The intra prediction in H.264/AVC is a type of spatial domain directional prediction, which means different intra prediction modes represent different prediction directions, such as horizontal, vertical, and diagonal. An intra-coded MB can be partitioned into 4×4, 8×8, or 16×16 intra prediction blocks. The 4×4 and 8×8 intra prediction blocks have nine prediction directions, respectively, and the 16×16 block has four. Hence, totally 22 (9+9+4) intra prediction modes are used in H.264/AVC. The residue usually has high energy along the direction of prediction, as edges are more difficult to be predicted than smooth areas.

Mode-dependent directional transform (MDDT) was proposed to compact the residue produced by intra prediction. It consists of a series of pre-defined separable transforms; each transform is efficient in compacting energy along one of the prediction directions, thus favoring one of the intra modes. The type of MDDT is coupled with the selected[......]

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Permanent Link: Mode-Dependent Directional Transform (MDDT) in JM/KTA

In the Geneva meeting held in Feb. 2009, a proposal with the title “Video Coding Using Extended Block Sizes” was adopted by KTA, where the MB size is extended up to 64×64 and the motion partitions are scaled accordingly. At the same time, a 2D order-16 transform was also proposed for transforming the residual blocks with the size larger than or equal to 16×16. The transformation matrix of the proposed 2D order-16 transform is given as below, which is obtained by scaling the transformation matrix of 2D order-16 DCT by the factor 128 and rounding, and is non-orthogonal.

  Non-orthogonality will inevitably introduce transform error. Before analyzing the transform error quantitatively, let’s recall two properties of orthogonal transforms. Firstly, signals can be reconstructed perfectly if no quantization is performed in the transform domain. Secondly, if quantization is performed in the transform domain, the average variance (or energy) of the reconstruction er[......]

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Permanent Link: Transform Error Introduced by Non-orthogonality