U.S. patent application number 14/597808 was filed with the patent office on 2015-04-30 for determining intra prediction mode of image coding unit and image decoding unit.
This patent application is currently assigned to SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Elena ALSHINA, Woo-jin HAN, Jung-hye MIN.
Application Number | 20150117532 14/597808 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44709661 |
Filed Date | 2015-04-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150117532 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MIN; Jung-hye ; et
al. |
April 30, 2015 |
DETERMINING INTRA PREDICTION MODE OF IMAGE CODING UNIT AND IMAGE
DECODING UNIT
Abstract
A method for decoding an image including performing intra
prediction on a chrominance block according to whether the intra
prediction mode of the chrominance block is equal to an intra
prediction mode of a luminance block.
Inventors: |
MIN; Jung-hye; (Suwon-si,
KR) ; ALSHINA; Elena; (Suwon-si, KR) ; HAN;
Woo-jin; (Suwon-si, KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. |
Suwon-si |
|
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO.,
LTD.
Suwon-si
KR
|
Family ID: |
44709661 |
Appl. No.: |
14/597808 |
Filed: |
January 15, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13969871 |
Aug 19, 2013 |
8964840 |
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14597808 |
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13080021 |
Apr 5, 2011 |
8619858 |
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13969871 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
375/240.12 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 19/44 20141101;
H04N 19/50 20141101; H04N 19/96 20141101; H04N 19/159 20141101;
H04N 19/182 20141101; H04N 19/107 20141101; H04N 19/176 20141101;
H04N 19/105 20141101; H04N 19/13 20141101; H04N 19/30 20141101;
H04N 19/11 20141101; H04N 19/122 20141101; H04N 19/593 20141101;
H04N 19/186 20141101; H04N 19/184 20141101 |
Class at
Publication: |
375/240.12 |
International
Class: |
H04N 19/50 20060101
H04N019/50; H04N 19/44 20060101 H04N019/44 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 5, 2010 |
KR |
10-2010-0031145 |
Claims
1. A method of decoding an image, the method comprising: obtaining
first information that indicates an intra prediction mode of a
luminance block from a bitstream; obtaining second information that
indicates an intra prediction mode of a chrominance block
corresponding to the luminance block from the bitstream; performing
intra prediction on the luminance block based on the intra
prediction mode of the luminance block; and performing intra
prediction on the chrominance block based on the intra prediction
mode of the chrominance block, wherein the intra prediction mode of
the luminance block includes a particular direction among a
plurality of directions and the particular direction is indicated
by one of a dx number in a horizontal direction and a fixed number
in a vertical direction, and a dy number in the vertical direction
and a fixed number in the horizontal direction, wherein the
performing intra prediction on the luminance block comprises
determining a number of neighboring pixels to be obtained according
to a position of a current pixel and the particular direction
indicated by the intra prediction mode of the luminance block, the
neighboring pixels being located on a left side of the luminance
block or an upper side of the luminance block, and when the second
information indicates that the intra prediction mode of the
chrominance block is equal to the intra prediction mode of the
luminance block, the intra prediction mode of the chrominance block
is determined to be equal to the intra prediction mode of the
luminance block.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation application of U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 13/969,871, filed on Aug. 19, 2013, in
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which is a continuation
application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/080,021, now
U.S. Pat. No. 8,619,858, filed on Apr. 5, 2011, in the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office, which claims priority from Korean Patent
Application No. 10-2010-0031145, filed on Apr. 5, 2010, in the
Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is
incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field
[0003] Exemplary embodiments relate to encoding and decoding of an
image, and more particularly, to methods and apparatuses for
encoding and decoding an image, wherein intra prediction is
performed on a chrominance component coding unit by applying an
intra prediction mode determined for a luminance component coding
unit.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] In an image compression method, such as Moving Picture
Experts Group (MPEG)-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, or H.264/MPEG-4 Advanced
Video Coding (AVC), a picture is divided into macroblocks to encode
an image. Each of the macroblocks is encoded in all encoding modes
that can be used in inter prediction or intra prediction, and then
is encoded in an encoding mode that is selected according to a bit
rate used to encode the macroblock and a distortion degree of a
decoded macroblock based on the original macroblock.
[0006] As hardware for reproducing and storing high resolution or
high quality video content is being developed and supplied, there
is an increasing need for a video codec capable of effectively
encoding or decoding the high resolution or high quality video
content. In a conventional video codec, a video is encoded in units
of macroblocks each having a predetermined size.
SUMMARY
[0007] The exemplary embodiments include a method of determining an
intra prediction mode of a luminance component coding unit having
various directionality based on hierarchical coding units having
various sizes, and methods and apparatuses for encoding and
decoding an image, wherein intra prediction is performed on a
chrominance component coding unit according to candidate intra
prediction modes including an intra prediction mode determined for
a luminance component coding unit.
[0008] According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is
provided a method of determining an intra prediction mode of a
coding unit of a current picture, the method comprising: splitting
a luminance component of the current picture into at least one
luminance component coding unit based on a maximum coding unit that
is a coding unit in which the current picture is encoded having a
maximum size, and a depth that indicates hierarchical split
information of the maximum coding unit; determining an intra
prediction mode of the at least one luminance component coding
unit; comparing costs of applying to a chrominance component unit
candidate intra prediction modes of the chrominance component
coding unit and the intra prediction mode of the at least one
luminance component coding unit; and determining an intra
prediction mode of the chrominance component coding unit from among
the candidate prediction modes of the chrominance component unit
and the determined intra prediction mode of the at least one
luminance component coding unit having a minimum cost, based on a
result of the comparing.
[0009] According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is
provided an apparatus for determining an intra prediction mode of a
coding unit of a current picture, the apparatus comprising: a
luminance intra predictor that determines an intra prediction mode
of a luminance component coding unit that is split from a maximum
coding unit that is a coding unit in which the current picture is
encoded having a maximum size, and a depth that indicates
hierarchical split information of the maximum coding unit; and a
chrominance intra predictor that compares costs of applying to a
chrominance component coding unit that is split from the maximum
coding unit candidate intra prediction modes of the chrominance
component coding unit and the intra prediction mode of the
luminance component coding unit, and determines the intra
prediction mode of the chrominance component coding unit from among
the candidate prediction modes of the chrominance component unit
and the intra prediction mode of the luminance component coding
unit having a minimum cost, based on a result of the comparing.
[0010] According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is
provided claim a method of determining an intra prediction mode of
a decoding unit of a current picture, the method comprising:
extracting a maximum coding unit that is a coding unit in which the
current picture is encoded having a maximum size, and a depth that
indicates hierarchical split information of the maximum coding
unit, from a bitstream; splitting a luminance component and a
chrominance component of the current picture to be decoded into at
least one luminance component decoding unit and at least one
chrominance component decoding unit, respectively, based on the
maximum coding unit and depth; extracting intra prediction mode
information that indicates an intra prediction mode applied to the
at least one luminance component decoding unit and the at least one
chrominance component decoding unit, from the bitstream; and
performing intra prediction on the at least one luminance component
decoding unit and the at least one chrominance component decoding
unit based on the extracted intra prediction mode information to
decode the at least one luminance component decoding unit and the
at least one chrominance component decoding unit.
[0011] According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is
provided an apparatus for decoding an image, the apparatus
comprising: an entropy decoder that extracts a maximum coding unit
that is a coding unit in which the current picture is encoded
having a maximum size, a depth that indicates hierarchical split
information of the maximum coding unit, and intra prediction mode
information that indicates an intra prediction mode applied to a
luminance component decoding unit and a chrominance component
decoding unit to be decoded, from a bitstream; and an intra
prediction performer that performs intra prediction on the
luminance component decoding unit and the chrominance component
decoding unit to decode the luminance component decoding unit and
the chrominance component decoding unit, according to the extracted
intra prediction mode.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The above and other aspects will become more apparent by
describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference
to the attached drawings in which:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for encoding a
video, according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an apparatus for decoding a
video, according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a diagram for describing a concept of coding
units, according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an image encoder based on
coding units, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention;
[0017] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an image decoder based on
coding units, according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0018] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating deeper coding units
according to depths and prediction units, according to an exemplary
embodiment;
[0019] FIG. 7 is a diagram for describing a relationship between a
coding unit and a transform unit, according to an exemplary
embodiment;
[0020] FIG. 8 is a diagram for describing encoding information of
coding units corresponding to a coded depth, according to an
exemplary embodiment;
[0021] FIG. 9 is a diagram of deeper coding units according to
depths, according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0022] FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams for describing a relationship
between coding units, prediction units, and transform units,
according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0023] FIG. 11 is a table showing encoding information according to
coding units, according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0024] FIGS. 12A through 12C are diagrams of formats of a luminance
component image and a chrominance component image, according to
exemplary embodiments;
[0025] FIG. 13 is a table showing a number of intra prediction
modes according to sizes of luminance component coding units,
according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0026] FIGS. 14A through 14C are diagrams for explaining intra
prediction modes applied to a luminance component coding unit
having a predetermined size, according to an exemplary
embodiment;
[0027] FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining intra prediction modes
applied to a luminance component coding unit having a predetermined
size, according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0028] FIG. 16A through 16C are a reference diagram for explaining
intra prediction modes of a luminance component coding unit having
various directionalities, according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0029] FIG. 17 is a reference diagram for explaining a bi-linear
mode according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0030] FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining a process of generating
a prediction value of an intra prediction mode of a current
luminance component coding unit, according to an exemplary
embodiment;
[0031] FIG. 19A through 19B are a reference diagram for explaining
a mapping process of intra prediction modes between luminance
component coding units having different sizes, according to an
exemplary embodiment;
[0032] FIG. 20 is a reference diagram for explaining a process of
mapping an intra prediction mode of a neighboring luminance
component coding unit to one of representative intra prediction
modes, according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0033] FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining candidate intra
prediction modes applied to a chrominance component coding unit,
according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0034] FIG. 22 is a block diagram of an intra prediction apparatus,
according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0035] FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a method of determining
an intra prediction mode of a coding unit, according to an
exemplary embodiment; and
[0036] FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating a method of determining
an intra prediction mode of a decoding unit, according to an
exemplary embodiment.
[0037] FIG. 25 is a diagram for explaining a relationship between a
current pixel and neighboring pixels located on an extended line
having a directivity of (dx, dy);
[0038] FIG. 26 is a diagram for explaining a change in a
neighboring pixel located on an extended line having a directivity
of (dx, dy) according to a location of a current pixel, according
to an exemplary embodiment; and
[0039] FIGS. 27 and 28 are diagrams for explaining a method of
determining an intra prediction mode direction, according to
exemplary embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0040] Hereinafter, the exemplary embodiments will be described
more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0041] Hereinafter, a `coding unit` refers to an encoding data unit
in which the image data is encoded at an encoder side, and an
encoded data unit in which the encoded image data is decoded at a
decoder side. Also, a `coded depth` refers to a depth at which a
coding unit is encoded.
[0042] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a video encoding apparatus 100,
according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0043] The video encoding apparatus 100 includes a maximum coding
unit splitter 110, a coding unit determiner 120, an image data
output unit 130, and an encoding information output unit 140.
