Implementation of half-pel precision motion estimator for MPEG2 MP@HL

A half-pel precision single chip motion estimator is described dedicatedly for MPEG2 MP@HL moving pictures. Adopting a two-level hierarchical searching algorithm and the maximum possible reuse mechanism of reference pixels, MP@HL motion estimation is successfully facilitated. The broadcasting type PE array is used both for integer-pel precision vector and half-pel precision vector search processes. The proposed motion estimator is integrated in a 0.6 μm triple-metal CMOS chip, which contains 1450 K transistors on a 12.7×13.7 mm² die. The input clock rate can be attained up to 133 MHz, which enables real time motion estimation for MPEG2 MP@HL