Tang, Kai Lam. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgement --- p.i / Abstract --- p.ii / Contents --- p.iv / Publication List --- p.vii / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1-1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Video Coding --- p.1-1 / Chapter 1.1.1 --- Temporal prediction --- p.1-5 / Chapter 1.1.2 --- Transform Coding --- p.1-9 / Chapter 1.1.3 --- Quantization --- p.1-12 / Chapter 1.1.4 --- Entropy Coding --- p.1-14 / Chapter 1.2 --- H.264/MPEG-4 Part 10 --- p.1-15 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Overview --- p.1-16 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Intra Prediction --- p.1-19 / Chapter 1.2.3 --- Inter Prediction --- p.1-20 / Chapter 1.2.4 --- Transform and Quantization --- p.1-23 / Chapter 1.2.5 --- Entropy Coding --- p.1-25 / Chapter 1.2.6 --- Deblocking Filter --- p.1-29 / Chapter 1.3 --- Organization of the Thesis --- p.1-32 / Chapter 1.3.1 --- Review of Motion Estimation Techniques --- p.1-32 / Chapter 1.3.2 --- The Proposed Algorithms --- p.1-33 / Chapter 1.3.3 --- Optimization of the Codec --- p.1-34 / Chapter 1.4 --- Contributions --- p.1-35 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Review of Motion Estimation Techniques --- p.2-1 / Chapter 2.1 --- Fast Full Search --- p.2-2 / Chapter 2.2 --- Hybrid Unsymmetrical-cross Multi-Hexagon-grid Search --- p.2-4 / Chapter 2.3 --- Center biased Fractional Pel Search --- p.2-6 / Chapter 2.4 --- Enhanced Predictive Zonal Search --- p.2-7 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Enhancement Techniques for Intra Block Matching --- p.3-1 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.3-1 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- Fundamental Principles --- p.3-1 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- Variable Block Size Intra Block Matching --- p.3-3 / Chapter 3.2 --- Proposed Techniques --- p.3-5 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Padding --- p.3-5 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Modes --- p.3-9 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Performance Enhancement Tools --- p.3-12 / Chapter 3.2.3.1 --- Multiple Best Matches --- p.3-12 / Chapter 3.2.3.2 --- Adaptive Integer and Sub-pixel Intra Block Matching --- p.3-13 / Chapter 3.2.4 --- Pseudo Intra Block Matching --- p.3-14 / Chapter 3.3 --- Proposed Fast Algorithms --- p.3-16 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Fast Intra Block Matching Decision --- p.3-16 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Skipping some Intra Block Matching Processes --- p.3-18 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Early Termination --- p.3-19 / Chapter 3.3.4 --- SAD Reuse Techniques --- p.3-21 / Chapter 3.4 --- Experimental Results --- p.3-22 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Enhanced SAD Reuse Fast Motion Estimation --- p.4-1 / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.4-1 / Chapter 4.2 --- Proposed Fast Motion Estimation Algorithm --- p.4-3 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Best Initial Motion Vector --- p.4-3 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Initial Search Pattern --- p.4-4 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Initial Search Process and Search Pattern Improvement Process --- p.4-7 / Chapter 4.2.3.1 --- BISPCSP Motion Estimation or Refinement Process Decision --- p.4-8 / Chapter 4.2.3.2 --- ISP Motion Estimation or Refinement Process Decision --- p.4-9 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- Motion Estimation Process and Refinement Process --- p.4-9 / Chapter 4.2.4.1 --- Motion Estimation Process --- p.4-9 / Chapter 4.2.4.2 --- Refinement Process --- p.4-11 / Chapter 4.2.5 --- Motion Estimation Skip Process for B Pictures --- p.4-12 / Chapter 4.3 --- Experimental Results --- p.4-13 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Development of Real-Time H.264 Codec on Pocket PC --- p.5-1 / Chapter 5.1 --- Algorithmic Optimizations --- p.5-2 / Chapter 5.1.1 --- Fast Sub-Pixel Motion Estimation --- p.5-2 / Chapter 5.1.2 --- Interpolation --- p.5-5 / Chapter 5.1.2.1 --- Revision of Luma Interpolation --- p.5-5 / Chapter 5.1.2.2 --- Fast Interpolation --- p.5-8 / Chapter 5.1.3 --- Skipping Inverse ICT and Inverse Quantization Depends on Coded Block Pattern --- p.5-10 / Chapter 5. 2 --- Code Level Optimizations --- p.5-12 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Merging Loops --- p.5-12 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Moving Independent Code outside the Loop --- p.5-13 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- Unrolling Loops --- p.5-14 / Chapter 5.3 --- Experimental Results --- p.5-16 / Chapter 5.4 --- Applications --- p.5-26 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Conclusions and Future Development --- p.6-1 / Chapter 6.1 --- Conclusions --- p.6-1 / Chapter 6.1.1 --- Enhancement Techniques for Intra Block Matching --- p.6-1 / Chapter 6.1.2 --- Enhanced SAD Reuse Fast Motion Estimation --- p.6-1 / Chapter 6.1.3 --- Development of Real-Time H.264 Codec on Pocket PC --- p.6-2 / Chapter 6.2 --- Future Development --- p.6-3 / Bibliography --- p.I

