An 8K-UHD capable 8-stage pipeline deblocking filter for H.264/AVC

A new pipeline architecture for H.264/AVC deblocking filter is proposed. A high-throughput implementation is derived by exploiting specific properties of the algorithm. The proposed filter engine needs 108 cycles to filter a macroblock (MB), while in 90nm technology the achieved frequency and the demanded area are 750MHz and 26.1 Kgates, respectively. The proposed architecture outperforms the existing ones in terms of operating frequency (x3 up to x3.75), throughput (x1.3 up to x4.7), and Fps keeping the area in similar level. Moreover, the introduced architecture is the only one that meets the requirement of 50 Fps for 8K-Ultra-HD (7680×4320) frames.