Intra mode selection for depth map coding to minimize rendering distortions in 3D video

Depth image based rendering (DIBR) is a technique that generates virtual views for multiview video applications from 3D video represented in color plus depth format. The depth map is not viewed by end users. However, it helps to generate different views as required by the application. Therefore, the depth maps need to be compressed in a way that it minimizes distortions in the rendered views. By doing so, it would be possible to generate high quality virtual views, using compressed depth maps. This paper presents two mode selection techniques based on genetic algorithms for encoding depth maps. In the proposed techniques, the encoding modes are decided so that the distortion in the rendered views is minimized. Simulation results illustrate that proposed techniques improve the objective quality of the rendered virtual views by up to 2 dB over the Lagrange Optimization based mode selection technique that considers the distortions only in the depth map.