Scalable video coding with large block for UHD video

Ultra-high definition (UHD) which has 4 to 16 times as many pixels as existing high definition (HD) is expected as a next generation video format. To deliver UHD and HD videos simultaneously in the communications-broadcasting convergence environment, scalable video coding (SVC) is a highly attractive solution. We propose an improved scalable video coding method to achieve high coding efficiency particularly for UHD and HD videos. The basic idea is to allow large block size beyond the block size of 16×16 pixels in H.264/AVC SVC, which results in more efficient inter-layer prediction and syntax elements coding. The experimental results show that it achieves an average 5.34% reduction in BD-rate relative to H.264/AVC SVC.