[0044] The maximum coding unit splitter 110 may split a current
picture based on a maximum coding unit for the current picture of
an image. If the current picture is larger than the maximum coding
unit, image data of the current picture may be split into the at
least one maximum coding unit. The maximum coding unit according to
an exemplary embodiment may be a data unit having a size of
32.times.32, 64.times.64, 128.times.128, 256.times.256, etc.,
wherein a shape of the data unit is a square having a width and
length in squares of 2. The image data may be output to the coding
unit determiner 120 according to the at least one maximum coding
unit.
[0045] A coding unit according to an exemplary embodiment may be
characterized by a maximum size and a depth. The depth denotes a
number of times the coding unit is spatially split from the maximum
coding unit, and as the depth deepens, deeper encoding units
according to depths may be split from the maximum coding unit to a
minimum coding unit. A depth of the maximum coding unit is an
uppermost depth and a depth of the minimum coding unit is a
lowermost depth. Since a size of a coding unit corresponding to
each depth decreases as the depth of the maximum coding unit
deepens, a coding unit corresponding to an upper depth may include
a plurality of coding units corresponding to lower depths.
[0046] As described above, the image data of the current picture is
split into the maximum coding units according to a maximum size of
the coding unit, and each of the maximum coding units may include
deeper coding units that are split according to depths. Since the
maximum coding unit according to an exemplary embodiment is split
according to depths, the image data of a spatial domain included in
the maximum coding unit may be hierarchically classified according
to depths.
[0047] A maximum depth and a maximum size of a coding unit, which
limit the total number of times a height and a width of the maximum
coding unit are hierarchically split, may be predetermined. Such a
maximum coding unit and maximum depth may be set in a picture or a
slice unit. In other words, different maximum coding units and
different maximum depths may be set for each picture or slice, and
a size of a minimum coding unit included in the maximum coding unit
may be set according to the maximum depth. As such, by setting the
maximum coding unit and the maximum depth according to pictures or
slices, encoding efficiency may be improved by encoding an image of
a flat region by using the maximum coding unit, and compression
efficiency of an image may be improved by encoding an image having
high complexity by using a coding unit having a smaller size than
the maximum coding unit.
[0048] The coding unit determiner 120 determines different maximum
depths according to maximum coding units. The maximum depth may be
determined based on a rate-distortion (R-D) cost calculation. The
determined maximum depth is output to the encoding information
output unit 140, and the image data according to maximum coding
units is output to the image data output unit 130.
[0049] The image data in the maximum coding unit is encoded based
on the deeper coding units corresponding to at least one depth
equal to or below the maximum depth, and results of encoding the
image data are compared based on each of the deeper coding units. A
depth having the least encoding error may be selected after
comparing encoding errors of the deeper coding units. At least one
coded depth may be selected for each maximum coding unit.
[0050] The size of the maximum coding unit is split as a coding
unit is hierarchically split according to depths, and as the number
of coding units increases. Also, even if coding units correspond to
a same depth in one maximum coding unit, it is determined whether
to split each of the coding units corresponding to the same depth
to a lower depth by measuring an encoding error of the image data
of each coding unit, separately. Accordingly, even when image data
is included in one maximum coding unit, the image data is split
into regions according to the depths and the encoding errors may
differ according to regions in the one maximum coding unit, and
thus the coded depths may differ according to regions in the image
data. In other words, the maximum coding unit may be split into
coding units having different sizes according to different depths.
Thus, one or more coded depths may be determined in one maximum
coding unit, and the image data of the maximum coding unit may be
split according to coding units of at least one coded depth.
[0051] Also, the coding units having different sizes in the maximum
coding unit may be predicted or transformed based on data units
having different sizes. In other words, the video encoding
apparatus 100 may perform a plurality of operations for encoding an
image based on data units having various sizes and shapes. In order
to encode image data, operations such as prediction,
transformation, entropy encoding, etc. are performed, and at this
time, the same data unit may be used for all operations or
different data units may be used for each operation.
[0052] For example, the video encoding apparatus 100 may select a
data unit that is different from the coding unit, to predict the
coding unit. For example, when a coding unit has a size of
2N.times.2N (where N is a positive integer), a data unit for
prediction may have a size of 2N.times.2N, 2N.times.N, N.times.2N,
or N.times.N. In other words, motion prediction may be performed
based on a data unit obtained by splitting at least one of a height
and a width of the coding unit. Hereinafter, the data unit that is
a basis unit of prediction will be referred to as a "prediction
unit".
[0053] A prediction mode may be at least one of an intra mode, an
inter mode, and a skip mode, wherein a certain prediction mode is
only performed on a prediction unit having a certain size or shape.
For example, an intra mode may be performed only on a square
prediction unit having a size of 2N.times.2N or N.times.N. Also, a
skip mode may be performed only on a prediction unit having a size
of 2N.times.2N. If a plurality of prediction units are included in
the coding unit, prediction may be performed on each prediction
unit to select a prediction mode having a minimum error.
[0054] Alternatively, the video encoding apparatus 100 may
transform the image data based on a data unit that is different
from the coding unit. In order to transform the coding unit,
transformation may be performed based on a data unit having a size
smaller than or equal to the coding unit. A data unit used as a
base of the transformation will be referred to as a "transform
unit".
[0055] The coding unit determiner 120 may measure an encoding error
of deeper coding units according to depths by using Rate-Distortion
Optimization based on Lagrangian multipliers, to determine a spilt
shape of the maximum coding unit having an optimum encoding error.
In other words, the coding unit determiner 120 may determine shapes
of the coding units to be split from the maximum coding unit,
wherein the sizes of the coding units are different according to
depths.
[0056] The image data output unit 130 outputs the image data of the
maximum coding unit, which is encoded based on the at least one
coded depth determined by the coding unit determiner 120, in
bitstreams. Since the encoding is already performed by the coding
depth determiner 120 to measure the minimum encoding error, an
encoded data stream may be output by using the minimum encoding
error.
[0057] The encoding information output unit 140 may output
information about the encoding mode according to coded depth, which
is encoded based on the at least one coded depth determined by the
coding unit determiner 120, in bitstreams. The information about
the encoding mode according to coded depth may include information
that indicates the coded depth, information that indicates split
type in the prediction unit, information that indicates the
prediction mode, and information that indicates the size of the
transform unit.
[0058] The information about the coded depth may be defined by
using split information according to depths, which indicates
whether encoding is performed on coding units of a lower depth
instead of a current depth. If the current depth of the current
coding unit is the coded depth, image data in the current coding
unit is encoded and output, and thus the split information may be
defined not to split the current coding unit to a lower depth.
Alternatively, if the current depth of the current coding unit is
not the coded depth, the encoding is performed on the coding unit
of the lower depth, and thus the split information may be defined
to split the current coding unit to obtain the coding units of the
lower depth.
[0059] If the current depth is not the coded depth, encoding is
performed on the coding unit that is split into the coding unit of
the lower depth. Since at least one coding unit of the lower depth
exists in one coding unit of the current depth, the encoding is
repeatedly performed on each coding unit of the lower depth, and
thus the encoding may be recursively performed for the coding units
having the same depth.
[0060] Since the coding units having a tree structure are
determined for one maximum coding unit, and information about at
least one encoding mode is determined for a coding unit of a coded
depth, information about at least one encoding mode may be
determined for one maximum coding unit. Also, a coded depth of the
image data of the maximum coding unit may be different according to
locations since the image data is hierarchically split according to
depths, and thus information about the coded depth and the encoding
mode may be set for the image data.
[0061] Accordingly, the encoding information output unit 140 may
assign corresponding encoding information to each minimum coding
unit included in the maximum coding unit. In other words, the
coding unit of the coded depth includes at least one minimum coding
unit containing the same encoding information. Thus, if neighboring
minimum coding units have the same encoding information, the
neighboring minimum coding units may be the minimum coding units
included in the same maximum coding unit.
[0062] In the video encoding apparatus 100, the deeper coding unit
may be a coding unit obtained by dividing a height or width of a
coding unit of an upper depth, which is one layer above, by two. In
other words, when the size of the coding unit of the current depth
is 2N.times.2N, the size of the coding unit of the lower depth is
N.times.N. Also, the coding unit of the current depth having the
size of 2N.times.2N may include a maximum of 4 of the coding units
of the lower depth.
[0063] Accordingly, the video encoding apparatus 100 may determine
coding units having an optimum shape for each maximum coding unit,
based on the size of the maximum coding unit and the maximum depth
determined considering characteristics of the current picture.
Also, since encoding may be performed on each maximum coding unit
by using any one of various prediction modes and transforms, an
optimum encoding mode may be determined considering characteristics
of the coding unit of various image sizes.
[0064] Thus, if an image having high resolution or a large data
amount is encoded in a conventional macroblock, a number of
macroblocks per picture excessively increases. Accordingly, a
number of pieces of compressed information generated for each
macroblock increases, and thus it is difficult to transmit the
compressed information and data compression efficiency decreases.
However, by using the video encoding apparatus 100, image
compression efficiency may be increased since a coding unit is
adjusted while considering characteristics of an image while
increasing a maximum size of a coding unit while considering a size
of the image.
[0065] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a video decoding apparatus 200,
according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0066] Referring to FIG. 2, the video decoding apparatus 200
includes a receiver 210, an encoding information extractor 220, and
an image data decoder 230.
[0067] The receiver 210 receives and parses a bitstream received by
the video decoding apparatus 200 to obtain image data according to
maximum coding units, and outputs the image data to the image data
decoder 230. The receiver 210 may extract information about the
maximum coding unit of a current picture or slice from a header
about the current picture or slice. The video decoding apparatus
200 decodes the image data according to maximum coding units.
[0068] The encoding information extractor 220 parses a bitstream
received by the video decoding apparatus 200 and extracts
information about a coded depth and encoding mode according to
maximum coding units from the header of the current picture in the
parsed bitstream. The information about the extracted coded depth
and encoding mode are output to the image data decoder 230.
[0069] The information about the coded depth and the encoding mode
according to the maximum coding unit may be set for information
about at least one coding unit corresponding to the coded depth,
and information about an encoding mode may include split type
information of a prediction unit according to coding units,
information that indicates a prediction mode, and information that
indicates a size of a transform unit. Also, split information
according to depths may be extracted as the information about the
coded depth.
[0070] Information about a split shape of the maximum coding unit
may include information about coding units having different sizes
according to depths, and information about an encoding mode may
include information that indicates a prediction unit according to
coding units, information that indicates a prediction mode, and
information that indicates a transform unit.
[0071] The image data decoder 230 restores the current picture by
decoding the image data in each maximum coding unit based on the
information extracted by the encoding information extractor 220.
The image data decoder 230 may decode the coding unit included in
the maximum coding unit based on the information about the split
shape of the maximum coding unit. A decoding process may include
prediction, including intra prediction and motion compensation, and
inverse transform.
[0072] Alternatively, the image data decoder 230 restores the
current picture by decoding the image data in each maximum coding
unit based on the information about the coded depth and the
encoding mode according to the maximum coding units. In other
words, the image data decoder 230 may decode the image data
according to coding units of at least one coded depth, based on the
information about the coded depth according to the maximum coding
units. A decoding process may include prediction, including intra
prediction and motion compensation, and inverse transform.
[0073] The image data decoder 230 may perform intra prediction or
motion compensation in a prediction unit and a prediction mode
according to coding units, based on the information about the split
type and the prediction mode of the prediction unit of the coding
unit according to coded depths, to perform prediction according to
coding units. Also, the image data decoder 230 may perform inverse
transform according to each transform unit in the coding unit,
based on the information about the size of the transform unit of
the coding unit according to coded depths, to perform the inverse
transform according to maximum coding units.
