This application also claims priority to Provisional Applications : a) number 60/394,524, filed July 8,2002, entitled"Low Complexity Diagonal Mode for Intra-Prediction" ; b) number 60/414,210, filed September 27,2002, entitled"Reducing Pixel Dependencies for Intra Prediction" ; c) number 60/415, 447, filed October 1,2002, entitled"Reducing Pixel Dependencies for Intra Prediction With Varying Block Sizes".

The specifications of these applications are hereby fully incorporated by reference.

Background of the Invention Field of the Invention The invention pertains to a video system that compresses video data for transmission or storage and decompresses the video data for display. More particularly, the invention pertains to a video system and a method for intracoding video data.

Description of the Related Art Video systems transmit, process and store large quantities of video data. To create a video presentation, such as a video movie, a rendering video system displays the video data as a plurality of digital images, also referred to as"frames," thereby simulating movement. In order to achieve a video presentation with an acceptable video quality, or to enable transmission and storage at all, a conventional video system modifies the video data prior to transmission or storage. For instance, the video system compresses and encodes the video data to reduce the bit rate for storage and transmission.

In a conventional video system a video encoder is used to compress and encode the video data and a video decoder is used to decompress and to decode

the video data. The video encoder outputs video data that has a reduced bit rate and a reduced redundancy. That is, the technique of video compression removes spatial redundancy within a video frame or temporal redundancy between consecutive video frames.

The video encoder and video decoder may be configured to apply one of two types of coding to compress the video stream, namely intracoding and intercoding.

These two types of coding are based on the statistical properties of the video frames.

When the video frames are coded using intracoding, the compression is based on information contained in a single frame (the frame that is compressed) by using the spatial redundancy within the frame. Intracoding, thus, does not depend on any other frames. In contrast, intercoding uses at least one other frame as a reference and codes a difference between the frame to be compressed and the reference frame. Intercoding is thus based on a temporal redundancy between consecutive frames in the video data.

The field of video compression is subject to international standards, e. g., various International Telecommunications Union (ITU) standards that define uniform requirements for video coding and decoding. Typically, these standards evolve based on contributions from the industry. In addition, manufacturers of video coders and decoders also modify or build upon the international standards and implement additional proprietary techniques for video compression.

Despite the existence of the international standards and the proprietary techniques, there is still a need for improved techniques for video compression. For example, as the quality of a displayed video movie depends directly from the technique used for video compression, any improvement of the video compression technique makes the video movie more pleasing for the viewer.

Brief Description of the Drawings These and other aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a high-level block diagram of a system for video applications having an encoding side and a decoding side.

Figure 2 is a high-level illustration of a frame and its division in macroblocks and subblocks.

Figure 3 is a subblock illustrating the directions according to which the subblock can be encoded, wherein each direction represents one of eight prediction modes in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 4 is a flow chart in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention that selects a prediction mode.

Figure 5 is an illustration of three neighboring subblocks, wherein two subblocks are used to encode the third subblock.

Figure 6 illustrates a video device having an encoder and a decoder incorporated with the encoding/decoding teachings of the present invention, in accordance with one embodiment.

Figure 7 illustrates an article of manufacture with a recordable medium having a software implementation of the encoder/decoder of the present invention, designed for use to program a device to equip the device with the encoding/decoding capability of the present invention, in accordance with one embodiment.

Figure 8 illustrates a system having a video sender device and a video receiver device incorporated with the encoding/decoding teachings of the present invention, in accordance with one embodiment.

Figures 9a-9c illustrate the surrounding pixels used for predicting the pixel values of a 8x8, a 8x4 and a 4x8 subblock respectively, in accordance to three alternate embodiments.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Where possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like components. Numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be obvious to one skilled in

the art that the present invention may be practiced without the specific details or with certain alternative equivalent devices and methods to those described herein. In other instances, well-know methods, procedures, components, and devices have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present invention.

Various operations will be described as multiple discrete steps in turn, in a manner that is helpful in understanding the present invention, however, the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations need not be performed in the order of presentation.

The phrase"in one embodiment"is used repeatedly. The phrase generally does not refer to the same embodiment, however, it may. The terms"comprising", "having"and"including"are synonymous, unless the context dictates otherwise.

