Adaptive depth search range for HEVC coding unit size selection

This paper proposes a fast coding unit depth decision algorithm for High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) by utilizing the depth information of spatio-temporal relations to determine a depth search range (DSR). We make use of the coded block flag (CBF) as well as the information of quantization parameter (QP) to ensure the coding quality. We also analyze the characteristic of Merge mode and accordingly implement the proposed algorithm. The decision criteria for early skip may vary for different depths. Simulation results demonstrate that 50.18% computational complexity can be saved with a BD-rate loss of 1.3% for HM14.0.