Hierarchical intra-mode restriction technique in H.264/MPEG4-AVC video

Abstract

The H.264/AVC standard uses new coding tools such as variable block size, multiple reference frames, intra prediction, etc. Using these coding tools, the coding efficiency has been significantly improved. However, the encoder complexity is greatly increased. We focus on the complexity reduction method of intra-mode decision. Our algorithm first restricts selective prediction modes of intra4×4 using a simple preprocessing. The prediction modes of intra4×4 are used for restricting those of the other intra-modes. Simulation results show that the proposed method outperforms other conventional methods.