Figure 1 is a high-level block diagram of a video compression and decompression system 1 (hereinafter"video system 1") having an encoder apparatus 3 and a decoder apparatus 5 that is coupled to the encoder apparatus 3 through a medium 9. The encoder apparatus 3 includes a video encoder 2, a mode selector 14 and a buffer 8. The decoder apparatus 5 includes a buffer 10, a video decoder 12 and a mode selector 16. T he encoder apparatus 3 receives a video sequence 20 (VIDEO IN) and encodes the video sequence 20 to generate an encoded and thus compressed representation in one of a number of possible formats. The format may be in an interleaved format tailored for"live"streaming of the encoded representation. The format may also be in a single file format in which each of the encoded representation is stored in a contiguous block within one file.

The video sequence 20 input to the encoder apparatus 3 may be either a live signal, e. g. , provided by a video camera, or a prerecorded sequence in a predetermined format. The video sequence 20 includes frames of a digital video, an audio segment consisting of digital audio, combinations of video, graphics, text, and/or a udio (multimedia applications), or analog forms of the aforementioned. If necessary, conversions can be applied to various types of input signals such as analog video, or previously compressed and encoded video to produce an

appropriate input to the encoder apparatus 3. In one embodiment, the encoder apparatus 3 may accept video in RGB or YUV formats. The encoder apparatus 3, however, may be adapted to accept any format of input as long as an appropriate conversion mechanism is supplied. Conversion mechanisms for converting a signal in one format to a signal in another format are well known in the art.

The medium 9 may be a storage device or a transmission medium. In one embodiment, the video system 1 may be implemented on a computer. The encoder apparatus 3 sends an encoded video stream (representation) to the medium 9 that is implemented as a storage device. The storage device may be a video server, a hard disk drive, a CD rewriteable drive, a read/write DVD drive, or any other device capable of storing a nd a llowing t he retrieval of encoded video data. T he storage device is connected to the decoder apparatus 5, which can selectively read from the storage device and decode the encoded video sequence. As the decoder apparatus 5 decodes a selected one of the encoded video sequence, it generates a reproduction of the video sequence 20, for example, for display on a computer monitor or screen.

In another embodiment, the medium 9 provides a connection to another computer, which may be a remote computer that receives the encoded video sequence. The medium 9 may be a network connection such as a LAN, a WAN, the Internet, or the like. The decoder apparatus 5 within the remote computer decodes the encoded representations contained therein and may generate a reproduction of the video sequence 20 on a screen or a monitor of the remote computer.

Aspects of the video system 1 illustrated in Figure 1 and described above can be combined and supplemented to achieve other embodiments. Numerous other implementations are consistent with the scope of this invention. Such other implementations need not be restricted to video, but may include audio or other forms of media as well.

Pre-existing video encoding techniques typically break up a frame (picture) into smaller blocks of pixels called macroblocks. Each macroblock can consist of a matrix of pixels, typically a 16x16 matrix, defining the unit of information at which encoding is performed. The matrix of pixels is therefore referred to as a 16x16

macroblock. These video encoding techniques usually break each 16x16 macroblock further up into smaller matrices of pixels, e. g. 8x8 matrices of pixels or 4x4 matrices of pixels. Such matrices are hereinafter referred to as subblocks.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a 16x16 macroblock is divided into 16 4x4 subblocks. In other embodiments, a 16x16 marcoblock is divided into 8x8 subblocks, 8x4 subblocks, or 4x8 subblocks. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is equally applicable or easily adaptable to systems that use other sublocks, or only 16x16 marcoblocks, without breaking it up into subblocks.

Further, the pre-existing encoding techniques provide for motion compensation and motion estimation using motion vectors. The motion vectors describe the direction, expressed through an x-component and a y-component, and the amount of motion of the 16x16 macroblocks, or their respective subblocks, and are transmitted to the decoder as part of the bit stream. Motion vectors are used for bidirectionally encoded pictures (B-pictures) and predicted pictures (P pictures) as known in the art.

The video encoder 2 performs a discrete cosine transform (DCT) to encode and compress the video sequence 20. Briefly, the video encoder 2 converts the video sequence 20 from t he s pacial, t emporal domain into the frequency domain.