Besides ABT with higher order transform, a transform based template matching is also investigated. A fast method of template matching, called Fast Walsh Search, is developed. This search method has similar accuracy as exhaustive search but significantly lower computation requirement. / In this thesis, the development of simple but efficient order-16 transforms will be shown. Analysis and comparison with existing order-16 transforms have been carried out. The proposed order-16 transforms were integrated to the existing coding standard reference software individually so as to achieve a new ABT system. In the proposed ABT system, order-4, order-8 and order-16 transforms coexist. The selection of the most appropriate transform is based on the rate-distortion performance of these transforms. A remarkable improvement in coding performance is shown in the experiment results. A significant bit rate reduction can be achieved with our proposed ABT system with both subjective and objective qualities remain unchanged. / Prior knowledge of the coefficient distribution is a key to achieve better coding performance. This is very useful in many areas in coding such as rate control, rate distortion optimization, etc. It is also shown that coefficient distribution of predicted residue is closer to Cauchy distribution rather than traditionally expected Laplace distribution. This can effectively improve the existing processing techniques. / Three kinds of order-l 6 orthogonal DCT-like integer transforms are proposed in this thesis. The first one is the simple integer transform, which is expanded from existing order-8 ICT. The second one is the hybrid integer transform from the Dyadic Weighted Walsh Transform (DWWT). It is shown that it has a better performance than simple integer transform. The last one is a recursive transform. Order-2N transform can be derived from order-N one. It is very close to the DCT. This recursive transform can be implemented in two different ways and they are denoted as LLMICT and CSFICT. They have excellent coding performance. These proposed transforms are investigated and are implemented into the reference software of H.264 and AVS. They are also compared with other order-16 orthogonal integer transform. Experimental results show that the proposed transforms give excellent coding performance and ease to compute. / Transform is a very important coding tool in video coding. It decorrelates the pixel data and removes the redundancy among pixels so as to achieve compression. Traditionally, order-S transform is used in video and image coding. Latest video coding standards, such as H.264/AVC, adopt both order-4 and order-8 transforms. The adaptive use of more than one transforms of different sizes is known as Arbitrary Block-size Transform (ABT). Transforms other than order-4 and order-8 can also be used in ABT. It is expected larger transform size such as order-16 will benefit more in video sequences with higher resolutions such as nap and 1a8ap sequences. As a result, order-16 transform is introduced into ABT system. / Fong, Chi Keung. / Adviser: Wai Kuen Cham. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-04, Section: B, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.

The purpose of this project was the specification, design and implementation of a prototype 2-D MPEG-4 authoring tool. A literature study was conducted of the MPEG-4 standard and multimedia authoring tools to determine the specification and design of a prototype 2- D MPEG-4 authoring tool. The specification and design was used as a basis for the implementation of a prototype 2-D MPEG-4 authoring tool that complies with the Complete 2-D Scene Graph Profile. The need for research into MPEG-4 authoring tools arose from the reported lack of knowledge of the MPEG-4 standard and the limited implementations of MPEG-4 authoring tools available to content authors. In order for MPEG-4 to reach its full potential, it will require authoring tools and content players that satisfy the needs of its users. The theoretical component of this dissertation included a literature study of the MPEG-4 standard and an investigation of relevant multimedia authoring systems. MPEG-4 was introduced as a standard that allows for the creation and streaming of interactive multimedia content at variable bit rates over high and low bandwidth connections. The requirements for the prototype 2-D MPEG-4 authoring system were documented and a prototype system satisfying the requirements was designed, implemented and evaluated. The evaluation of the prototype system showed that the system successfully satisfied all its requirements and that it provides the user with an easy to use and intuitive authoring tool. MPEG-4 has the potential to satisfy the increasing demand for innovative multimedia content on low bandwidth networks, including the Internet and mobile networks, as well as the need expressed by users to interact with multimedia content. This dissertation makes an important contribution to the understanding of the MPEG-4 standard, its functionality and the design of a 2-D MPEG-4 Authoring tool. Keywords: MPEG-4; MPEG-4 authoring; Binary Format for Scenes.

