Further directional search on integer-pixel variable block size motion estimation for H.264/AVC

Many fast motion estimation algorithms have been proposed in order to facilitate the real-time application of H.264 standard. Due to the need of developing the High Performance Video Codec (HVC), this is the time for us to review the best available fast group of algorithms and add novelty into it to make the deployment for future standards, such as the H.265. In this paper, we propose a scheme-based motion estimation algorithm which is able to describe the characteristic of block motion activities through the information of motion vector prediction from the previous frame. With the aid of this information, different search strategies can be carried out. Also, this algorithm is able to skip and save unnecessary motion search of small block types. Experimental results shows that the proposed algorithm is able to speed up the motion estimation time for almost 1.8 times compared to EPZS, but with a similar RD performance.