The output of the video encoder 2 is a set of signal amplitudes, called"DCT coefficients. "A quantizer receives the DCT coefficients and assigns each of a range (or step size) of DCT coefficient values a single value, such as a small integer, during encoding. Quantization allows data to be represented more compactly, but results in the loss of some data. Quantization on a finer scale results in a less compact representation (higher bit-rate), but also involves the loss of less data.

Quantization on a more coarse scale results in a more compact representation (lower bit-rate), but also involves more loss of data. The mode selector 14 communicates with the video encoder 2 and monitors and controls encoding of the video sequence 20. The mode selector 14 determines in accordance with the present invention prediction modes according to which the video encoder 2 encodes the video sequence 20. The mode selector 14 may be a processor or one or more

software modules that are configured to operate in accordance with a method of the present invention. Figure 1 shows the mode selector 14 for illustrative purposes as an element separate from the video encoder 2. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the functionality of the mode selector 14 may be combined with the functionality of the video encoder 2.

The buffer 8 of the encoder apparatus 3 receives the encoded and compressed video sequence (hereinafter"encoded video sequence") from the video encoder 2 and adjusts the bit rate of the encoded video sequence before it is sent to the medium 9. Buffering may be required because individual video images may contain varying amounts of information, resulting in varying coding efficiencies from image to image. As the buffer 8 has a limited size, a feedback loop to the quantizer may be used to avoid overflow or underflow of the buffer 8. The bit-rate of the representation is the rate at which the representation data must be processed in order to present the representation in real time.

The decoder apparatus 5 performs the inverse function of the encoder apparatus 3. The buffer 10 serves also to adjust the bit rate of the incoming encoded video sequence. The video decoder 12 decodes and decompresses in combination with the mode selector 16 the incoming video sequence reconstructing the video sequence. The mode selector 16 determines the prediction modes according to which the video encoder 2 encoded the incoming video sequence. The decoder apparatus 5 outputs a decoded and decompressed video sequence 24 illustrated as"VIDEO OUT" (hereinafter"decoded video sequence 24").

The video decoder 12 receives a bit stream that represents the encoded video sequence from the buffer 10 (Figure 1). In one embodiment, the video decoder is a conventional video decoder, e. g. , a MPEG-x decoder, that includes a decoder controller, a VLC decoder (Variable Length Coding, VLC) and a reconstruction module. The operation and function of these components are known to those skilled in the art. These components are known to those skilled in the art and described in generally available MPEG documents and publications.

Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating a video frame 30 that is part of the video sequence 20. As described above, known video encoding techniques typically break

up a video frame 30 into macroblocks 36,36a, 36b, 36c, 36d. For example, the video frame 30 is divided into a matrix of 16x16 macroblocks 36,36a, 36b, 36c, 36d.

The video system 1 encodes the macroblocks 36,36a, 36b, 36c, 36d line by line, from top to bottom and from left to right, as indicated through a dashed line 34 that illustrates the sequence of, e. g. , intra encoding. In the illustrated embodiment, the dashed line 34 ends at the macroblock 36a, which is the next macroblock to be encoded. All prior macroblocks 36,36b, 36c, 36d have already been encoded.

The macroblock 36a, as a representative for all macroblocks 36,36a, 36b, 36c, 36d, is shown in greater detail below the video frame 30. The video encoding technique of the video system 1 breaks each macroblock 36,36a, 36b, 36c, 36d further up into a matrix of pixels 38, hereinafter referred to as a subblock 38.

In one embodiment, the subblock 38 is a 4x4 matrix of pixels, wherein the 16 pixels are labeled as a, b, c,..., p (in a"row first"manner). Bordering pixels of an adjacent subblock of a neighboring macroblock 36b, which is located directly above subblock 38 of macroblock 36a, are labeled as A, B, C, D. Further, bordering pixels of a subblock of macroblock 36b located above and to the right of the subblock 38 are labeled as E, F, G, H. Likewise, bordering pixels of an adjacent subblock of a neighboring macroblock 36c, which is located directly to the left of subblock 38 of macroblock 36a, are labeled as 1, J, K, L. Bordering pixels of a subblock of marcoblock 36c located to the left and below of subblock 38 are labeled as M, N, O, P. A bordering pixel of a subblock of a macroblock 36d, which is located above and to the left of subblock 38 of the macroblock 36a, is labeled as Q.

