Efficient test bitstream generation method for verification of HEVC decoders

In this paper, a method to generate test bitstreams for verification of HEVC decoders is described, in which syntax elements (SEs) are classified into two classes: high-level and low-level. To enhance the coverage of high-level SEs, their values are selected by varying the structure of the bitstream and the combination of coding tools although the values of low-level SEs are decided by a method based on the constrained-random generation. The test bitstreams for the HEVC decoders generated by the proposed method have the SE coverage of 92.6%.