Improving Wyner-Ziv video coding by block-based distortion estimation

Conventional video coding uses motion estimation to perform adaptive linear predictive encoding. Wyner-Ziv coding does not use predictive coding but performs motion estimation at the decoder. Recent work uses a difference signal at the encoder to estimate the prediction quality at the decoder. In this paper, we recognise that this operation constitutes a step in the motion estimation process. We exploit this information by omitting suitable blocks, effectively implementing linear predictive coding with deadzone quantisation for parts of the input signal. This modified Wyner-Ziv coding results in large bitrate reductions as well as significant decoding complexity decrease. At certain bitrates, our modified Wyner-Ziv codec outperforms conventional hybrid coding in an I-B-I-B setup.