The video system 1 of the present invention codes each macroblock 36 as an intra macroblock. Intra macroblocks are transform encoded without motion compensated p rediction. Thus, i ntra m acroblocks d o n ot reference d ecoded data from either previous or subsequent frames. An l-frame is a frame consisting completely of intra macroblocks. Thus, I-frames are encoded with no reference to previous or subsequent frames. I-frames are also known as"Intra-frames." Figure 3 is a subblock 38 illustrating possible directions according to which the subblock 38 may be encoded. In accordance with the present invention, the subblocks of a macroblock 36,36a, 36b, 36c, 36d can be intra coded in one of nine

modes (Modes 0, Mode 1,..., Mode 9) as listed hereinafter. That is, a particular subblock 38 may be predicted from a subblock above the current subblock that is currently decoded ("vertical prediction"), from the subblock to the left of the current subblock ("horizontal prediction"), or from both the left and the above subblocks ("diagonal prediction"). The Modes 1-8 predict the subblock in a predetermined direction and the Mode 0 uses a uniform average without prediction in a predetermined direction. In Figure 3, each direction represents one of the eight prediction modes in accordance with the present invention.

Mode 0: In this mode, each pixel a-p is predicted by the following equation: It is contemplated that in this mode as well as in the following modes, a "division"means to round the result down toward"minus infinity" (-oxo). For instance, in mode 0, the term"+4"ensures that the division results in a rounding to the nearest integer. This applies also the other modes.

If four of the pixels a-p are outside the current picture (frame) that is currently encoded, the average of the remaining four pixels is used for prediction. If all eight pixels are outside the picture, the prediction for all pixels in this subblock is 128. A subblock may therefore always be predicted in mode 0.

Mode 1: If the pixels A, B, C, D are inside the current picture, the pixels a-p are predicted in vertical direction as shown in Figure 3. That is, the pixels a-p are predicted as follows : a, e, i, m = A b, f, j, n = B c, g, k, o = C d, h, l, p = D Mode 2: If the pixels I, J, K, L are inside the current picture, the pixels a-p are predicted in horizontal direction. That is, the pixels a-p are predicted as follows : a, b, c, d = I e, f, g, h = J i, j, k, I = K m, n, o, p = L

Mode 3: This mode is used if all pixels a-p are inside the current picture. This corresponds to a prediction in a diagonal direction as shown in Figure 3. The pixels a-p are predicted as follows : m = (J+2K+L+2)/4 i, n (I+2J+K+2)/4 e, j, o (Q+2I+J+2)/4 a, f, k, p (I+2Q+A+2)/4 b, g, 1 (Q+2A+B+2) /4 c, h- (A+2B+C+2) /4 'd (B+2C+D+2) /4 Mode 4: This mode is used if all pixels a-p are inside the current picture. This is also a diagonal prediction. a = (A+2B+C+I+2J+K+4)/8 b, e = (B+2C+D+J+2K+L+4)/8 c, f, i = (C+2D+E+K+2L+M+4)/8 d, g, j, m (D+2E+F+L+2M+N+4)/8 h, k, n (E+2F+G+M+2N+0+4)/8 1, o = (F+2G+H+N+2O+P+4)/8 p (G+H+O+P+2)/4

Mode 5:

