Interpolation-driven B-frame Video Compression: Efficient and Effective Video Coding Approach

Core Concepts

IBVC proposes an efficient video compression approach by combining video frame interpolation and artifact reduction, achieving superior performance compared to state-of-the-art methods.

Abstract

Interpolation-driven B-frame Video Compression (IBVC) introduces a novel approach that combines video frame interpolation and artifact reduction to enhance B-frame coding efficiency. By avoiding redundant motion estimation and compensation, IBVC significantly reduces computational costs while maintaining high-quality reconstruction. The proposed codec focuses on reducing compression artifacts and leveraging spatio-temporal dependencies for improved performance. Experimental results demonstrate that IBVC outperforms existing methods in terms of compression efficiency and bit-rate savings.

Stats

Our approach can save bit rates compared with the random access (RA) configuration of H.266 (VTM).
IBVC achieves exceptional reconstruction efficiency compared to state-of-the-art methods.
Model parameters for IBVC are 11.6M on B-frame coding.
Coding time for IBVC is 832ms per frame.

Quotes

Key Insights Distilled From

IBVC

by Chenming Xu,... at arxiv.org 03-15-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2309.13835.pdf

Deeper Inquiries

How does the use of artifact reduction codecs impact overall video quality?

The use of artifact reduction codecs plays a crucial role in enhancing the overall video quality by effectively reducing compression artifacts. These codecs focus on capturing differential spatio-temporal features between interpolated frames and input frames to compensate for MEMC errors precisely. By selectively learning informative features and marking key contextual regions, artifact reduction codecs help in transmitting only the necessary information related to artifacts without introducing additional bit-rate consumption. This targeted approach results in clearer structures, fewer distortions, and improved visual quality in reconstructed frames.

What potential challenges could arise from implementing the proposed hierarchical B-frame quality structure?

Implementing the proposed hierarchical B-frame quality structure may pose certain challenges that need to be addressed. One potential challenge is ensuring temporal consistency across consecutive B-frames when varying the number of B-frames between two reference frames. As the distance between reference frames increases with more consecutive B-frames, maintaining alignment and coherence can become more complex. Additionally, managing different levels of hierarchy within reference units while optimizing performance and efficiency requires careful consideration to avoid degradation in video quality or computational overhead.

How might incorporating bi-directional entropy coding strategies further enhance the efficiency of IBVC?

Incorporating bi-directional entropy coding strategies can further enhance the efficiency of IBVC by improving probability distribution estimation for intermediate frames. By leveraging bi-directional inter-frame prediction techniques, such as considering both past and future contexts simultaneously during encoding, IBVC can achieve better compression ratios with reduced redundancy. Bi-directional entropy coding allows for a more accurate representation of data dependencies across multiple frames, leading to optimized bit allocation and improved compression performance in terms of both visual quality and computational complexity.