Fast MPEG-4 Motion Estimation: Processor Based and Flexible VLSI Implementations

MPEG-4 is a new multimedia standard combining interactivity, object-based natural and synthetic digital video, audio and computer-graphics. For the implementation of the video part of the MPEG-4 standard a high degree of flexibility is required, where the motion estimation requires the highest part of the computational power. Therefore, in this paper fast algorithms for MPEG-4 motion estimation are evaluated in terms of visual quality and computational power requirements for processor based implementations. Due to the object-based nature of MPEG-4 also new VLSI architectures for MPEG-4 motion estimation are required. Therefore known motion estimation architectures are evaluated on their capability of being modified for MPEG-4 support. Based on this evaluation a new dedicated, but flexible MPEG-4 motion estimation architecture targeted for low-power handheld applications is presented, which resulted to be advantageous to processor based implementations by magnitudes of order.     

图象压缩技术及其应用

本文介绍当前图象数据压缩技术的研究与应用，对于静态图象重点讨论以人眼视觉感知特性为指导的压缩技术，对于动态图象压缩技术，着重介绍ＭＰＥＧ－２及正在发展中的ＭＰＥＧ－４的一些目标和特点，以及基于模型的编码方法，文中还简介了图象压缩技术的应用和产品研制情况。     

基于MPEG-4的远程视频监控系统的设计与实现

首先通过介绍MPEG-4的主要特点,说明MPEG-4适用于交互AV服务以及远程监控,尤其适合Internet环境的应用.根据远程监控的特点提出了系统实现时主要算法的设计思想.在讨论Sprite编码及分层可扩展性编码等系统实现的核心算法之后,给出了系统的实现.     

An efficient complexity-scalable video transcoder with mode refinement

MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) has been recently approved and is rapidly being adopted for applications including HD-DVD and satellite broadcast. To facilitate inter connectivity between different applications using MPEG-4 AVC, transcoding will be a key factor. When requantizing a bitstream, the incoming coding decisions are usually kept unchanged in order to reduce complexity. However, this can have a major impact on the coding efficiency. This paper proposes a novel mode refinement algorithm for inter prediction when requantizing MPEG-4 AVC bitstreams. The proposed approach produces a quality comparable to a full search with only 10% of its complexity, by exploiting the statistical properties of the mode distribution to enable restricted motion vector refinement. Moreover, it enables a trade off between complexity and quality by adapting the algorithm to the computational resources available.     

Instruction Set Extensions for MPEG-4 Video

This paper describes instruction set extensions for the acceleration of MPEG-4 algorithms on programmable (RISC-) CPUs. MPEG-4 standardizes audio and video compression schemes for a variety of bit rates and scenarios. As MPEG-4 targets a much broader range of different applications than previously defined hybrid video coding standards like H.263 or MPEG-2, it employs a much higher number of different algorithms and coding modes. Therefore, MPEG-4 implementations will require a more software-oriented approach to be efficient. However, the total computational load for an optimized implementation of an MPEG-4 video codec is expected to exceed the performance levels of today's multimedia signal processors, making further hardware acceleration a necessity. For that purpose, we propose a number of instruction set extensions that add function-specific blocks to the data path of a CPU. These dedicated modules are highly adapted to the most computation-intensive processing schemes of MPEG-4, such as DCT, motion compensation, padding, shape coding, or bitstream parsing. The increased functionality of basic instructions results in a significant speed-up over standard RISC instruction sets, thus making MPEG-4 implementations feasible on programmable processor platforms. Possible target architectures include VLIW multimedia processors, MIMD-style multiprocessors, or coprocessor architectures     

MPEG-21: The 21st century multimedia framework

The lack of interoperable (and thus standardized) solutions is stalling the deployment of advanced multimedia packaging and distribution applications although most of the individual technologies are indeed already present. This motivated MPEG (ISO/IEC JTCl SC29 WGI I) in June 2000 to start working on the definition of enabling normative technology for the multimedia applications of the 21st century: MPEG-21 "Multimedia Framework." MPEG-21's approach is to define a framework to support transactions that are interoperable and highly automated, specifically taking into account digital rights management (DRM) requirements and targeting multimedia access and delivery using heterogeneous networks and terminals. This article first outlines the context and background of the MPEG-21 initiative. Then, an overview of MPEG-21 technology is given. Subsequently, it is discussed how MPEG-21 can provide solutions for universal multimedia access (UMA). UMA is also one of the use cases that has led to the creation of a new part in MPEG-21 dealing with digital item adaptation. Finally, this article concludes with an overview of MPEG-21 related activities and an outlook on future developments.     

The MPEG-4 Multimedia Coding Standard: Algorithms, Architectures and Applications

The upcoming MPEG-4 standard provides new possibilities for the compression and presentation of multimedia contents. The main characteristics of MPEG-4 are the object-based coding and representation of an audio-visual scene and the ability to code objects of natural or synthetic origin. These features will enhance existing applications with new functionalities and enable standardised solutions for new applications. This paper provides an overview of the three major parts Systems, Visual and Audio of the new MPEG-4 standard, highlights implementation aspects for some envisaged types of MPEG-4 terminals and describes possible future multimedia application scenarios using MPEG-4 functionalities.     