This mode is used if all pixels a-p are inside the current picture. This is also a diagonal prediction. a, j = (Q+A+1) /2 b, k = (A+B+1)/2 c, 1 = (B+C+1) /2 d = (C+D+1)/2 e, n = (I+2Q+A+2) /4 f, o (Q+2A+B+2) /4 g, p (A+2B+C+2) /4 h = (B+2C+D+2)/4 i = (Q+WI+J+2)/4 m (I+2J+K+2) /4 Mode 6: This mode is used if all pixels a-p are inside the current picture. This is a diagonal prediction. a = (2A+2B+J+2K+L+4)/8 b, i = (B+C+1)/2 c, j = (C+D+1) /2 d, k = (D+E+1) /2 1 (E+F+1) /2 (A+2B+C+K+2L+M+4)/8 f, m = (B+2C+D+2) /4 g, n = (C+2D+E+2) /4 h, o (D+2E+F+2) /4 (E+2F+G+2)/4 Mode 7: This mode is used if all pixels a-p are inside the current picture. This is a diagonal prediction. a = (B+2C+D+2I+2J+4)/8 b (C+2D+E+I+2J+K+4)/8 c, e (D+2E+F+2J+2K+4) /8 d, f (E+2F+G+J+2K+L+4)/8 g, i (F+2G+H+2K+2L+4)/8 h, j = (G+2H+K+2L+M+4)/8 k, m = (G+H+L+M+2) /4 1, n (L+2M+N+2) /4 # (M+N+1)/2 p (M+2N+O+2)/2 Mode 8: This mode is used if all pixels a-p are inside the current picture. This is a diagonal prediction. a, g (Q+I+1) /2 b, h = (I+2Q+A+2)/4 c (Q+2A+B+2)/4 d (A+2B+C+2) /4 e, k = (I+J+1)/2 f, 1 (Q+2I+J+2) /4 i, o- (J+K+1)/2 j, p- (I+2J+K+2)/4 m (K+L+1)/2 n = (J+2K+L+2)/2

In one embodiment of the present invention, a mode selection algorithm determines a criteria to select one of the nine modes. The subblock 38 is then encoded in accordance with the selected mode. The mode selection algorithm is described in detail below.

Figure 4 is a flow chart of a procedure illustrating the method in accordance with the present invention that codes video data including a stream of video frames

and that selects one of the prediction modes Modes 0-8. In one embodiment, the method codes a luminance portion (Y) of a video frame.

In a step 28, e. g. , when a user activates the video system 1, the procedure initializes the video system 1. The initialization procedure includes, for example, determining whether the encoder apparatus 3 is operating and properly connected to receive the stream of video frames.

In a step 30, the procedure receives the stream of video frames and divides each video frame into a matrix of a plurality of subblocks, wherein each subblock includes a plurality of pixels. The matrix of a plurality of subblocks may include 4x4 subblocks 38 that are part of a macroblock as described above.

In a step 32, the procedure defines the nine prediction modes Mode 0-8, wherein each prediction mode determines a mode according to which a present subblock is to be coded. For example, the procedure may execute a subroutine to calculate and define the modes Mode 0-8.

In a step 34, the procedure selects one of the nine prediction modes Mode 0- 8 to encode the present subblock 38. In one embodiment, the procedure calculates for each m ode an error value, d etermines which mode provides a minimum error value and selects that mode for encoding the present subblock 38.

Once the procedure has selected the"best"prediction mode to encode the pixels of the present subblock 38, the procedure encodes the minimum error value and transmits the encoded minimum error value within a compressed bitstream to the decoder. The minimum error value represents a difference between the predicted pixels of the present subblock and the original pixels of the subblock. The difference may be encoded using a DCT, coefficient quantization and variable length coding as known in the art. The decoder uses the predicted pixels and the difference to the original pixels to accurately reconstruct the video frame. The procedure ends at a step 36.

The procedure provides that each of the 4x4 subblocks 38 is coded in accordance with one of the nine prediction modes Mode 0-8. As this may require a considerable number of bits if coded directly, the video system 1 in accordance with the present invention may apply a more efficient way of coding the mode information.

A prediction mode of a subblock is correlated with the prediction modes of adjacent subblocks.

Figure 5 illustrates this through three exemplary subblocks A, B, C. The subblock C is the subblock that is to be encoded (predicted) with the help of the subblocks A, B whose prediction modes are known. The subblock A is located above the subblock C and the subblock B is located left of the subblock C. In this case, an ordering of the most probable, next most probable etc. prediction mode for the subblock C is given. An example of such an ordering table is listed hereinafter.

The table is divided into ten groups (Group 1-Group 10). In each group, the respective prediction mode for the subblock A is constant (e. g. , Mode 0 of the subblock A is constant in Group 2), and the prediction mode for the subblock B varies. That is, the (constant) prediction mode for the subblock A within a group may be combined with one of the nine prediction modes for the subblock B within that group.

