Enhanced cross-diamond search algorithm for fast block motion estimation

Abstract

A new fast motion estimation algorithm is presented. Our goal was to find the best block-matching results in a computation-limited and varying environment, and the conventional Diamond Search (DS) algorithm, though faster than most known algorithms, was found to be not very robust in terms of objective and subjective qualities for several sequences. The proposed algorithm, Enhanced Cross-Diamond Search (ECDS), employs a small cross search in the initial step. The large/small DS patterns are utilized as subsequent steps for fast block motion estimation. Experiment results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms other popular fast motion estimation algorithms in terms of PSNR and search speed, especially for sequences having random or fast motions