Efficient Storage of Broadcast Video
This work introduces a video recording system that employs MPEG-2 to H.264/AVC transcoding to achieve efficient storage of broadcast streams. Novel transcoding techniques have been developed for this purpose so that efficient conversion could be achieves with minimal increase in complexity.
Background & Objective: MPEG-2 is the primary format for broadcast video, where the data rate for high-definition video is approximately 20Mbps. The latest video coding standard, referred to as H.264/AVC, is able to achieve the same quality as MPEG-2 with about half the data rate. Since the H.264/AVC format has been adopted into storage format standards, such as Blu-ray Disc, we expect H.264/AVC decoders to appear in consumer HDD systems soon. Certainly, as more high-definition content becomes available, long recording mode will be a key selling point for future HDD recorders. To satisfy this need, we are developing novel techniques that convert the MPEG-2 broadcast video to the more compact H.264/AVC format with low complexity.
Technical Discussion: In this project, we aim to transcode the incoming MPEG-2 bitstream to an H.264/AVC bitstream. The key to reducing the complexity is efficient motion re-estimation and mode decision, which would typically account for more than 80% of a full H.264/AVC encoder. Our transcoder takes incoming motion vectors and coding modes from MPEG-2 bitstream and maps them to the motion and modes of H.264/AVC using a novel distance weighted algorithm. After mode and motion mapping, a small-range motion refinement around the mapped motion vector is performed. We also include support for transcoding to half-horizontal resolution output. Extensive simulations show that the our transcoder performs very well compared to the reference (cascaded) approach with a fraction of the complexity.
Future Direction: Explore more advanced mode and motion mapping algorithms for the transcoder, and explore optimal combinations of H.264/AVC coding tools.
Contact: Anthony Vetro
Publications:
Xin, J.; Vetro, A.; Sekiguchi, S.-I.;, "A Study of MPEG-2 to H.264/AVC Transcoding with Half-Horizontal Resolution", IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics (ICCE), Session 1.4: Video Transcoding & QoS, January 2008 (ICCE 2008, TR2008-003)
Xin, J.; Li, J.; Vetro, A.; Sun, H.; Sekiguchi, S., "Motion Mapping for MPEG-2 to H.264/AVC Transcoding", Multimedia Tools and Applications, November 2007 (TR2007-004)
Xin, J.; Vetro, A.; Sun, H.; Su, Y., "Efficient MPEG-2 to H.264/AVC Transcoding of Intra Coded Video", EURASIP Journal on Applied Signal Processing, ISSN: 1110-8657, Vol. 2007, Issue 1, pp. 217, January 2007 (ACM Portal, TR2007-086)
Xin, J.; Vetro, A.; Sekiguchi, S.; Sugimoto, K., "Motion and Mode Mapping for MPEG-2 to H.264/AVC Transcoding", IEEE International Conference on Multimedia and Expo (ICME), ISBN: 1-4244-0367-7, pp. 313-316, July 2006 (IEEE Xplore, TR2006-074)
| Technical Reports: | |
| MPEG-2 to H.264/AVC Transcoding for Efficient Storage of Broadcast Video Bitstreams | |
| Efficient MPEG-2 to H.264/AVC Intra Transcoding in Transform -domain | |
| Efficient Macroblock Coding-Mode Decision for H.264/AVC Video Coding | |
| Converting DCT Coefficients to H.264/AVC | |
Technology Areas:
Multimedia
Digital Video
Modification Date: July 2, 2007
