Power reduction in an H.264 encoder through algorithmic and logic transformations

Abstract

The H.264 video coding standard can achieve considerably higher coding efficiency than previous video coding standards. The keys to this high coding efficiency are the two prediction modes (Intra & Inter) provided by H.264. Unfortunately, these result in a considerably higher encoder complexity that adversely affects speed and power, which are both significant for the mobile multimedia applications targeted by the standard. Therefore, it is of high importance to design architectures that minimize the speed and power overhead of the prediction modes. In this paper we present a new algorithm, and the logic transformations that enable it, that can replace the standard Sum of Absolute Differences (SAD) approach in the two main prediction modes, and provide a power efficient hardware implementation without perceivable degradation in coding efficiency or video quality. Copyright 2006 ACM.