[0074] The image data decoder 230 may determine a coded depth of a
current maximum coding unit by using split information according to
depth. If the split information indicates decoding be performed at
the current depth, the current depth is a coded depth. Accordingly,
the image data decoder 230 may decode encoded image data of a
coding unit of the current depth with respect to the image data of
the current maximum coding unit by using the information about the
split type of the prediction unit, the prediction mode, and the
size of the transform unit. In other words, the encoding
information assigned to the minimum coding unit may be observed,
and the minimum coding units including the encoding information
having the same split information may be gathered to be decoded in
one data unit.
[0075] The video decoding apparatus 200 may obtain information
about at least one coding unit that generates the minimum encoding
error when encoding is recursively performed for each maximum
coding unit, and may use the information to decode the current
picture. In other words, the image data may be decoded in the
optimum coding unit in each maximum coding unit. Accordingly, even
if image data has high resolution and a large amount of data, the
image data may be efficiently decoded and restored by using a size
of a coding unit and an encoding mode, which are adaptively
determined according to characteristics of the image data, by using
information about an optimum encoding mode received from an
encoder.
[0076] FIG. 3 is a diagram for describing a concept of coding units
according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0077] Referring to FIG. 3, a size of a coding unit may be
expressed in width.times.height, and may be 64.times.64,
32.times.32, 16.times.16, 8.times.8 and 4.times.4. Aside from the
coding unit having a square shape, the coding unit may have a size
of 64.times.32, 32.times.64, 32.times.16, 16.times.32, 16.times.8,
8.times.16, 8.times.4, or 4.times.8.
[0078] In video data 310, a resolution is 1920.times.1080, a
maximum size of a coding unit is 64, and a maximum depth is 2. In
video data 320, a resolution is 1920.times.1080, a maximum size of
a coding unit is 64, and a maximum depth is 4. In video data 330, a
resolution is 352.times.288, a maximum size of a coding unit is 16,
and a maximum depth is 2.
[0079] If a resolution is high or a data amount is large, a maximum
size of a coding unit may be large to not only increase encoding
efficiency but also to accurately reflect characteristics of an
image. Accordingly, the maximum size of the coding unit of the
video data 310 and 320 having a higher resolution than the video
data 330 may be 64.
[0080] The maximum depth denotes a total number of splits from a
maximum coding unit to a minimum decoding unit. Accordingly, since
the maximum depth of the video data 310 is 2, coding units 315 of
the video data 310 may include a maximum coding unit having a long
axis size of 64, and coding units having long axis sizes of 32 and
16 since depths are deepened by two layers by splitting the maximum
coding unit twice. Meanwhile, since the maximum depth of the video
data 330 is 2, coding units 335 of the video data 330 may include a
maximum coding unit having a long axis size of 16, and coding units
having long axis size of 8 and 4 since depths are deepened by two
layers by splitting the maximum coding unit twice.
[0081] Since the maximum depth of the video data 320 is 4, coding
units 325 of the video data 320 may include a maximum coding unit
having a long axis size of 64, and coding units having long axis
sizes of 32, 16, 8, and 4 since the depths are deepened by 4 layers
by splitting the maximum coding unit four times. As a depth
deepens, detailed information may be precisely expressed.
[0082] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an image encoder 400 based on
coding units, according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0083] Referring to FIG. 4, an intra predictor 410 performs intra
prediction on coding units in an intra mode, from among coding
units of a current frame 405, and a motion estimator 420 and a
motion compensator 425 performs inter estimation and motion
compensation on coding units in an inter mode from among coding
units of the current frame 405 by using the current frame 405, and
a reference frame 495.
[0084] Data output from the intra predictor 410, the motion
estimator 420, and the motion compensator 425 is output as a
quantized transform coefficient through a transformer 430 and a
quantizer 440. The quantized transform coefficient is restored as
data in a spatial domain through an inverse quantizer 460 and an
inverse transformer 470, and the restored data in the spatial
domain is output as the reference frame 495 after being
post-processed through a deblocking unit 480 and a loop filtering
unit 490. The quantized transform coefficient may be output as a
bitstream 455 through an entropy encoder 450.
[0085] In order for the image encoder 400 to be applied in the
video encoding apparatus 100, all elements of the image encoder
400, i.e., the intra predictor 410, the motion estimator 420, the
motion compensator 425, the transformer 430, the quantizer 440, the
entropy encoder 450, the inverse quantizer 460, the inverse
transformer 470, the deblocking unit 480, and the loop filtering
unit 490 perform image encoding processes based on the maximum
coding unit, the coding unit according to depths, the prediction
unit, and the transform unit. Specifically, the intra predictor
410, the motion estimator 420, and the motion compensator 425
determine a prediction unit and a prediction mode of a coding unit
by considering a maximum size and depth of the coding unit, and the
transformer 430 determines the size of the transform unit by
considering the maximum size and depth of the coding unit. Also, as
described later, the intra predictor 410 performs intra prediction
by applying an intra prediction mode determined for a luminance
component coding unit on a chrominance component coding unit, and
thus prediction efficiency of the chrominance component coding unit
may be improved.
[0086] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an image decoder 500 based on
coding units, according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0087] Referring to FIG. 5, a parser 510 parses a received
bitstream 505 and extracts encoded image data to be decoded and
information about encoding required for decoding from the parsed
bitstream. The encoded image data is output as inverse quantized
data through an entropy decoder 520 and an inverse quantizer 530,
and the inverse quantized data is restored to image data in a
spatial domain through an inverse transformer 540. An intra
predictor 550 performs intra prediction on coding units in an intra
mode with respect to the image data in the spatial domain, and a
motion compensator 560 performs motion compensation on coding units
in an inter mode by using a reference frame 585. The image data in
the spatial domain, which passed through the intra predictor 550
and the motion compensator 560, may be output as a restored frame
595 after being post-processed through a deblocking unit 570 and a
loop filtering unit 580. Also, the image data that is
post-processed through the deblocking unit 570 and the loop
filtering unit 580 may be output as the reference frame 585.
[0088] In order for the image decoder 500 to be applied in the
video decoding apparatus 200, all elements of the image decoder
500, i.e., the parser 510, the entropy decoder 520, the inverse
quantizer 530, the inverse transformer 540, the intra predictor
550, the motion compensator 560, the deblocking unit 570, and the
loop filtering unit 580 perform image decoding processes based on
the maximum coding unit, the coding unit according to depths, the
prediction unit, and the transform unit. Specifically, the intra
prediction 550 and the motion compensator 560 determine the
prediction unit and the prediction mode of the coding unit by
considering the maximum size and depth of the coding unit, and the
inverse transformer 540 determines the size of transform unit by
considering the maximum size and depth of the coding unit.
[0089] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating deeper coding units
according to depths, and prediction units according to an exemplary
embodiment.
[0090] The video encoding apparatus 100 and the video decoding
apparatus 200 use hierarchical coding units to consider
characteristics of an image. A maximum height, a maximum width, and
a maximum depth of coding units may be adaptively determined
according to the characteristics of the image, or may be
individually set according to an input of a user. Sizes of deeper
coding units according to depths may be determined according to the
predetermined maximum size of the coding unit.
[0091] In a hierarchical structure 600 of coding units, according
to an exemplary embodiment, the maximum height and the maximum
width of the coding units are each 64, and the maximum depth is 4.
Since a depth deepens along a vertical axis of the hierarchical
structure 600, a height and a width of the deeper coding unit are
each split. Also, a prediction unit constituting a partial data
unit, which is a base for prediction encoding of each deeper coding
unit, is shown along a horizontal axis of the hierarchical
structure 600.
[0092] In other words, a coding unit 610 is a maximum coding unit
in the hierarchical structure 600, wherein a depth is 0 and a size,
i.e., a height by width, is 64.times.64. The depth deepens along
the vertical axis, and a coding unit 620 having a size of
32.times.32 and a depth of 1, a coding unit 630 having a size of
16.times.16 and a depth of 2, a coding unit 640 having a size of
8.times.8 and a depth of 3, and a coding unit 650 having a size of
4.times.4 and a depth of 4 exist. The coding unit 650 having the
size of 4.times.4 and the depth of 4 is a minimum coding unit.
[0093] Partial data units are shown in FIG. 6 as the prediction
units of a coding unit along the horizontal axis according to each
depth. In other words, if the coding unit 610 having the size of
64.times.64 and the depth of 0 is a prediction unit, the prediction
unit may be split into partial data units included in the encoding
unit 610, i.e. a partial data unit 610 having a size of
64.times.64, partial data units 612 having the size of 64.times.32,
partial data units 614 having the size of 32.times.64, or partial
data units 616 having the size of 32.times.32.
[0094] A prediction unit of the coding unit 620 having the size of
32.times.32 and the depth of 1 may be split into partial data units
included in the coding unit 620, i.e. a partial data unit 620
having a size of 32.times.32, partial data units 622 having a size
of 32.times.16, partial data units 624 having a size of
16.times.32, and partial data units 626 having a size of
16.times.16.
[0095] A prediction unit of the coding unit 630 having the size of
16.times.16 and the depth of 2 may be split into partial data units
included in the coding unit 630, i.e. a partial data unit having a
size of 16.times.16 included in the coding unit 630, partial data
units 632 having a size of 16.times.8, partial data units 634
having a size of 8.times.16, and partial data units 636 having a
size of 8.times.8.
[0096] A prediction unit of the coding unit 640 having the size of
8.times.8 and the depth of 3 may be split into partial data units
included in the coding unit 640, i.e. a partial data unit having a
size of 8.times.8 included in the coding unit 640, partial data
units 642 having a size of 8.times.4, partial data units 644 having
a size of 4.times.8, and partial data units 646 having a size of
4.times.4.
[0097] The coding unit 650 having the size of 4.times.4 and the
depth of 4 is the minimum coding unit and a coding unit of the
lowermost depth. A prediction unit of the coding unit 650 is only
assigned to a partial data unit having a size of 4.times.4.
[0098] In order to determine the at least one coded depth of the
coding units constituting the maximum coding unit 610, the coding
unit determiner 120 of the video encoding apparatus 100 performs
encoding for coding units corresponding to each depth included in
the maximum coding unit 610.
[0099] A number of deeper coding units according to depths
including data in the same range and the same size increases as the
depth deepens. For example, four coding units corresponding to a
depth of 2 are required to cover data that is included in one
coding unit corresponding to a depth of 1. Accordingly, in order to
compare encoding results of the same data according to depths, the
coding unit corresponding to the depth of 1 and four coding units
corresponding to the depth of 2 are each encoded.
[0100] In order to perform encoding for a current depth from among
the depths, a minimum encoding error may be determined for the
current depth by performing encoding for each prediction unit in
the coding units corresponding to the current depth, along the
horizontal axis of the hierarchical structure 600. Also, a minimum
encoding error according to depths may be searched for by comparing
the minimum encoding error of each depth, by performing encoding
for each depth as the depth deepens along the vertical axis of the
hierarchical structure 600. A depth having the minimum encoding
error in the coding unit 610 may be selected as the coded depth and
a split type of the coding unit 610.
[0101] FIG. 7 is a diagram for describing a relationship between a
coding unit 710 and transform units 720, according to an exemplary
embodiment.
