Generating H.264/AVC Compliant Bitstreams for Lightweight Decoding Operation Suitable for Mobile Multimedia Systems

In this work, we propose novel encoder algorithms for the state-of-the-art video coding standard H.264, to generate decoder friendly video bitstreams. Using the proposed algorithms, it is possible to generate bitstreams requiring significantly less decoding complexity, with negligible effect on picture quality. This is achieved by using novel algorithms for mode decision and motion estimation that bias easy-to-decode motion vectors in a rate-distortion optimized fashion. Experimental results show that, more than 15% decoding complexity reduction is achieved with less than a 0.1 dB penalty on the average video quality. We believe that this approach has potential in various use cases especially in mobile multimedia systems, where the video decoder operation is often dominating the handsets power consumption