Fast full search block motion estimation for H.264/AVC with multilevel successive elimination algorithm

We modify the multilevel successive elimination algorithm (MSEA) to make it compatible with the motion estimation required for the H.264/AVC video coding standard. The algorithm must be changed to support the multiple block sizes and the criterion to be minimized has to be rate-distortion-based to allow efficient encoding. We use MSEA for eliminating the smallest 4×4 -pixel blocks and either derive lower bound or exact criterion for larger blocks based on the small block bounds or criterions, correspondingly. The resulting algorithm needs 60%-70% less time than the original motion estimation in the reference encoder but it still yields a practically equivalent video quality and bit rate.