[0102] The video encoding apparatus 100 or 200 encodes or decodes
an image according to coding units having sizes smaller than or
equal to a maximum coding unit for each maximum coding unit. Sizes
of transform units for transform during encoding may be selected
based on data units that are not larger than a corresponding coding
unit. For example, in the video encoding apparatus 100 or 200, if a
size of the coding unit 710 is 64.times.64, transform may be
performed by using the transform units 720 having a size of
32.times.32. Also, data of the coding unit 710 having the size of
64.times.64 may be encoded by performing the transform on each of
the transform units having the size of 32.times.32, 16.times.16,
8.times.8, and 4.times.4, which are smaller than 64.times.64, and
then a transform unit having the least coding error may be
selected.
[0103] FIG. 8 is a diagram for describing encoding information of
coding units corresponding to a coded depth, according to an
exemplary embodiment.
[0104] The output unit 130 of the video encoding apparatus 100 may
encode and transmit information 800 that indicates a split type,
information 810 that indicates a prediction mode, and information
820 that indicates a size of a transform unit for each coding unit
corresponding to a coded depth, as information about an encoding
mode.
[0105] The information 800 includes information about a split type
of a prediction unit of a current coding unit, wherein a split
prediction unit is a data unit for prediction encoding the current
coding unit. For example, a current coding unit CU.sub.--0 having a
depth 0 and size of 2N.times.2N may be split into any one of a
prediction unit 802 having a size of 2N.times.2N, a prediction unit
804 having a size of 2N.times.N, a prediction unit 806 having a
size of N.times.2N, and a prediction unit 808 having a size of
N.times.N. Here, the information 800 about a split type is set to
indicate one of the prediction unit 804 having a size of
2N.times.N, the prediction unit 806 having a size of N.times.2N,
and the prediction unit 808 having a size of N.times.N.
[0106] The information 810 indicates a prediction mode of each
prediction unit. For example, the information 810 may indicate a
mode of prediction encoding performed on a prediction unit
indicated by the information 800, i.e., an intra mode 812, an inter
mode 814, or a skip mode 816.
[0107] The information 820 indicates a transform unit to be based
on when transform is performed on a current coding unit. For
example, the transform unit may be a first intra transform unit
822, a second intra transform unit 824, a first inter transform
unit 826, or a second intra transform unit 828.
[0108] The encoding information extractor 220 of the video decoding
apparatus 200 may extract and use the information 800, 810, and 820
for decoding, according to each deeper coding unit.
[0109] FIG. 9 is a diagram of deeper coding units according to
depths, according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0110] Split information may be used to indicate a change in depth.
The spilt information indicates whether a coding unit of a current
depth is split into coding units of a lower depth.
[0111] A prediction unit 910 for prediction encoding a coding unit
having a depth of 0 and a size of 2N.sub.--0.times.2N.sub.--0 may
include a split type 912 having a size of
2N.sub.--0.times.2N.sub.--0, a split type 914 having a size of
2N.sub.--0.times.N.sub.--0, a split type 916 having a size of
N.sub.--0.times.2N.sub.--0, and a split type 918 having a size of
N.sub.--0.times.N.sub.--0.
[0112] Encoding via motion prediction is repeatedly performed on
one prediction unit having a size of 2N.sub.--0.times.2N.sub.--0,
two prediction units having a size of 2N.sub.--0.times.N.sub.--0,
two prediction units having a size of N.sub.--0.times.2N.sub.--0,
and four prediction units having a size of
N.sub.--0.times.N.sub.--0, according to each split type. The
prediction in an intra mode and an inter mode may be performed on
the prediction units having the sizes of
2N.sub.--0.times.N.sub.--0, N.sub.--0.times.2N.sub.--0 and
N.sub.--0.times.N.sub.--0 and N.sub.--0.times.N.sub.--0. The motion
prediction in a skip mode is performed only on the prediction unit
having the size of 2N.sub.--0.times.2N.sub.--0.
[0113] If the encoding error is the smallest in the split type 918
having the size N.sub.--0.times.N.sub.--0, a depth is changed from
0 to 1 to split the partition type 918 in operation 920, and
encoding is repeatedly performed on coding units 922, 924, 926, and
928 having a depth of 2 and a size of N.sub.--0.times.N.sub.--0 to
search for a minimum encoding error.
[0114] Since the encoding is repeatedly performed on the coding
units 922, 924, 926, and 928 having the same depth, only encoding
of a coding unit having a depth of 1 will be described as an
example. A prediction unit 930 for motion predicting a coding unit
having a depth of 1 and a size of 2N.sub.--1.times.2N.sub.--1
(=N.sub.--0.times.N.sub.--0) may include a split type 932 having a
size of 2N.sub.--1.times.2N.sub.--1, a split type 934 having a size
of 2N.sub.--1.times.N.sub.--1, a split type 936 having a size of
N.sub.--1.times.2N.sub.--1, and a split type 938 having a size of
N.sub.--1.times.N.sub.--1. Encoding via motion prediction is
repeatedly performed on one prediction unit having a size of
2N.sub.--1.times.2N.sub.--1, two prediction units having a size of
2N.sub.--1.times.N.sub.--1, two prediction units having a size of
N.sub.--1.times.2N.sub.--1, and four prediction units having a size
of N.sub.--1.times.N.sub.--1, according to each split type.
[0115] If an encoding error is the smallest in the split type 938
having the size of N.sub.--1.times.N.sub.--1, a depth is changed
from 1 to 2 to split the split type 938 in operation 940, and
encoding is repeatedly performed on coding units 942, 944, 946, and
948, which have a depth of 2 and a size of
N.sub.--2.times.N.sub.--2 to search for a minimum encoding
error.
[0116] When a maximum depth is d, split information according to
each depth may be set up to when a depth becomes d-1. In other
words, a prediction unit 950 for motion predicting a coding unit
having a depth of d-1 and a size of 2N_(d-1).times.2N_(d-1) may
include a split type 952 having a size of 2N_(d-1).times.2N_(d-1),
a split type 954 having a size of 2N_(d-1).times.N_(d-1), a split
type 956 having a size of N_(d-1).times.2N_(d-1), and a split type
958 having a size of N_(d-1).times.N_(d-1).
[0117] Encoding via motion prediction may be repeatedly performed
on one prediction unit having a size of 2N_(d-1).times.2N_(d-1),
two prediction units having a size of 2N_(d-1).times.N_(d-1), two
prediction units having a size of N_(d-1).times.2N_(d-1), and four
prediction units having a size of N_(d-1).times.N_(d-1), according
to each split type. Since the maximum depth is d, a coding unit 952
having a depth of d-1 is not split.
[0118] In order to determine a coded depth for the coding unit 912,
the video encoding apparatus 100 selects a depth having the least
encoding error by comparing encoding errors according to depths.
For example, an encoding error of a coding unit having a depth of 0
may be encoded by performing motion prediction on each of the split
types 912, 914, 916, and 918, and than a prediction unit having the
least encoding error may be determined. Similarly, a prediction
unit having the least encoding error may be searched for, according
to depths 0 through d-1. In a depth of d, an encoding error may be
determined by performing motion prediction on the prediction unit
960 having the size of 2N_d.times.2N_d. As such, the minimum
encoding errors according to depths are compared in all of the
depths of 1 through d, and a depth having the least encoding error
may be determined as a coded depth. The coded depth and the
prediction unit of the corresponding coded depth mode may be
encoded and transmitted as information about an encoding mode.
Also, since a coding unit is split from a depth of 0 to a coded
depth, only split information of the coded depth is set to 0, and
split information of depths excluding the coded depth is set to
1.
[0119] The image data and encoding information extractor 220 of the
video decoding apparatus 200 may extract and use the information
about the coded depth and the prediction unit of the coding unit
912 to decode the coding unit 912. The video decoding apparatus 200
may determine a depth, in which split information is 0, as a coded
depth by using split information according to depths, and use
information about an encoding mode of the corresponding depth for
decoding.
[0120] FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams for describing a relationship
between coding units 1010, prediction units 1060, and transform
units 1070, according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0121] The coding units 1010 are coding units corresponding to
coded depths determined by the video encoding apparatus 100, in a
maximum coding unit 1000. The prediction units 1060 are prediction
units of each of the coding units 1010, and the transform units
1070 are transform units of each of the coding units 1010.
[0122] When a depth of a maximum coding unit is 0 in the coding
units 1010, depths of coding units 1012 and 1054 are 1, depths of
coding units 1014, 1016, 1018, 1028, 1050, and 1052 are 2, depths
of coding units 1020, 1022, 1024, 1026, 1030, 1032, and 1048 are 3,
and depths of coding units 1040, 1042, 1044, and 1046 are 4.
[0123] In the prediction units 1060, some encoding units 1014,
1016, 1022, 1032, 1048, 1050, 1052, and 1054 are obtained by
splitting the coding units in the encoding units 1010. In other
words, split types in the coding units 1014, 1022, 1050, and 1054
have a size of 2N.times.N, split types in the coding units 1016,
1048, and 1052 have a size of N.times.2N, and a split type of the
coding unit 1032 has a size of N.times.N. Prediction units of the
coding units 1010 are smaller than or equal to each coding
unit.
[0124] Transform or inverse transform is performed on image data of
the coding unit 1052 in the transform units 1070 in a data unit
that is smaller than the coding unit 1052. Also, the coding units
1014, 1016, 1022, 1032, 1048, 1050, and 1052 in the transform units
1070 are different from those in the prediction units 1060 in terms
of sizes and shapes. In other words, the video encoding and
decoding apparatuses 100 and 200 may perform intra prediction,
motion estimation, motion compensation, transform, and inverse
transform individually on a data unit in the same coding unit.
[0125] FIG. 11 is a table showing encoding information according to
coding units, according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0126] The encoding information output unit 140 of the video
encoding apparatus 100 may encode the encoding information
according to coding units, and the encoding information extractor
220 of the video encoding apparatus 200 may extract the encoding
information according to coding units.
[0127] Encoding information may include split information about a
coding unit, split type information, prediction mode information,
and information about a size of a transform unit. The encoding
information shown in FIG. 11 is merely exemplary of information
that may be set by the video encoding apparatus 100 and the video
decoding apparatus 200, and is not limited thereto.
[0128] The split information may indicate a coded depth of a
corresponding coding unit. In other words, since a coded depth is a
depth that is no longer split according to the split information,
the information about split type, prediction mode, and size of
transform unit may be set for the coded depth. If the current
coding unit is further split according to the split information,
encoding is independently performed on four split coding units of a
lower depth.
[0129] The information about a split type may indicate a split type
of a transform unit of a coding unit in a coded depth as one of
2N.times.2N, 2N.times.N, N.times.2N, and N.times.N. The prediction
mode may indicate a motion prediction mode as one of an intra mode,
an inter mode, and a skip mode. The intra mode may be defined only
in the split types of 2N.times.2N and N.times.N, and the skip mode
may be only defined in the split type of 2N.times.2N. The transform
unit may have two sizes in the intra mode, and two sizes in the
inter mode.
[0130] The encoding information according to coding units in the
coded depth may be included in the minimum coding unit in the
coding unit. Accordingly, by checking the encoding information
included in the neighboring minimum coding units, it may be
determined whether the neighboring minimum coding units are
included in the coding units having the same coded depth. Also,
since the coding unit of the corresponding coded depth may be
determined by using the encoding information included in the
minimum coding unit, distribution of the coded depths of the
minimum coding units may be inferred.