For each combination of the prediction modes of the subblocks A and B, a sequence of nine numbers is given, one number for each of the nine Modes 0-9. For example in Group 3, if the prediction modes for the subblock A and the subblock B are both Mode 1, a string"1 6 2 5 3 0 4 8 7"indicates that the Mode 1, i. e. , the first number in the string, is the most probable mode for the subblock C. The Mode 6, i. e. , the second number in the string, is the next most probable mode. In the exemplary string, the Mode 7 is the least probable since the number 7 is the last number in the string. The string will be part of the stream of bits that represents the encoded video sequence.

The stream of bits therefore includes information (ProbO = 1 (see Table 1) ) indicating the mode used for the subblock C. For example, the information may indicate that the next most probable intra prediction mode is Mode 6. Note that a"-" in the table indicates that this instance cannot occur. The term"outside"used in the Table 1 indicates"outside the frame."If the subblock A or B is within the frame, but is not INTRA coded (e. g. , in a P frame, the subblock C could be INTRA coded but either the subblock A or the subblock B may not be INTRA coded), there is no prediction mode. The procedure of the present invention assumes the Mode 0 for such subblocks. B A = outside outside 0-------- mode0 02------- mode 1 mode2 20------- mode 3 --------- RROUP 1 mode 4 --------- mode 5 --------- mode 6--------- mode 7 --------- mode 8 B A = mode 0 outside 0 1 --------- mode 0 0 2 1 6 4 8 5 7 3 mode 1 1 0 2 6 5 4 3 8 7 mode 2 280174365 mode 3 2 0 1 3 8 5 4 7 6 GROUP 2 mode 4 2 0 1 4 6 7 8 3 5 mode5 015263847 mode 6 0 1 6 2 4 7 5 8 3 mode 7 2 7 0 1 4 8 6 3 5 mode 8 2 8 0 1 7 3 4 5 6 B A = mode 1 outside 10------- mode0 125630487 mode 1 1 6 2 5 3 0 4 8 7 mode 2 2 1 7 6 8 3 5 0 4 mode 3 1 2 5 3 6 8 4 7 0 GROUP 3 mode 4 1 6 2 0 4 5 8 7 3 mode 5 1 5 2 6 3 8 4 0 7 mode 6 1 6 0 2 4 5 7 3 8 mode 7 2 1 7 6 0 8 5 4 3 mode 8 1 2 7 8 3 4 5 6 0 B A=mode 2 outside--------- mode0 021876543 mode 1 1 2 0 6 5 7 4 8 3 mode 2 2 8 7 1 0 6 4 3 5 mode 3 2 0 8 1 3 7 5 4 6 GROUP mode 4 2 0 4 1 7 8 6 3 5 mode5 201584673 mode 6 2 0 6 1 4 7 8 5 3 mode7 278105463 mode 8 2 8 7 1 0 4 3 6 5 A-mode 3 outside--------- mode 0 0 2 1 3 5 8 6 4 7 mode 1 1 0 2 5 3 6 4 8 7 mode 2 2 8 1 0 3 5 7 6 4 mode 3 3 2 5 8 1 4 6 7 0 GROUP 5 mode4 420615837 mode 5 5 3 1 2 8 6 4 0 7 mode 6 1 6 0 2 4 5 8 3 7 mode 7 270154863 mode8 2 83 5 1 0 7 6 4 A = mode 4 outside--------- mode 0 2 0 6 1 4 7 5 8 3 mode 1 1 6 2 0 4 5 3 7 8 mode 2 287640153 mode 3 4 2 1 0 6 8 3 5 7 GROUP 6 mode 4 4 2 6 0 1 5 7 8 3 mode 5 1 2 5 0 6 3 4 7 8 mode 6 6 4 0 1 2 7 5 3 8 mode 7 2 7 4 6 0 1 8 5 3 mode 8 2 8 7 4 6 1 3 5 0 B A= mode 5 outside--------- mode 0 5 1 2 3 6 8 0 4 7 mode 1 1 5 6 3 2 0 4 8 7 mode 2 2 1 5 3 6 8 7 4 0 mode3 531268470 GROUP7 mode4162458037 mode 5 5 1 3 6 2 0 8 4 7 mode 6 1 6 5 2 0 4 3 7 8 mode 7 2 7 1 6 5 0 8 3 4 mode 8 2 5 1 3 6 8 4 0 7 A = mode 6 outside mode 0 1 6 2 0 5 4 3 7 8 mode 1 1 6 5 4 2 3 0 7 8 mode 2 2 1 6 7 4 8 5 3 0 mode3 216584307 GROUP8 mode 4 6 4 1 2 0 5 7 8 3 mode 5 1 6 5 2 3 0 4 8 7 mode 6 6 1 4 0 2 7 5 3 8 mode7 274615083 mode8 216847350 B A = mode 7 outside--------- mode 0 2 0 4 7 6 1 8 5 3 mode 1 6 1 2 0 4 7 5 8 3 mode 2 2 7 8 0 1 6 4 3 5 mode3 240831765 GROUP9 mode 4 4 2 7 0 6 1 8 5 3 mode 5 210856743 mode 6 2 6 4 1 7 0 5 8 3 mode 7 2 7 4 0 8 6 1 5 3 mode 8 2 8 7 4 1 0 3 6 5 B A = mode 8 outside--------- mode 0 2 0 8 1 3 4 6 5 7 mode 1 1 2 0 6 8 5 7 3 4 mode 2 2 8 7 1 0 3 6 5 4 mode3 832510476 GROUP 10 mode 4 2 0 4 8 5 1 7 6 3 mode 5 2 1 0 8 5 3 6 4 7 mode 6 2 1 6 0 8 4 5 7 3 mode 7 2 7 8 4 0 6 1 5 3

