>=N>8), the following mutually
exclusive events are jointly encoded using a single VLC code as
follows (example using 4 reference frames):
INTER0 1
SPLIT 01
INTER1 001
INTER2-REF0 0001
INTRA 00001
INTER2-REF1 000001
INTER2-REF2 0000001
INTER2-REF3 00000001
BIPRED 00000000
If less than 4 reference frames is used, a shorter VLC table is used.
For each block of size 8x8, the following mutually exclusive events
are jointly encoded using a single VLC code as follows (example using
4 reference frames):
INTER0 1
INTER1 01
INTER2-REF0 001
INTRA 0001
INTER2-REF1 00001
INTER2-REF2 000001
INTER2-REF3 0000001
BIPRED 0000000
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Additionally, depending on information from the blocks to the left
and above (meta data and CBP), a different sorting of the events can
be used, e.g.:
SPLIT 1
INTER1 01
INTER2-REF0 001
INTER0 0001
INTRA 00001
INTER2-REF1 000001
INTER2-REF2 0000001
INTER2-REF3 00000001
BIPRED 00000000
9.2.5. CBP
Calculate code as follows:
if (tb-split == 0)
N = 4*CBPV + 2*CBPU + CBPY
else
N = 8
Map the value of N to code through a table lookup:
code = table[N]
where the purpose of the table lookup is the sort the different
values of code according to decreasing probability (typically CBPY=1,
CBPU=0, CBPV=0 having the highest probability).
Use a different table depending on the values of CBPY in neighbor
blocks (left and above).
Encode the value of code using a systematic VLC code.
9.2.6. Transform Coefficients
Transform coefficient coding uses a traditional zig-zag scan pattern
to convert a 2D array of quantized transform coefficients, coeff, to
a 1D array of samples. VLC coding of quantized transform
coefficients starts from the low frequency end of the 1D array using
two different modes; level-mode and run-mode, starting in level-mode:
o Level-mode
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* Encode each coefficient, coeff, separately
* Each coefficient is encoded by:
+ The absolute value, level=abs(coeff), using a VLC code and
+ If level > 0, the sign bit (sign=0 or sign=1 for coeff>0 and
coeff<0 respectively).
* If coefficient N is zero, switch to run-mode, starting from
coefficient N+1.
o Run-mode
* For each non-zero coefficient, encode the combined event of:
1. Length of the zero-run, i.e. the number of zeros since the
last non-zero coefficient.
2. Whether or not level=abs(coeff) is greater than 1.
3. End of block (EOB) indicating that there are no more non-
zero coefficients.
* Additionally, if level = 1, code the sign bit.
* Additionally, if level > 1 define code = 2*(level-2)+sign,
* If the absolute value of coefficient N is larger than 1, switch
to level-mode, starting from coefficient N+1.
Example
Figure 10 illustrates an example where 16 quantized transform
coefficients are encoded.
4
3
2 | 2
1 | 1 1 | 1
| | 0 0 0 0 | | 0 0 0 0 0
|__|__|__|________|________|__|________|__________
Figure 10: Coefficients to encode
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Table 3 shows the mode, VLC number and symbols to be coded for each
coefficient.
+--------+-------------+-------------+------------------------------+
| Index | abs(coeff) | Mode | Encoded symbols |
+--------+-------------+-------------+------------------------------+
| 0 | 2 | level-mode | level=2,sign |
| 1 | 1 | level-mode | level=1,sign |
| 2 | 5 | level-mode | level=5,sign |
| 3 | 1 | level-mode | level=1,sign |
| 4 | 0 | level-mode | level=0 |
| 5 | 0 | run-mode | |
| 6 | 1 | run-mode | (run=1,level=1) |
| 7 | 0 | run-mode | |
| 8 | 0 | run-mode | |
| 9 | 3 | run-mode | (run=1,level>1), |
| | | | 2*(3-2)+sign |
| 10 | 2 | level-mode | level=2, sign |
| 11 | 0 | level-mode | level=0 |
| 12 | 0 | run-mode | |
| 13 | 1 | run-mode | (run=1,level=1) |
| 14 | 0 | run-mode | EOB |
| 15 | 0 | run-mode | |
+--------+-------------+-------------+------------------------------+
Table 3: Transform coefficient encoding for the example above.
10. High Level Syntax
High level syntax is currently very simple and rudimentary as the
primary focus so far has been on compression performance. It is
expected to evolve as functionality is added.
10.1. Sequence Header
o Width - 16 bit
o Height - 16 bit
o Enable/disable PB-split - 1 bit
o Enable/disable TB-split - 1 bit
o Number of active reference frames (may go into frame header) - 2
bits (max 4)
o Enable/disable deblocking - 1 bit
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o Enable/disable constrained low-pass filter (CLPF1) - 1 bit
10.2. Frame Header
o Frame type - 1 bit
o QP - 8 bits
o Identification of active reference frames - num_ref*4 bits
o Number of intra modes - 4 bits
o Constrained low-pass filter (CLPF1) enable/disable - 1 bit
11. IANA Considerations
This document has no IANA considerations yet. TBD
12. Security Considerations
This document has no security considerations yet. TBD
13. Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Thomas Davies, Steinar Midtskogen and
Mo Zanaty for reviewing this document and design, and providing
constructive feedback.
14. Normative References
[RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
Authors' Addresses
Arild Fuldseth
Cisco
Lysaker
Norway
Email: arilfuld@cisco.com
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Gisle Bjontegaard
Cisco
Lysaker
Norway
Email: gbjonteg@cisco.com
Mo Zanaty
Cisco
RTP,NC
USA
Email: mzanaty@cisco.com
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