[0131] Intra prediction performed by the intra prediction unit 410
of the video encoding apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 4 and the
intra prediction unit 550 of the video decoding apparatus 200
illustrated in FIG. 5 will now be described in detail. In the
following description, a coding unit refers to a current encoded
block in an encoding process of an image, and a decoding unit
refers to a current decoded block in a decoding process of an
image. The coding unit and the decoding unit are different only in
that the coding unit is used in the encoding process and the
decoding unit is used in the decoding process. For consistency,
except for a particular case, the coding unit and the decoding unit
are referred to as a coding unit in both the encoding and decoding
processes.
[0132] FIGS. 12A through 12C are diagrams of formats of a luminance
component image and a chrominance component image, according to an
exemplary embodiment.
[0133] Each coding unit forming one frame may be expressed by using
one of three components, i.e., Y, Cb, and Cr. Y is luminance data
having luminance information, and Cb and Cr are chrominance data
having chrominance information.
[0134] The chrominance data may be expressed using a lower amount
of data than the luminance data, based on the premise that a person
is generally more sensitive to the luminance information than the
chrominance information. Referring to FIG. 12A, one coding unit
having a 4:2:0 format includes luminance data 1210 having a size of
H.times.W (H and W are positive integers), and two pieces of
chrominance data 1220 and 1230 having a size of (H/2).times.(W/2)
obtained by sampling the chrominance components Cb and Cr by 1/4.
Referring to FIG. 12B, one coding unit having a 4:2:2 format
includes luminance data 1240 having a size of H.times.W (H and W
are positive integers), and two pieces of chrominance data 1250 and
1260 having a size of H.times.(W/2) obtained by sampling the
chrominance components Cb and Cr by 1/2 in a horizontal direction.
Also, referring to FIG. 12C, when one coding unit has a 4:4:4
format, the coding unit includes luminance data 1270, and
chrominance data 1280 and 1290, each having a size of H.times.W
without sampling the chrominance components Cb and Cr, to precisely
express a chrominance component image.
[0135] Hereinafter, it is assumed that the luminance component
coding unit and the chrominance component coding unit, which are
intra predicted, are one of image signals having color formats of
4:2:0, 4:2:2, and 4:4:4 defined in a YCbCr (or YUV) color
domain.
[0136] Prediction efficiency of the chrominance coding unit is
improved by including an intra prediction mode determined for the
luminance component coding unit in candidate intra prediction modes
applied to the chrominance component coding unit by considering a
relationship between the luminance component and the chrominance
component.
[0137] FIG. 13 is a table showing a number of intra prediction
modes according to sizes of luminance component coding units,
according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0138] According to an exemplary embodiment, the number of intra
prediction modes to be applied to a luminance component coding unit
(a decoding unit in a decoding process) may be variously set. For
example, referring to FIG. 13, if the size of a luminance component
coding unit is N.times.N, on which intra prediction is performed,
the numbers of intra prediction modes actually performed on
2.times.2, 4.times.4, 8.times.8, 16.times.16, 32.times.32,
64.times.64, and 128.times.128-sized luminance component coding
units may be respectively set as 5, 9, 9, 17, 33, 5, and 5 (in
Example 2). For another example, when a size of a luminance
component coding unit to be intra-predicted is N.times.N, numbers
of intra prediction modes to be actually performed on coding units
having sizes of 2.times.2, 4.times.4, 8.times.8, 16.times.16,
32.times.32, 64.times.64, and 128.times.128 may be set to be 3, 17,
34, 34, 34, 5, and 5. The numbers of intra prediction modes to be
actually performed are differently set according to the sizes of
luminance component coding units because overheads for encoding
prediction mode information differ according to the sizes of the
luminance component coding units. In other words, a small luminance
component coding unit occupies a small portion of entire image data
but may have a large overhead in order to transmit additional
information, such as prediction mode information of the luminance
component coding unit. Accordingly, if a luminance component small
coding unit is encoded by using an excessively large number of
prediction modes, the number of bits may be increased and thus
compression efficiency may be reduced. Also, a luminance component
large coding unit, e.g., a luminance component coding unit equal to
or greater than 64.times.64, generally corresponds to a plain
region of image data, and thus encoding of the large luminance
component coding unit by using an excessively large number of
prediction modes may also reduce compression efficiency.
[0139] Thus, according to an exemplary embodiment, luminance
component coding units are roughly classified into at least three
sizes such as N1.times.N1 (where 2.ltoreq.N1.ltoreq.4, and N1 is an
integer), N2.times.N2 (where 8.ltoreq.N2.ltoreq.32, and N2 is an
integer), and N3.times.N3 (where 64.ltoreq.N3, and N3 is an
integer). If the number of intra prediction modes performed on the
luminance component coding units of N1.times.N1 is A1 (where A1 is
a positive integer), the number of intra prediction modes performed
on the luminance component coding units of N2.times.N2 is A2 (where
A2 is a positive integer), and the number of intra prediction modes
performed on the luminance component coding units of N3.times.N3 is
A3 (where A3 is a positive integer). The numbers of intra
prediction modes performed according to the sizes of the luminance
component coding units may be set to satisfy
A3.ltoreq.A1.ltoreq.A2. That is, if a current picture is split into
small luminance component coding units, medium luminance component
coding units, and large luminance component coding units, the
medium luminance component coding units may be set to have the
largest number of prediction modes and the small luminance
component coding units and the large luminance component coding
units may be set to have a relatively small number of prediction
modes. However, the exemplary embodiment is not limited thereto,
and the small and large luminance component coding units may also
be set to have a large number of prediction modes. The numbers of
prediction modes according to the sizes of luminance component
coding units in FIG. 13 are merely exemplarily and may be
changed.
[0140] FIG. 14A is a table showing intra prediction modes applied
to a luminance component coding unit having a predetermined size,
according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0141] Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14A, for example, when intra
prediction is performed on a luminance component coding unit having
a 4.times.4 size, the luminance component coding unit may have a
vertical mode (mode 0), a horizontal mode (mode 1), a direct
current (DC) mode (mode 2), a diagonal down-left mode (mode 3), a
diagonal down-right mode (mode 4), a vertical-right mode (mode 5),
a horizontal-down mode (mode 6), a vertical-left mode (mode 7), and
a horizontal-up mode (mode 8).
[0142] FIG. 14B illustrates directions of the intra prediction
modes shown in FIG. 14A. In FIG. 14B, numbers at ends of arrows
represent prediction modes corresponding to prediction directions
indicated by the arrows. Here, mode 2 is a DC mode having no
directionality and thus is not shown in FIG. 16B.
[0143] FIG. 14C is a diagram for describing a method of performing
intra prediction on a luminance component coding unit by using the
intra prediction modes shown in FIG. 14A, according to an exemplary
embodiment.
[0144] Referring to FIG. 14C, a prediction coding unit is generated
according to an available intra prediction mode determined
according to the size of a current luminance component coding unit
by using neighboring pixels A through M of the current luminance
component coding unit. For example, an operation of performing
prediction encoding on a current coding unit having a 4.times.4
size according to mode 0, i.e., a vertical mode, shown in FIG. 14A
will be described. Initially, values of the neighboring pixels A
through D at an upper side of the current coding unit are predicted
as pixel values of the current coding unit. That is, the value of
the neighboring pixel A is predicted as a value of four pixels in a
first column of the current coding unit, the value of the
neighboring pixel B is predicted as a value of four pixels in a
second column of the current coding unit, the value of the
neighboring pixel C is predicted as a value of four pixels in a
third column of the current coding unit, and the value of the
neighboring pixel D is predicted as a value of four pixels in a
fourth column of the current coding unit. After that, the pixel
values of the current coding unit predicted by using the
neighboring pixels A through D are subtracted from the pixel values
of the original current coding unit to calculate an error value and
then the error value is encoded.
[0145] FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining intra prediction modes
applied to a luminance component coding unit having a predetermined
size, according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0146] Referring to FIGS. 13 and 15, for example, when intra
prediction is performed on a coding unit having a 2.times.2 size,
the coding unit may have a total of five modes, such as a vertical
mode, a horizontal mode, a DC mode, a plane mode, and a diagonal
down-right mode.
[0147] Meanwhile, if a luminance component coding unit having a
32.times.32 size has 33 intra prediction modes, as shown in FIG.
13, directions of the 33 intra prediction modes need to be set.
According to an exemplary embodiment, in order to set intra
prediction modes having various directions in addition to the intra
prediction modes illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15, prediction
directions for selecting neighboring pixels used as reference
pixels of pixels of the luminance component coding unit are set by
using (dx, dy) parameters. For example, if each of the 33
prediction modes is defined as mode N (where N is an integer from 0
to 32), mode 0 may be set as a vertical mode, mode 1 may be set as
a horizontal mode, mode 2 may be set as a DC mode, mode 3 may be
set as a plane mode, and each of mode 4 through mode 31 may be
defined as a prediction mode having a directionality of
tan.sup.-1(dy/dx) by using (dx, dy) represented as one of (1,-1),
(1,1), (1,2), (2,1), (1,-2), (2,1), (1,-2), (2,-1), (2,-11),
(5,-7), (10,-7), (11,3), (4,3), (1,11), (1,-1), (12,-3), (1,-11),
(1,-7), (3,-10), (5,-6), (7,-6), (7,-4), (11,1), (6,1), (8,3),
(5,3), (5,7), (2,7), (5,-7), and (4,-3) as shown in Table 1.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 mode # dx dy mode 4 1 -1 mode 5 1 1 mode 6 1
2 mode 7 2 1 mode 8 1 -2 mode 9 2 -1 mode 10 2 -11 mode 11 5 -7
mode 12 10 -7 mode 13 11 3 mode 14 4 3 mode 15 1 11 mode 16 1 -1
mode 17 12 -3 mode 18 1 -11 mode 19 1 -7 mode 20 3 -10 mode 21 5 -6
mode 22 7 -6 mode 23 7 -4 mode 24 11 1 mode 25 6 1 mode 26 8 3 mode
27 5 3 mode 28 5 7 mode 29 2 7 mode 30 5 -7 mode 31 4 -3 Mode 0 is
a vertical mode, mode 1 is a horizontal mode, mode 2 is a DC mode,
mode 3 is a plane mode, and mode 32 is a bi-linear mode.
[0148] Mode 32 may be set as a bi-linear mode that uses bi-linear
interpolation as will be described later with reference to FIG.
16.
[0149] FIG. 16A thorough 16C is a reference diagrams for explaining
intra prediction modes of a luminance component coding unit having
various directionalities, according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0150] As described above with reference to Table 1, each of the
intra prediction modes according to exemplary embodiments may have
directionality of tan.sup.-1(dy/dx) by using a plurality of (dx,
dy) parameters.
[0151] Referring to FIG. 16A, neighboring pixels A and B on a line
160 that extends from a current pixel P in a current luminance
component coding unit, which is to be predicted, at an angle of
tan.sup.-1(dy/dx) determined by a value of a (dx, dy) parameter
according to a mode, as shown in Table 1, may be used as predictors
of the current pixel P. In this case, the neighboring pixels A and
B may be pixels that have been encoded and restored, and belong to
previous coding units located above and to the left side of the
current coding unit. Also, when the line 160 does not pass along
neighboring pixels on locations each having an integral value but
passes between these neighboring pixels, neighboring pixels closer
to the line 160 may be used as predictors of the current pixel P.