The first part of this thesis studies advanced wavelet transform techniques for scalable still image object coding. In order to adapt to the content of a given signal and obtain more flexible adaptive representation, two advanced wavelet transform techniques, wavelet packet transform and directional wavelet transform, are developed for object-based image coding. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the new wavelet image coding systems perform comparable to or better than state-of-the-art in image compression while possessing some attractive features such as object-based coding functionality and high coding scalability. / The objective of this thesis is to develop an object-based coding framework built upon a family of wavelet coding techniques for a variety of arbitrarily shaped visual object scalable coding applications. Two kinds of arbitrarily shaped visual object scalable coding techniques are investigated in this thesis. One is object-based scalable wavelet still image coding; another is object-based scalable wavelet video coding. / The second part of this thesis investigates various components of object-based scalable wavelet video coding. A generalized 3-D object-based directional threading, which unifies the concepts of temporal motion threading and spatial directional threading, is seamlessly incorporated into 3-D shape-adaptive directional wavelet transform to exploit the spatio-temporal correlation inside the 3-D video object. To improve the computational efficiency of multi-resolution motion estimation (MRME) in shift-invariant wavelet domain, two fast MRME algorithms are proposed for wavelet-based scalable video coding. As demonstrated in the experiments, the proposed 3-D object-based wavelet video coding techniques consistently outperform MPEG-4 and other wavelet-based schemes for coding arbitrarily shaped video object, while providing full spatio-temporal-quality scalability with non-redundant 3-D subband decomposition. / Liu, Yu. / Adviser: King Ngi Ngan. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: B, page: 3693. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 166-173). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

As video applications become more diverse, video must be adapted in different ways to meet the requirements of different applications when there are insufficient resources. In this dissertation, we address two sorts of requirements that cannot be addressed by existing video adaptation technologies: (i) accommodating large variations in resolution and (ii) collecting video effectively in a multi-hop sensor network. In addition, we also address requirements for implementing video adaptation in a sensor network. Accommodating large variation in resolution is required by the existence of display devices with widely disparate screen sizes. Existing resolution adaptation technologies usually aim at adapting video between two resolutions. We examine the limitations of these technologies that prevent them from supporting a large number of resolutions efficiently. We propose several hybrid schemes and study their performance. Among these hybrid schemes, Bonneville, a framework that combines multiple encodings with limited scalability, can make good trade-offs when organizing compressed video to support a wide range of resolutions. Video collection in a sensor network requires adapting video in a multi-hop storeand- forward network and with multiple video sources. This task cannot be supported effectively by existing adaptation technologies, which are designed for real-time streaming applications from a single source over IP-style end-to-end connections. We propose to adapt video in the network instead of at the network edge. We also propose a framework, Steens, to compose adaptation mechanisms on multiple nodes. We design two signaling protocols in Steens to coordinate multiple nodes. Our simulations show that in-network adaptation can use buffer space on intermediate nodes for adaptation and achieve better video quality than conventional network-edge adaptation. Our simulations also show that explicit collaboration among multiple nodes through signaling can improve video quality, waste less bandwidth, and maintain bandwidth-sharing fairness. The implementation of video adaptation in a sensor network requires system support for programmability, retaskability, and high performance. We propose Cascades, a component-based framework, to provide the required support. A prototype implementation of Steens in this framework shows that the performance overhead is less than 5% compared to a hard-coded C implementation.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Surveillance videos are recorded continually and the retrieval of such videos currently still relies on human operators. Automatic retrieval has not reached a satisfactory accuracy. As an intermediate representation, this work develops multiple original temporal profiles of video to convey accurate temporal information in the video while keeping certain spatial characteristics. These are effective methods to visualizes surveillance video contents efficiently in a 2D temporal image, suitable for indexing and retrieving a large video database. We are aiming to provide a compact index that is intuitive and preserves most of the information in the video in order to avoid browsing extensive video clips frame by frame. By considering some of the properties of static surveillance videos, we aim at accentuating the temporal dimension in our visualization. We have introduced our framework as three unique methods that visualize different aspects of a surveillance video, plus an extension to non-static surveillance videos. In our first method "Localized Temporal Profile", by knowing that most surveillance videos are monitoring specific locations, we try to emphasize the other dimension, time, in our solution. we focus on describing all the events only in critical locations of the video. In our next method "Multi-Position Temporal Profile", we generate an all-inclusive profile that covers all the events in the video field of view. In our last method "Motion Temporal Profile" we perform in-depth analysis of scene motion and try to handle targets with non-uniform, non-translational motion in our temporal profile. We then further extend our framework by loosening the constraint that the video is static and including cameras with smooth panning motion as such videos are widely used in practice. By performing motion analysis on the camera, we stabilize the camera to create a panorama-like effect for the video, allowing us to utilize all of the aforementioned methods. The resulting profiles allows temporal indexing to each video frame, and contains all spatial information in a continuous manner. It also shows the actions and progress of events in the temporal profile. Flexible browsing and effective manipulation of videos can be achieved using the resulting video profiles.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / HEVC has achieved significant coding efficiency improvement beyond existing video coding standard by employing many new coding tools. Deblocking Filter, Sample Adaptive Offset and Adaptive Loop Filter for in-loop filtering are currently introduced for the HEVC standardization. However these filters are implemented in spatial domain despite the fact of temporal correlation within video sequences. To reduce the artifacts and better align object boundaries in video , a new algorithm in in-loop filtering is proposed. The proposed algorithm is implemented in HM-11.0 software. This proposed algorithm allows an average bitrate reduction of about 0.7% and improves the PSNR of the decoded frame by 0.05%, 0.30% and 0.35% in luminance and chroma.