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Mixed architectures for H.264/AVC digital video transrating

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Abstract

In this paper, we investigate transrating architectures for H.264/AVC video streams. Basic architectures are presented with their strengths and weaknesses. None of the existing architectures provide an appropriate solution for H.264/AVC transrating with an optimal balance between visual quality and complexity. In order to find such an appropriate solution, we propose the use of mixed transrating architectures. These architectures combine different transrating techniques which are applied depending on the picture/macroblock type. The intra-predicted pictures are decoded and re-encoded, while open-loop transrating or transrating with compensation is applied to motion-compensated pictures. Performance results show that the mixed architecture which applies spatial compensation to motion-compensated pictures gives rate-distortion results which approach the cascade of decoder and re-encoder with a complexity only slightly higher than the open-loop transrater. Adding temporal compensation for motion-compensated pictures further improves the visual quality, albeit to a lower extent, at the expense of increased complexity.

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Acknowledgements

The research activities that have been described in this paper were funded by Ghent University, the Interdisciplinary Institute for Broadband Technology (IBBT), the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT-Flanders), the Fund for Scientific Research-Flanders (FWO-Flanders), and the European Union.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Multimedia Lab, IBBT, Ghent University, Gaston Crommenlaan 8 bus 201, 9050, Ledeberg-Ghent, Belgium

    Stijn Notebaert, Jan De Cock & Rik Van de Walle

  2. Service Provider Video Technology Group, Cisco, Luipaardstraat 12, 8500, Kortrijk, Belgium

    Samie Beheydt & Jan De Lameillieure

Authors
  1. Stijn Notebaert
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  2. Jan De Cock
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  3. Samie Beheydt
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  4. Jan De Lameillieure
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  5. Rik Van de Walle
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Correspondence to Stijn Notebaert.

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Notebaert, S., De Cock, J., Beheydt, S. et al. Mixed architectures for H.264/AVC digital video transrating. Multimed Tools Appl 44, 39–64 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-009-0273-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-009-0273-0

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