MPEG-2 over ATM for video dial tone networks: issues and strategies

Market growth for PC multimedia and digital video owes largely to the rapid adoption of ISO compression standards by the industry. For video dial tone (VDT) services, the MPEG-2 set of standards have clearly emerged as the preferred coding method for VDT networks. For point-to-point switched video or multimedia connections, ATM has emerged as the technology of choice for switching and transport. This article describes how compressed digital video is transported over a VDT network, what some of the issues are, and how they are being addressed by the industry. It describes a generic VDT reference architecture, and the delivery method of video and multimedia information over such a network     

MPEG-4: a multimedia compression standard for interactiveapplications and services

The Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG), which produced the MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video and audio compression standards, is developing the MPEG-4 standard. MPEG-4 targets interactive multimedia applications and will become a standard in 1999. As well as an increased compression efficiency, MPEG-4 will also offer content-based functionality, i.e. the possibility of accessing and manipulating individual objects in the picture. Furthermore, MPEG-4 will offer possibilities for efficient video storage and for transmission over poor audio and video channels at bit rates between 5 kbit/s and 4 Mbit/s. This paper gives an overview of the state of the art of MPEG-4 development, concentrating especially on video content-based functionality, which is so important for interactive applications     

MPEG-4概述

从ISO/IEC14496的第一部分MPEG-4系统的体系结构出发,分别对MPEG-4标准中提供的主要工具进行了技术描述,包括对象描述框架、系统解码器模型(SDM)和传输多媒体集成框架(DMIF)、场景的二进制描述(BIFS)、同步层、视频对象和音频对象编码等.最后对MPEG-4系统的特性做出了小结并探讨了该标准的应用前景.     

AVS trick modes for PVR and VOD services

AVS1-P2 is a recently completed video compression standard developed by the Audio and Video Coding Standard (AVS) Workgroup of China. The standard promises comparable compression efficiency to the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video codec with lower implementation complexity and royalty fees. AVS1-P2 is the Chinese next generation national video coding standard with an increasing amount of industrial importance as it is being required for different applications and services. It is expected that AVS1-P2 will be prominent in emerging Chinese digital video application markets, especially for personal video recorder (PVR) and video on demand (VOD).This paper discusses how trick modes for PVR and VOD can be performed with AVS1-P2 content. It begins with generating an index table to facilitate AVS1-P2 trick modes followed by a discussion of basic and advanced trick modes. Next, the minimum decoder speed and display frame buffer requirements are analyzed for smooth trick play, especially for 1× rewind. VOD stream delivery strategies for various trick modes and transitions are then discussed. Finally, an overview of other topics that may affect implementation such as content protection and encoding is provided. Many of the discussions are also applicable to other video coding standards like MPEG-2, H.264/AVC, etc.     

MPEG digital audio coding

The Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) within the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) has developed a series of audio-visual standards known as MFEG-1 and MPEG-2. These audio-coding standards are the first international standards in the field of high-quality digital audio compression. MPEG-1 covers coding of stereophonic audio signals at high sampling rates aiming at transparent quality, whereas MPEG-2 also offers stereophonic audio coding at lower sampling rates. In addition, MPEG-2 introduces multichannel coding with and without backwards compatibility to MPEG-1 to provide an improved acoustical image for audio-only applications and for enhanced television and video-conferencing systems. MPEG-2 audio coding without backwards compatibility, called IMPEG-2 Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), offers the highest compression rates. Typical application areas for MPEG-based digital audio are in the fields of audio production, program distribution and exchange, digital sound broadcasting, digital storage, and various multimedia applications. We describe in some detail the key technologies and main features of MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 audio coders. We also present the MPEG-4 standard and discuss some of the typical applications for MPEG audio compression     

用于音乐的MPEG7和符合MPEG7的音乐

ＭＰＥＧ－７,即多媒体内容描述接口（Ｍｕｌｔｉｍｅｄｉａ Ｃｏｎｔｅｎｔ Ｄｅｓｃｒｉｐｔｉｏｎ Ｉｎｔｅｒｆａｃｅ）致力于对视听材料描述进行标准化,以实现通用的索引、检索、过滤、控制以及由量的元数据所支持的其他操作。文章给出了ＭＰＥＧ－７的概念的一个综述,并提供了一怎样将目前的实际结合进ＭＰＥＧ－７框架中的例子,阐述了对标准的可能发展方向和解决方案的一些想法。     

压缩域MPEG-2到MPEG-4视频转码中不匹配宏块的复原算法

作为一种最有应用前景的先进的压缩编码标准，MPEG-4将会很快在视频传输、存储和剪辑等许多领域中得到应用。不过，MPEG-2和MPEG-4这两种优秀的视频系统肯定会在很长一段时间内共存。本文提出了一种基于MC-DCT域的转码方法。重点解决了两种标准视频流中宏块编码模式不匹配的一些关键问题。仿真结果表明，本算法不仅能有效地实现MPEG-2到MPEG-4的转码，满足实时性和低处迟的需求，而且能隐藏或复原编码模式不匹配宏块，明显地改变视觉质量。     

