Efficient intra-mode decision algorithm skipping unnecessary depth-modelling modes in 3D-HEVC

The three-dimensional (3D) extension of the high-efficiency video coding (3D-HEVC) standard adopts new depth-modelling modes (DMMs) to provide an alternative prediction scheme for depth-map intra-coding. In 3D-HEVC, although edges in depth maps can be accurately estimated by utilising the DMMs, testing the DMMs in the mode decision introduces a huge computational load to the encoder. A fast mode decision algorithm is proposed that can significantly reduce the computational overhead incurred by the DMMs. Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm reduces the encoding complexity by 33.89% on average without any penalty in coding efficiency.