Also, a weighted average value considering a distance between an
intersection of the line 160 and neighboring pixels close to the
line 160 may be used as a predictor for the current pixel P. If two
pixels that meet the line 160, e.g., the neighboring pixel A
located above the current pixel P and the neighboring pixel B
located to the left side of the current pixel P, are present, an
average of pixel values of the neighboring pixels A and B may be
used as a predictor of the current pixel P. Otherwise, if a product
of values of the `dx` and `dy` parameters is a positive value, the
neighboring pixel A may be used, and if the product of the values
of the `dx` and `dy` parameters is a negative value, the
neighboring pixel B may be used.
[0152] FIGS. 16B and 16C are reference diagrams for explaining a
process of generating a predictor when the line 160 of FIG. 16A
passes between, not through, neighboring pixels of integer
locations.
[0153] Referring to FIG. 16B, if the line 160 having an angle of
tan.sup.-1(dy/dx) that is determined according to (dx, dy) of each
mode passes between a neighboring pixel A 161 and a neighboring
pixel B 162 of integer locations, a weighted average value
considering a distance between an intersection of the extended line
160 and the neighboring pixels A 161 and B 162 close to the
extended line 160 may be used as a predictor as described above.
For example, if a distance between the neighboring pixel A 161 and
the intersection of the extended line 160 having the angle of
tan.sup.-1(dy/dx) is f, and a distance between the neighboring
pixel B 162 and the intersection of the extended line 160 is g, a
predictor for the current pixel P may be obtained as
(A*g+B*f)/(f+g). Here, f and g may be each a normalized distance
using an integer. If software or hardware is used, the predictor
for the current pixel P may be obtained by shift operation as
(g*A+f*B+2)>>2. As shown in FIG. 16B, if the extended line
160 passes through a first quarter close to the neighboring pixel A
161 from among four parts obtained by quartering a distance between
the neighboring pixel A 161 and the neighboring pixel B 162 of the
integer locations, the predictor for the current pixel P may be
acquired as (3*A+B)/4. Such operation may be performed by shift
operation considering rounding-off to a nearest integer like
(3*A+B+2)>>2.
[0154] Meanwhile, if the extended line 160 having the angle of
tan.sup.-1(dy/dx) that is determined according to (dx, dy) of each
mode passes between the neighboring pixel A 161 and the neighboring
pixel B 162 of the integer locations, a section between the
neighboring pixel A 161 and the neighboring pixel B 162 may be
divided into a predetermined number of areas, and a weighted
average value considering a distance between an intersection and
the neighboring pixel A 161 and the neighboring pixel B 162 in each
divided area may be used as a prediction value. For example,
referring to FIG. 16C, a section between the neighboring pixel A
161 and the neighboring pixel B 162 may be divided into five
sections P1 through P5 as shown in FIG. 16C, a representative
weighted average value considering a distance between an
intersection and the neighboring pixel A 161 and the neighboring
pixel B 162 in each section may be determined, and the
representative weighted average value may be used as a predictor
for the current pixel P. In detail, if the extended line 160 passes
through the section P1, a value of the neighboring pixel A may be
determined as a predictor for the current pixel P. If the extended
line 160 passes through the section P2, a weighted average value
(3*A+1*B+2)>>2 considering a distance between the neighboring
pixels A and B and a middle point of the section P2 may be
determined as a predictor for the current pixel P. If the extended
line 160 passes through the section P3, a weighted average value
(2*A+2*B+2)>>2 considering a distance between the neighboring
pixels A and B and a middle point of the section P3 may be
determined as a predictor for the current pixel P. If the extended
line 160 passes through the section P4, a weighted average value
(1*A+3*B+2)>>2 considering a distance between the neighboring
pixels A and B and a middle point of the section P4 may be
determined as a predictor for the current pixel P. If the extended
line 160 passes through the section P5, a value of the neighboring
pixel B may be determined as a predictor for the current pixel
P.
[0155] Also, if two neighboring pixels, that is, the neighboring
pixel A on the up side and the neighboring pixel B on the left side
meet the extended line 160 as shown in FIG. 16A, an average value
of the neighboring pixel A and the neighboring pixel B may be used
as a predictor for the current pixel P, or if (dx*dy) is a positive
value, the neighboring pixel A on the up side may be used, and if
(dx*dy) is a negative value, the neighboring pixel B on the left
side may be used.
[0156] The intra prediction modes having various directionalities
shown in Table 1 may be predetermined by an encoding side and a
decoding side, and only an index of an intra prediction mode of
each coding unit may be transmitted.
[0157] FIG. 17 is a reference diagram for explaining a bi-linear
mode according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0158] Referring to FIG. 17, in the bi-linear mode, a geometric
average is calculated by considering a value of a current pixel P
170 in a current luminance component coding unit, which is to be
predicted, values of pixels on upper, lower, left, and right
boundaries of the current luminance component coding unit, and the
distances between the current pixel P 170 and the upper, lower,
left, and right boundaries of the current luminance component
coding unit. The geometric average is then used as a predictor of
the current pixel P 170. For example, in the bi-linear mode, a
geometric average calculated using a virtual pixel A 171, a virtual
pixel B 172, a pixel D 176, and a pixel E 177 located to the upper,
lower, left, and right sides of the current pixel P 170, and the
distances between the current pixel P 170 and the upper, lower,
left, and right boundaries of the current luminance component
coding unit, is used as a predictor of the current pixel P 170.
Since the bi-linear mode is one of the intra prediction modes,
neighboring pixels that have been encoded and restored, and belong
to previous luminance component coding units, are used as reference
pixels for prediction. Thus, pixel values in the current luminance
component coding unit are not used, but virtual pixel values
calculated using neighboring pixels located to the upper and left
sides of the current luminance component coding unit are used as
the pixel A 171 and the pixel B 172.
[0159] Specifically, first, a value of a virtual pixel C 173 on a
lower rightmost point of the current luminance component coding
unit is calculated by calculating an average of values of a
neighboring pixel (right-up pixel) 174 on an upper rightmost point
of the current luminance component coding unit and a neighboring
pixel (left-down pixel) 175 on a lower leftmost point of the
current luminance component coding unit, as expressed in Equation 1
below:
C=0.5(LeftDownPixel+RightUpPixel) [Equation 1]
[0160] Next, a value of the virtual pixel A 171 located on a
lowermost boundary of the current luminance component coding unit
when the current pixel P 170 is extended downward by considering
the distance W1 between the current pixel P 170 and the left
boundary of the current luminance component coding unit and the
distance W2 between the current pixel P 170 and the right boundary
of the current luminance component coding unit, is calculated by
using Equation 2 below:
A=(C*W1+LeftDownPixel*W2)/(W1+W2); [Equation 2]
[0161] A=(C*W1+LeftDownPixel*W2+((W1+W2)/2))/(W1+W2) When a value
of W1+W2 in Equation 2 is a power of 2, like 2 n,
A=(C*W1+LeftDownPixel*W2+((W1+W2)/2))/(W1+W2) may be calculated by
shift operation as A=(C*W1+LeftDownPixel*W2+2 (n-1))>>n
without division.
[0162] Similarly, a value of the virtual pixel B 172 located on a
rightmost boundary of the current luminance component coding unit
when the current pixel P 170 is extended in the right direction by
considering the distance h1 between the current pixel P 170 and the
upper boundary of the current luminance component coding unit and
the distance h2 between the current pixel P 170 and the lower
boundary of the current luminance component coding unit, is
calculated by using Equation 3 below:
B=(C*h1+RightUpPixel*h2)/(h1+h2)
B=(C*h1+RightUpPixel*h2+((h1+h2)/2))/(h1+h2) [Equation 3]
[0163] When a value of h1+h2 in Equation 3 is a power of 2, like 2
m, B=(C*h1+RightUpPixel*h2+((h1+h2)/2))/(h1+h2) may be calculated
by shift operation as B=(C*h1+RightUpPixel*h2+2 (m-1))>>m
without division.
[0164] Once the values of the virtual pixel B 172 on the right
border and the virtual pixel A 171 on the down border of the
current pixel P 170 are determined by using Equations 1 through 3,
a predictor for the current pixel P 170 may be determined by using
an average value of A+B+D+E. In detail, a weighted average value
considering a distance between the current pixel P 170 and the
virtual pixel A 171, the virtual pixel B 172, the pixel D 176, and
the pixel E 177 or an average value of A+B+D+E may be used as a
predictor for the current pixel P 170. For example, if a weighted
average value is used and the size of block is 16.times.16, a
predictor for the current pixel P may be obtained as
(h1*A+h2*D+W1*B+W2*E+16)>>5. Such bilinear prediction is
applied to all pixels in the current coding unit, and a prediction
coding unit of the current coding unit in a bilinear prediction
mode is generated.
[0165] According to an exemplary embodiment, prediction encoding is
performed according to various intra prediction modes determined
according to the size of a luminance component coding unit, thereby
allowing efficient video compression based on characteristics of an
image.
[0166] Since a greater number of intra prediction modes than intra
prediction modes used in a conventional codec are used according to
a size of a coding unit according to an exemplary embodiment,
compatibility with the conventional codec may become a problem. In
a conventional art, 9 intra prediction modes at the most may be
used as shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B. Accordingly, it is necessary to
map intra prediction modes having various directions selected
according to an exemplary embodiment to one of a smaller number of
intra prediction modes. That is, when a number of available intra
prediction modes of a current coding unit is N1 (N1 is an integer),
in order to make the available intra prediction modes of the
current coding unit compatible with a coding unit of a
predetermined size including N2 (N2 is an integer different from
N1) intra prediction modes, the intra prediction modes of the
current coding unit may be mapped to an intra prediction mode
having a most similar direction from among the N2 intra prediction
modes. For example, a total of 33 intra prediction modes are
available as shown in Table 1 in the current coding unit, and it is
assumed that an intra prediction mode finally applied to the
current coding unit is the mode 14, that is, (dx,dy)=(4,3), having
a directivity of tan.sup.-1(3/4).apprxeq.36.87 (degrees). In this
case, in order to match the intra prediction mode applied to the
current block to one of 9 intra prediction modes as shown in FIGS.
14A and 14B, the mode 4 (down_right) mode having a most similar
directivity to the directivity of 36.87 (degrees) may be selected.
That is, the mode 14 of Table 1 may be mapped to the mode 4 shown
in FIG. 14B. Likewise, if an intra prediction mode applied to the
current coding unit is selected to be the mode 15, that is,
(dx,dy)=(1,11), from among the 33 available intra prediction modes
of Table 1, since a directivity of the intra prediction mode
applied to the current coding unit is tan.sup.-1(11).apprxeq.84.80
(degrees), the mode 0 (vertical) of FIG. 14B having a most similar
directivity to the directivity 84.80 (degrees) may be mapped to the
mode 15.
[0167] Meanwhile, in order to decode a luminance component coding
unit encoded via intra prediction, prediction mode information is
required to determine which intra prediction mode is used to encode
a current luminance component coding unit. Accordingly, intra
prediction mode information of the current luminance component
encoding unit is added to a bitstream when encoding an image. At
this time, an overhead may increase, thereby decreasing compression
efficiency if intra prediction mode information of each luminance
component coding unit is added to the bitstream.
[0168] Therefore, according to an exemplary embodiment, instead of
transmitting the intra prediction mode information of the current
luminance component coding unit, which is determined as a result of
encoding the current luminance component coding unit, only a
difference value between an actual value of an intra prediction
mode and a prediction value of an intra prediction mode, which is
predicted from a neighboring luminance component coding unit, is
transmitted.
