A Fast Adaptive Motion Estimation Algorithm

UMHexagonS is a fast integer-pixel motion estimation algorithm adopted in H.264/AVC reference software, while in the real time applications, it still has many shortcomings, such as excessive search points and slow search speed. So, further improvement and optimization are needed for this algorithm. In this paper, a fast adaptive motion estimation algorithm is proposed based on the analysis of UMHexagonS algorithm. Many new technologies are applied in the novel algorithm, such as the dynamic search window, motion type adaptive search strategies, directional cross-shaped search, adaptive rectangle-diamond search, adaptive multi-levels octagon regional search and adaptive hexagon search. Experimental results show that the novel algorithm can reduce 10%-30% time of motion estimation while keeping the video quality almost unchanged. In addition, both the scene-adaptive ability and real-time performance are strongly strengthened.