Fast Block-Size Selection Using Residual Texture for VC-1

The SMPTE Standard 421M, commonly known as VC-1, is a slate-of-the-art video compression format that provides highly competitive video quality, from very low through very high bit rates, at a reasonable computational complexity. VC-1 has many differences, one of which is adaptive block size transforms, from previous standards such as MPEG-2 and H.264/AVC. In this paper, we propose an algorithm that is aimed to speed up the choice of the appropriate block size in inter-frame coding. Instead of using the data from the image, we look at data after the residual texture has been calculated. The residual texture of each block is small and uniform, allowing for simplified calculations and faster block choices. Motion estimation is the first step in the process; this is followed by partitioning the residual data. Then we calculate the residual texture, and make a choice of block size using the constraints set forth. The algorithm speeds up block size selection without harming the compression ratio.