Sample edge offset compensation for HEVC based 3D Video Coding

In this paper, an in-loop sample edge offset compensation (SEOC) framework is proposed for High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) based 3D video (3D-HEVC) coding. The framework targets at improving the reconstruction quality of the depth images, especially in edge areas. In a typical 3DV system, depth images are used for synthesizing the virtual views, therefore preserving high quality depth images, especially the edge information is important. However, the ringing artifacts may be introduced at the depth edge areas due to the compression distortion of the depth images. The SEOC framework resolves this problem, after reconstruction, by identifying each edge pixel and enhancing it of the full depth image with values coded in the bitstream. Experimental results demonstrate that, compared with the original 3D-HEVC, the proposed algorithm can achieve about 6% bitrate saving on average.