mode 8 2 8 3 0 7 1 6 5 Table 1.

The information about the prediction modes may be efficiently coded by combining prediction mode information of two subblocks 38 in one codeword. The stream of bits includes then the resulting codewords, wherein each codeword represents the prediction modes of the two subblocks. Table 2 lists exemplary binary codewords for code numbers (Code No. ) between 0 and 80. The probability of a mode of the first subblock is indicated as ProbO and the probability of a mode of the second subblock is indicated as Prob1. Code No. ProbO Probl Codeword 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 001 2 1 0 011 3 1 1 00001 4 0 2 00011 5 2 0 01001 6 0 3 01011 7 3 0 0000001 8 1 2 0000011 9 2 1 0001001 10 0 4 0001011 11 4 0 0100001 12 3 1 0100011 13 1 3 0101001 14 0 5 0101011 15 5 0 000000001 16 2 2 000000011 17 1 4 000001001 18 4 1 000001011 Code No. ProbO Probl Codeword 19 0 6 000100001 20 3 2 000100011 21 1 5 000101001 22 2 3 000101011 23 5 1 010000001 24 6 0 010000011 25 0 7 010001001 26 4 2 010001011 27 2 4 010100001 28 3 3 010100011 29 6 1 010101001 30 1 6 010101011 31 7 0 00000000001 32 0 8 00000000011 33 5 2 00000001001 34 4 3 00000001011 35 2 5 00000100001 36 3 4 00000100011 37 1 7 00000101001 38 4 4 00000101011 39 7 1 00010000001 40 8 0 00010000011 41 6 2 00010001001 42 3 5 00010001011 43 5 3 00010100001 44 2 6 00010100011 45 1 8 00010101001 46 2 7 00010101011 47 7 2 01000000001 Code No. ProbO Probl Codeword 48 8 1 01000000011 49 5 4 01000001001 50 4 5 01000001011 51 3 6 01000100001 52 6 3 01000100011 53 8 2 01000101001 54 4 6 01000101011 55 5 5 01010000001 56 6 4 01010000011 57 2 8 01010001001 58 7 3 01010001011 59 3 7 01010100001 60 6 5 01010100011 61 5 6 01010101001 62 7 4 01010101011 63 4 7 0000000000001 64 8 3 0000000000011 65 3 8 0000000001001 66 7 5 0000000001011 67 8 4 0000000100001 68 5 7 0000000100011 69 4 8 0000000101001 70 6 6 0000000101011 71 7 6 0000010000001 72 5 8 0000010000011 73 8 5 0000010001001 74 6 7 0000010001011 75 8 6 0000010100001. 76 7 7 0000010100011

Code No. ProbO Probl Codeword 77 6 8 0000010101001 78 8 7 0000010101011 79 7 8 0001000000001 80 8 8 0001000000011 Table 2 With the nine prediction modes (Table 1) and the probabilities of the modes (Table 1, Table 2), a mode selection algorithm determines the mode according to which a particular subblock is predicted. In one embodiment of the present invention, the algorithm selects the mode using a sum of absolute differences (SAD) between the pixels a-p and the corresponding pixels in the original frame, and the above probabilities of the modes. The SAD and the probability table are used to select the mode for a particular subblock 38. The algorithm calculates a parameter uErrorfor each of the nine possible modes Mode 0-8. The mode that provides the smallest uError is the mode selected for the subblock 38.

