Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

Compaq Computer Corporation, Inc.

King-Wai Chow

Robert C Rose

Matthew James Adiletta

William Ralph Wheeler

Samuel William Ho

Duane E Galbi

Subramania Sudharsanan

An apparatus and method for performing two-pass real time video compression is provided. Tactical decisions such as encoding and quantification values are determined in software, whereas functional execution steps are performed in hardware. By appropriately apportioning the tasks between software and hardware, the benefits of each type of processing are exploited, while minimizing both hardware complexity and data transfer requirements. One key concept that allows the compression unit to operate in real time is that the architecture and pipe lining both allow for B frames to be executed out of order. By buffering B frames, two-pass motion estimation techniques can be performed to tailor bit usage to the requirements of the frame, and therefore provide a more appealing output image.

Method and apparatus for compressing a video image

An apparatus and method for performing two-pass real time video compression is provided. Tactical decisions such as encoding and quantization values are determined in software, whereas functional execution steps are performed in hardware. By appropriately apportioning the tasks between software and hardware, the benefits of each type of processing are exploited, while minimizing both hardware complexity and data transfer requirements. One key concept that allows the compression unit to operate in real time is that the architecture and pipelining both allow for B frames to be executed out of order. By buffering B frames, two-pass motion estimation techniques can be performed to tailor bit usage to the requirements of the frame, and therefore provide a more appealing output image.

Method and apparatus for performing two pass quality video compression through pipelining and buffer management

A method of assigning quantization values for use during the compression of images is disclosed. The method includes constructing a non-parametric model during a training phase based on relationships between image characteristics, quantization values, and required bit resources to encode images. The model is built by considering a wide sample of images. The consideration includes determining the temporal and spatial characteristics of the images, compressing the images over a range of quantization values, and recording the resultant required bit resource on a per characterization/quantization level basis. Once built, the model may be used during real time compression by determining the characteristics of the input image and using the allocated resource to find a corresponding match in the non-parametric model. The associated quantization value is then assigned to the input image.

Method for choosing rate control parameters in motion-compensated transform-based picture coding scheme using non-parametric technique

An apparatus and method a method for performing two-pass real time video compression is provided. Tactical decisions such as encoding and quantization values are determined in software, whereas functional execution steps are performed in hardware. By appropriately apportioning the tasks between software and hardware, the benefits of each type of processing are exploited, while minimizing both hardware complexity and data transfer requirements. One key concept that allows the compression unit to operate in real time is that the architecture and pipelining both allow for B frames to be executed out of order. By buffering B frames, two-pass motion estimation techniques can be performed to tailor bit usage to the requirements of the frame, and thereby provide a more appealing output image.

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Marlboro, MA, United States of America

King-Wai Chow