Screen Content Coding Based on HEVC Framework

Screen content like cartoons, captures of typical computer screens or video with text overlay or news ticker is an important category of video, which needs new techniques beyond the existing video coding techniques. In this paper, we analyze the characteristics of screen content and coding efficiency of HEVC on screen content. We propose a new coding scheme, which adopts a non-transform representation, separating screen content into color component and structure component. Based on the proposed representation, two coding modes are designed for screen content to exploit the directional correlation and non-translational changes in screen video sequences. The proposed scheme is then seamlessly incorporated into the HEVC structure and implemented into HEVC range extension reference software HM9.0. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme achieves up to 52.6% bitrate saving compared with HM9.0. On average, 35.1%, 29.2% and 23.6% bitrate saving are achieved with intra, random-access and low-delay configurations, respectively. The visual quality of the decoded video sequences is also significantly improved by reducing ringing artifacts around sharp edges and reserving the shape of text without blur.