[0169] FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining a process of generating
a prediction value of an intra prediction mode of a current
luminance component coding unit A 180, according to an exemplary
embodiment.
[0170] Referring to FIG. 18, an intra prediction mode of the
current luminance component coding unit A 180 may be predicted from
intra prediction modes determined in neighboring luminance
component coding units. For example, when an intra prediction mode
of a left luminance component coding unit B 181 is mode 3, and an
intra prediction mode of an upper luminance component coding unit C
182 is mode 4, the intra prediction mode of the current luminance
component coding unit A 180 may be predicted to be mode 3, which
has a smaller value from among the intra prediction modes of the
upper luminance component coding unit C 182 and the left luminance
component coding unit B 181. If an intra prediction mode determined
as a result of actually performing intra prediction encoding on the
current luminance component coding unit A 180 is mode 4, only 1,
i.e., a difference value with mode 3 constituting the intra
prediction mode predicted from the neighboring luminance component
coding units, is transmitted as intra prediction mode information.
A prediction value of an intra prediction mode of a current
luminance component decoding unit is generated in the same manner
during decoding, and a difference value received through a
bitstream is added to the prediction value, thereby obtaining intra
prediction mode information actually applied to the current
luminance component decoding unit. In the above description, only
the upper and left neighboring coding units C and B 182 and 181 of
the current luminance component coding unit A 180 are used, but
alternatively, the intra prediction mode of the current luminance
component coding unit A may be predicted by using other neighboring
luminance component coding units E and D of FIG. 18. An intra
prediction mode of a luminance component coding unit may be used to
predict an intra prediction mode of a chrominance component coding
unit that will be described later.
[0171] Meanwhile, since an intra prediction mode actually performed
differs according to sizes of luminance component coding units, an
intra prediction mode predicted from neighboring luminance
component coding units may not match an intra prediction mode of a
current luminance component coding unit. Accordingly, in order to
predict the intra prediction mode of the current luminance
component coding unit from the neighboring luminance component
coding units having different sizes, a mapping process for mapping
different intra prediction modes of the luminance component coding
units is required.
[0172] FIGS. 19A and 19B are a reference diagrams for explaining a
mapping process of intra prediction modes between luminance
component coding units having different sizes, according to an
exemplary embodiment.
[0173] Referring to FIG. 19A, a current luminance component coding
unit A 190 has a size of 16.times.16, a left luminance component
coding unit B 191 has a size of 8.times.8, and an upper luminance
component coding unit C 192 has a size of 4.times.4. Also, as
described with reference to FIG. 13, numbers of intra prediction
modes usable in luminance component coding units respectively
having sizes of 4.times.4, 8.times.8, and 16.times.16 are
respectively 9, 9, and 33. Here, since the intra prediction modes
usable in the left luminance component coding unit B 191 and the
upper luminance component coding unit C 192 are different from the
intra prediction modes usable in the current luminance component
coding unit A 190, an intra prediction mode predicted from the left
and upper luminance component coding units B and C 191 and 192 may
not be suitable for use as a prediction value of the intra
prediction mode of the current luminance component coding unit A
190. Accordingly in the current exemplary embodiment, the intra
prediction modes of the left and upper luminance component coding
units B and C 191 and 192 are respectively changed to first and
second representative intra prediction modes in the most similar
direction from among a predetermined number of representative intra
prediction modes, and one of the first and second representative
intra prediction modes, which has a smaller mode value, is selected
as a final representative intra prediction mode. Then, an intra
prediction mode having the most similar direction as the final
representative intra prediction mode is selected from among the
intra prediction modes usable in the current luminance component
coding unit A 190 as an intra prediction mode of the current
luminance component coding unit A 190.
[0174] Alternatively, referring to FIG. 19B, it is assumed that a
current luminance component coding unit A has a size of
16.times.16, a left luminance component coding unit B has a size of
32.times.32, and an up luminance component coding unit C has a size
of 8.times.8. Also, it is assumed that numbers of available intra
prediction modes of the luminance component coding units having the
sizes of 8.times.8, 16.times.16, and 32.times.32 are respectively
9, 9, and 33. Also, it is assumed that an intra prediction mode of
the left luminance component coding unit B is a mode 4, and an
intra prediction mode of the up luminance component coding unit C
is a mode 31. In this case, since the intra prediction modes of the
left luminance component coding unit B and the up luminance
component coding unit C are not compatible with each other, each of
the intra prediction modes of the left luminance component coding
unit B and the up luminance component coding unit C is mapped to
one of representative intra prediction modes shown in FIG. 20.
Since the mode 31 that is the intra prediction mode of the left
luminance component coding unit B has a directivity of (dx,dy)=(4,
-3) as shown in Table 1, a mode 5 having a most similar directivity
to tan.sup.-1(-3/4) from among the representative intra prediction
modes of FIG. 20 is mapped, and since the intra prediction mode
mode 4 of the up luminance component coding unit C has the same
directivity as that of the mode 4 from among the representative
intra prediction modes of FIG. 20, the mode 4 is mapped.
[0175] The mode 4 having a smaller mode value from among the mode 5
that is the mapped intra prediction mode of the left luminance
component coding unit B and the mode 4 that is the mapped intra
prediction mode of the up luminance component coding unit C may be
determined to be a prediction value of an intra prediction mode of
the current luminance component coding unit, and only a mode
difference value between an actual intra prediction mode and a
predicted intra prediction mode of the current luminance component
coding unit may be encoded as prediction mode information of the
current luminance component coding unit.
[0176] FIG. 20 is a reference diagram for explaining a process of
mapping an intra prediction mode of a neighboring luminance
component coding unit to one of representative intra prediction
modes. In FIG. 20, a vertical mode 0, a horizontal mode 1, a DC
mode 2, a diagonal-left mode 3, a diagonal-right mode 4, a
vertical-right mode 5, a horizontal-down mode 6, a vertical-left
mode 7, and a horizontal-up mode 8 are shown as representative
intra prediction modes. However, the representative intra
prediction modes are not limited thereto, and may be set to have
various directionalities.
[0177] Referring to FIG. 20, a predetermined number of
representative intra prediction modes are set, and an intra
prediction mode of a neighboring luminance component coding unit is
mapped as a representative intra prediction mode having the most
similar direction. For example, when an intra prediction mode of an
upper luminance component coding unit has a directionality
indicated by MODE_A 200, the intra prediction mode MODE_A 200 of
the upper luminance component coding unit is mapped to mode 1
having the most similar direction from among the predetermined
representative intra prediction modes 1 through 9. Similarly, when
an intra prediction mode of a left luminance component coding unit
has a directionality indicated by MODE_B 201, the intra prediction
mode MODE_B 201 of the left luminance component coding unit is
mapped to mode 5 having the most similar direction from among the
predetermined representative intra prediction modes 1 through
9.
[0178] Then, one of first and second representative intra
prediction modes having a smaller mode value is selected as a
representative intra prediction mode of a final neighboring
luminance component coding unit. A representative intra prediction
mode having a smaller mode value is elected since a smaller mode
value is generally set for intra prediction modes that occur more
frequently. In other words, when different intra prediction modes
are predicted based on the neighboring luminance component coding
units, an intra prediction mode having a smaller mode value is more
likely to occur. Accordingly, when different intra prediction modes
are competing with each other, an intra prediction mode having a
smaller mode value may be selected as a predictor or an intra
prediction mode of the current luminance component coding unit.
[0179] Even when a representative intra prediction mode is selected
based on the neighboring luminance component coding units, the
selected representative intra prediction mode may not be used as a
predictor of an intra prediction mode of a current luminance
component coding unit. If the current luminance component coding
unit A 190 has 33 intra prediction modes, and a number of
representative intra prediction modes is 9 as described with
reference to FIG. 19, an intra prediction mode of the current
luminance component coding unit A 190, which corresponds to the
representative intra prediction mode, does not exist. In this case,
like mapping an intra prediction mode of a neighboring luminance
component coding unit to a representative intra prediction mode as
described above, an intra prediction mode having the most similar
direction as a representative intra prediction mode selected from
among intra prediction modes according to a size of the current
luminance component coding unit may be finally selected as a
predictor of the intra prediction mode of the current luminance
component coding unit. For example, when a representative intra
prediction mode finally selected based on the neighboring luminance
component coding units of FIG. 20 is mode 1, an intra prediction
mode having the directionality most similar to the directionality
of mode 1 is selected from among intra prediction modes usable
according the size of the current luminance component coding unit
as a predictor of the intra prediction mode of the current
luminance component coding unit.
[0180] Meanwhile, as described with reference to FIGS. 16A through
16C, if a predictor for the current pixel P is generated by using
neighboring pixels on or close to the extended line 160, the
extended line 160 has actually a directivity of tan.sup.-1(dy/dx).
In order to calculate the directivity, since division (dy/dx) is
necessary, calculation is made down to decimal places when hardware
or software is used, thereby increasing the amount of calculation.
Accordingly, a process of setting dx and dy is used in order to
reduce the amount of calculation when a prediction direction for
selecting neighboring pixels to be used as reference pixels about a
pixel in a coding unit is set by using dx, and dy parameters in a
similar manner to that described with reference to Table 1.
[0181] FIG. 25 is a diagram for explaining a relationship between a
current pixel and neighboring pixels located on an extended line
having a directivity of (dy/dx), according to an exemplary
embodiment.
[0182] Referring to FIG. 25, it is assumed that a location of the
current pixel P is P(j,i), and an up neighboring pixel and a left
neighboring pixel B located on an extended line 2510 having a
directivity, that is, a gradient, of tan.sup.-1(dy/dx) and passing
through the current pixel P are respectively A and B. When it is
assumed that locations of up neighboring pixels correspond to an
X-axis on a coordinate plane, and locations of left neighboring
pixels correspond to a y-axis on the coordinate plate, the up
neighboring pixel A is located at (j+i*dx/dy,0), and the left
neighboring pixel B is located at (0,i+j*dy/dx). Accordingly, in
order to determine any one of the up neighboring pixel A and the
left neighboring pixel B for predicting the current pixel P,
division, such as dx/dy or dy/dx, is required. Such division is
very complex as described above, thereby reducing a calculation
speed of software or hardware.
[0183] Accordingly, a value of any one of dx and dy representing a
directivity of a prediction mode for determining neighboring pixels
may be determined to be a power of 2. That is, when n and m are
integers, dx and dy may be 2 n and 2 m, respectively.
[0184] Referring to FIG. 25, if the left neighboring pixel B is
used as a predictor for the current pixel P and dx has a value of 2
n, j*dy/dx necessary to determine (0,i+j*dy/dx) that is a location
of the left neighboring pixel B becomes (j*dy/(2 n)), and division
using such a power of 2 is easily obtained through shift operation
as (j*dy)>>n, thereby reducing the amount of calculation.
[0185] Likewise, if the up neighboring pixel A is used as a
predictor for the current pixel P and dy has a value of 2 m,
i*dx/dy necessary to determine (j+i*dx/dy,0) that is a location of
the up neighboring pixel A becomes (i*dx)/(2 m), and division using
such a power of 2 is easily obtained through shift operation as
(i*dx)>>m.
[0186] FIG. 26 is a diagram for explaining a change in a
neighboring pixel located on an extended line having a directivity
of (dx,dy) according to a location of a current pixel, according to
an exemplary embodiment.