MPEG-4 video verification model: A video encoding/decoding algorithm based on content representation

MPEG-4 video aims at providing standardized core technologies allowing efficient storage, transmission and manipulation of video data in multimedia environments. This is a challenging task given the broad spectrum of requirements and applications in multimedia. In order to achieve this broad goal, rather than a solution for a narrow set of applications, functionalities common to clusters of applications are under consideration. Therefore, video group activities in MPEG-4 aim at providing solutions in the form of tools and algorithms enabling functionalities such as efficient compression, object scalability, spatial and temporal scalability, and error resilience. The standardized MPEG-4 video will provide a toolbox containing tools and algorithms bringing solutions to the above-mentioned functionalities and more.

The current focus of the MPEG-4 video group is the development of the Video Verification Models. A Verification Model (VM) is a common platform with a precise definition of encoding and decoding algorithms which can be presented as tools addressing specific functionalities. It evolves through time by means of core experiments. New algorithms/tools are added to the VM and old algorithms/tools are replaced in the VM by successful core experiments. Until October 1996, the MPEG-4 video group has focused its efforts on a single VM which has gradually evolved from version 1.0 to version 4.0, and in the process has addressed increasing number of desired functionalities, namely, content based object and temporal scalabilities, spatial scalability, error resilience, and compression efficiency.

This paper gives an overview of version 4.0 of the Video VM in MPEG-4. In doing so, issues, algorithms, and majors tools used in the development of this future video standard are discussed.     

A 125 μW , Fully Scalable MPEG-2 and H.264/AVC Video Decoder for Mobile Applications

A low-power dual-standard video decoder has been developed for mobile applications. It supports MPEG-2 SP@ML and H.264/AVC BL@L4 video decoding in a single chip and features a scalable architecture to reach area/power efficiency. This chip integrates diverse algorithms of MPEG-2 and H.264/AVC to reduce silicon area. Three low-power techniques are proposed. First, a domain-pipelined scalability (DPS) technique is used to optimize the pipelined structure according to the number of processing cycles. Second, bandwidth scalability is implemented via a line-pixel-lookahead (LPL) scheme to improve the external bandwidth and reduce the internal memory size, leading to 51% of memory power reduction compared to a conventional design. Third, low-power motion compensation and deblocking filter are designed to reduce the operating frequency without degrading system performance. A test chip is fabricated in a 0.18mum one-poly six-metal CMOS technology with an area of 15.21 mm². For mobile applications, H.264/AVC and MPEG-2 video decoding of quarter-common intermediate format (QCIF) sequences at 15 frames per second are achieved at 1.15 MHz clock frequency with power dissipation of 125 muW and 108 muW, respectively, at 1V supply voltage     

一种基于MPEG-7的图像内容描述方案

图像内容检索是互联网应用的一个研究热点内容,如何准确地描述图像信息是多媒体信息检索必须要解决的问题。本文提出一种基于MPEG-7标准的图像内容的描述方案,可以有效地对图像内容进行描述。文章首先介绍了MPEG-7标准和描述方案,然后叙述基于MPEG-7的图像描述方案的技术与相关特征,最后给出一个具体的基于MPEG-7的图像描述方案的例子。     

MPEG-4: Why,what, how and when?

The MPEG-4 Version 1 standard has been recently finalized. Since MPEG-4 adopted an object-based audiovisual representation model with hyperlinking and interaction capabilities and supports both natural and synthetic content, it is expected that this standard will become the information coding playground for future multimedia applications. This paper intends to give an overview on the MPEG-4 motivations, objectives, achievements, process and workplan, providing a stimulating starting point for more detailed reading.     

基于VW2010的MPEG-4视频会议终端机

主要介绍基于VW2010的MPEG-4视频会议终端机系统工作原理,论述该系统的视频采集、编码压缩、传输和系统控制等方面的设计,并提供系统的硬件软件设计参考.     

An experimental study for transmitting MPEG-2 streams over ATM networks

This paper presents a comparative study of different techniques aiming at transmitting MPEG-2 streams over ATM networks, with emphasis on the presentation of practical results achieved on an experimental platform available at LSI, a laboratory of the University of São Paulo, Brazil. This study has the purpose to determine some tuning parameters for optimizing the implementation of distributed multimedia applications on different network technologies. The focus of this experimental study has been on non-native ATM techniques like “Classical IP over ATM” and “LAN Emulation”, as well as native ATM techniques based on direct access service primitives to AAL5. The influence of different parameters, like packet length, buffer size, CPU speed, on the resulting throughput has been studied. Furthermore, a testing tool is being developed for assessing the transmission of MPEG-2 streams based on the practical experience achieved so far. These results will permit the evaluation of different network technologies and also help in the development of distributed multimedia applications like video-on-demand, videoconferencing and telemedicine.