[0187] As a neighboring pixel necessary for prediction according to
a location of a current pixel, any one of an up neighboring pixel
and a left neighboring pixel is selected.
[0188] Referring to FIG. 26, when a current pixel 2610 is P(j,i)
and is predicted by using a neighboring pixel located in a
prediction direction, an up pixel A is used to predict the current
pixel P 2610. When the current pixel 2610 is Q(b,a), a left pixel B
is used to predict the current pixel Q 2620.
[0189] If only a dy component of a y-axis direction from among (dx,
dy) representing a prediction direction has a power of 2 like 2 m,
while the up pixel A in FIG. 26 may be determined through shift
operation without division such as (j+(i*dx)>>m, 0), the left
pixel B requires division such as (0, a+b*2 m/dx). Accordingly, in
order to exclude division when a predictor is generated for all
pixels of a current block, all of dx and dy may have a type of
power of 2.
[0190] FIGS. 27 and 28 are diagrams for explaining a method of
determining an intra prediction mode direction, according to
exemplary embodiments.
[0191] In general, there are many cases where linear patterns shown
in an image or a video signal are vertical or horizontal.
Accordingly, when intra prediction modes having various
directivities are defined by using parameters dx and dy, image
coding efficiency may be improved by defining values dx and dy as
follows.
[0192] In detail, if dy has a fixed value of 2 m, an absolute value
of dx may be set so that a distance between prediction directions
close to a vertical direction is narrow, and a distance between
prediction modes closer to a horizontal direction is wider. For
example, referring to FIG. 27, if dy has a value of 2 4, that is,
16, a value of dx may be set to be 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 16, 0, -1,
-2, -3, -4, -6, -9, -12, and -16 so that a distance between
prediction directions close to a vertical direction is narrow and a
distance between prediction modes closer to a horizontal direction
is wider.
[0193] Likewise, if dx has a fixed value of 2 n, an absolute value
of dy may be set so that a distance between prediction directions
close to a horizontal direction is narrow and a distance between
prediction modes closer to a vertical direction is wider. For
example, referring to FIG. 28, if dx has a value of 2 4, that is,
16, a value of dy may be set to be 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 16, 0, -1,
-2, -3, -4, -6, -9, -12, and -16 so that a distance between
prediction directions close to a horizontal direction is narrow and
a distance between prediction modes closer to a vertical direction
is wider.
[0194] Also, when one of values of dx and dy is fixed, the
remaining value may be set to be increased according to a
prediction mode. For example, if dy is fixed, a distance between dx
may be set to be increased by a predetermined value. Also, an angle
of a horizontal direction and a vertical direction may be divided
in predetermined units, and such an increased amount may be set in
each of the divided angles. For example, if dy is fixed, a value of
dx may be set to have an increased amount of a in a section less
than 15 degrees, an increased amount of b in a section between 15
degrees and 30 degrees, and an increased width of c in a section
greater than 30 degrees. In this case, in order to have such a
shape as shown in FIG. 25, the value of dx may be set to satisfy a
relationship of a<b<c.
[0195] For example, prediction modes described with reference to
FIGS. 25 through 28 may be defined as a prediction mode having a
directivity of tan.sup.-1(dy/dx) by using (dx, dy) as shown in
Tables 2 through 4.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 dx Dy -32 32 -26 32 -21 32 -17 32 -13 32 -9
32 -5 32 -2 32 0 32 2 32 5 32 9 32 13 32 17 32 21 32 26 32 32 32 32
-26 32 -21 32 -17 32 -13 32 -9 32 -5 32 -2 32 0 32 2 32 5 32 9 32
13 32 17 32 21 32 26 32 32
TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 dx Dy -32 32 -25 32 9 32 -14 32 -10 32 -6 32
-3 32 -1 32 0 32 1 32 3 32 6 32 10 32 14 32 19 32 25 32 32 32 32
-25 32 -19 32 -14 32 -10 32 -6 32 -3 32 -1 32 0 32 1 32 3 32 6 32
10 32 14 32 19 32 25 32 32
TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 dx Dy -32 32 -27 32 -23 32 -19 32 -15 32 -11
32 -7 32 -3 32 0 32 3 32 7 32 11 32 15 32 19 32 23 32 27 32 32 32
32 -27 32 -23 32 -19 32 -15 32 -11 32 -7 32 -3 32 0 32 3 32 7 32 11
32 15 32 19 32 23 32 27 32 32
[0196] For example, referring to Table 2, a prediction mode having
a directionality of tan.sup.-1(dy/dx) by using (dx, dy) represented
as one of (-32, 32), (-26, 32), (-21, 32), (-17, 32), (-13, 32),
(-9, 32), (-5, 32), (-2, 32), (0.32), (2, 32), (5, 32), (9, 32),
(13, 32), (17, 32), (21, 32), (26, 32), (32, 32), (32, -26), (32,
-21), (32, -17), (32, -13), (32, -9), (32, -5), (32, -2), (32, 0),
(32, 2), (32, 5), (32, 9), (32, 13), (32, 17), (32, 21), (32, 26)
and (32, 32).
[0197] FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining candidate intra
prediction modes applied to a chrominance component coding unit,
according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0198] Referring to FIG. 21, candidate intra prediction modes
applied while intra predicting a chrominance component coding unit
include a vertical mode, a horizontal mode, a DC mode, a plane
mode, and an intra prediction mode finally determined for a
luminance component coding unit corresponding to a current
chrominance component coding unit as described above. Also, as
described above, a luminance component coding unit and a
chrominance component coding unit, which are intra predicted, may
be one of image signals having color formats of 4:2:0, 4:2:2, and
4:4:4 defined in a YCbCr (or YUV) color domain. An intra prediction
mode having a minimum cost from among a plurality of usable intra
prediction modes is selected as an intra prediction mode of the
luminance component coding unit, based on cost calculation, such as
a R-D cost. Costs of the candidate intra prediction modes are each
calculated, and a candidate intra prediction mode having a minimum
cost is selected as a final intra prediction mode of the
chrominance component coding unit.
[0199] FIG. 22 is a block diagram of an intra prediction apparatus
2200 of an image, according to an exemplary embodiment. The intra
prediction apparatus 2200 according to the current embodiment of
the present invention may operate as an intra predictor 410 of the
image encoder 400 of FIG. 4, and the intra predictor 550 of the
image decoder 500 of FIG. 5.
[0200] Referring to FIG. 22, the intra prediction apparatus 2200
includes a luminance intra predictor 2210 and a chrominance intra
predictor 2220. As described above, the luminance intra predictor
2210 selects candidate intra prediction modes to be applied
according to a size of a current luminance component coding unit,
based on a size of each luminance component coding unit split
according to a maximum coding unit and a maximum depth, and applies
the determined candidate intra prediction modes to the current
luminance component coding unit to perform intra prediction on the
current luminance component coding unit. The luminance intra
predictor 2210 determines an optimum intra prediction mode having a
minimum cost as a final intra prediction mode of the current
luminance component coding unit based on costs according to an
error value between a prediction coding unit generated via intra
prediction, and an original luminance component coding unit.
[0201] The chrominance intra predictor 2220 calculates costs
according to a vertical mode, a horizontal mode, a DC mode, a plane
mode, and the final intra prediction mode of the luminance
component coding unit corresponding to a current chrominance
component coding unit, and determines an intra prediction mode
having a minimum cost as a final intra prediction mode of the
current chrominance component coding unit.
[0202] Meanwhile, when the intra prediction apparatus 2200 of FIG.
22 is applied to a decoding apparatus, sizes of current luminance
and chrominance component decoding units are determined by using a
maximum coding unit and depth information constituting hierarchical
split information of the maximum coding unit, which are extracted
from a bitstream by using the entropy decoder 520 of FIG. 5, and an
intra prediction mode to be performed is determined by using
information about an intra prediction mode information applied to
the current luminance and chrominance component decoding units.
Also, the intra prediction apparatus 2200 generates a prediction
decoding unit by performing intra prediction on each luminance and
chrominance component decoding units according to the extracted
intra prediction mode. The prediction decoding unit is added to
residual data restored from a bitstream, and thus the current
luminance and chrominance component decoding units are decoded.
[0203] FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a method of determining
an intra prediction mode of a coding unit, according to an
exemplary embodiment.
[0204] Referring to FIG. 23, a current picture of a luminance
component is split into at least one luminance component coding
unit based on a maximum coding unit and a depth constituting
hierarchical split information of the maximum coding unit, in
operation 2310.
[0205] In operation 2320, an intra prediction mode of the luminance
component coding unit is determined. As described above, the intra
prediction mode of the luminance component coding unit is
determined by selecting candidate intra prediction modes to be
applied based on a size of the luminance component coding unit,
performing intra prediction on the luminance component coding unit
by applying the candidate intra prediction modes on the luminance
component coding unit, and then determining an optimum intra
prediction mode having a minimum cost as the intra prediction mode
of the luminance component coding unit.
[0206] In operation 2330, candidate intra prediction modes of a
chrominance component coding unit, which include the determined
intra prediction mode of the luminance component coding unit, are
determined. As described above, the candidate intra prediction
modes applied to the chrominance component coding unit include,
aside from the determined intra prediction mode of the luminance
component coding unit, a vertical mode, a horizontal mode, a DC
mode, and a plane mode.
[0207] In operation 2340, costs of the chrominance component coding
unit according to the determined candidate intra prediction modes
are compared to determine an intra prediction mode having a minimum
cost.
[0208] FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating a method of determining
an intra prediction mode of a decoding unit, according to an
exemplary embodiment.
[0209] Referring to FIG. 24, a maximum coding unit and a depth
constituting hierarchical spilt information of the maximum coding
unit are extracted from a bitstream, in operation 2410.
[0210] In operation 2420, a current picture to be decoded is split
into a luminance component decoding unit and a chrominance
component decoding unit, based on the extracted maximum coding unit
and depth.
[0211] In operation 2430, information about intra prediction modes
applied to the luminance and chrominance component decoding units
is extracted from the bitstream.
[0212] In operation 2440, intra prediction is performed on the
luminance and chrominance component decoding units according to the
extracted intra prediction modes, thereby decoding the luminance
and chrominance component decoding units.
[0213] According to the exemplary embodiments, by adding the intra
prediction mode of the luminance component coding unit having
various directionality as the intra prediction mode of the
chrominance component coding unit, the prediction efficiency of an
image of a chrominance component, and the prediction efficiency of
an entire image can be increased without having to increase a
throughput.
[0214] The exemplary embodiments may be embodied as computer
programs and can be implemented in general-use digital computers
that execute the programs by using a computer readable recording
medium. Examples of the computer readable recording medium include
magnetic storage media (e.g., ROM, floppy disks, hard disks, etc.),
optical recording media (e.g., CD-ROMs, or DVDs), and storage
media.
[0215] The apparatuses of the exemplary embodiments may include a
bus coupled to every unit of the apparatus or coder, at least one
processor that is connected to the bus, the processor for executing
commands, and a memory connected to the bus to store the commands,
received messages, and generated messages.
[0216] While this invention has been particularly shown and
described with reference to the exemplary embodiments, it will be
understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various
changes in form and details may be made therein without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the
appended claims. The exemplary embodiments should be considered in
a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined not by the
detailed description of the invention but by the appended claims,
and all differences within the scope will be construed as being
included in the present invention.
* * * * *