The uError is calculated as follows : uError = SAD({a,...,p},{original frane}) + rd_quant[uMBQP] * uProb, where SAD({a,...,p},{original frame} is the sum of absolute difference between the pixels a-p and the corresponding pixels in the original frame, where rd_quant [uMBQPy is a table of constant values indexed by a quantization parameter uMBQP. uMBQP is given by const U8 rd quarzt [32J = {1,1, 1,1, 1,1, 2,2, 2,2, 3,3, 3,4, 4,5, 5,6, 7,7, 8,9, 11,12, 13,15, 17,19, 21,24, 27, 30) ; and where uProb is the probability of the mode occurring, provided by the position in the mode probability table (Table 1).

For example, the prediction mode for the subblocks A is the Mode 1 and the prediction mode for the subblock B is the Mode 1. The string"1 6 2 5 3 0 4 8 7" indicates that the Mode 1 is also the most probable mode for the subblock C. The Mode 6 is the second most probable mode, etc. Thus, when the algorithm calculates uErrorforthe Mode 0, the probability uProb is 5. Further, for the Mode 1 the

probability uProb is 0, for the Mode 2 the probability uProb is 2, for the Mode 3 the probability uProb is 4, and so forth.

In addition to coding the luminance portion (Y) of the video frame, the video system 1 of the present invention may also predict the chrominance portions (U, V) of the video frame. The chrominance portions may be considered as chrominance planes (U and V-planes). Typically, the chrominance planes (U and V-planes) are a quarter of the size of a luminance plane. Thus, in a 16x16 macroblock a corresponding 8x8 block of pixels exists in both the U and V-planes. These 8x8 blocks are divided into 4x4 blocks. In general, separate prediction modes are not transmitted for chrominace blocks. Instead, the modes transmitted for the Y-plane blocks are used as prediction modes for the U and V-plane blocks.

Figure 6 illustrates a video device incorporated with the teachings of the present invention, in accordance with one embodiment. As illustrated, video device 600 includes encoder 610 and decoder 620 coupled to the inputs and outputs of the device. As described earlier, encoder 610 is designed to receive video frame data, divide the respective frame data into macroblocks and subblocks, and selectively intracode the subblocks as earlier described. Decoder 620 is designed to receive the intracoded subblocks and recover the video frame data as earlier described.

Encoder 610 and decoder 620 are similarly constituted as the earlier described encoder apparatus 1 and decoder apparatus 5. In various embodiments, encoder 610 and decoder 620 may share at least in part their constituting tables and coding/decoding logics (as denoted by the intersecting blocks of encoder 610 and decoder 620).

In various embodiments, video device 600 may be a wireless mobile phone, a palm sized computing device, such as a personal digital assistant, a laptop computing device, a desktop computing device, a server, and other computing devices of the like. In other embodiments, video device 600 may be a circuit board component, such as a video"add-on"circuit board (also referred to as a daughter circuit board), a motherboard, and other circuit boards of the like.

In yet other embodiments, instead of having both encoder 610 and decoder 620, video device 600 may include encoder 610 only, as in the case of a video

camera, or decoder 620 only, as in the case of a DVD player, a television, a display monitor, or a set-top box.

Figure 7 illustrates an article of manufacture including a recordable medium 700 having programming instructions implementing a software embodiment of the earlier described encoder apparatus 1 and/or decoder apparatus 5. The programming instructions are designed for use to program video device 710 to equip video device 710 with the encoding and decoding capabilities of the present invention.

For the embodiment, video device 710 include storage medium 712 to store at least a portion of a working copying of the programming instructions implementing the software embodiment of encoder apparatus 1 and/or decoder 5, and at least one processor 714 coupled to storage medium 712 to execute the programming instructions.

Video device 712 may be any one of the earlier enumerated example device devices or other video devices of the like. Article 710 may e. g. be a diskette, a compact disk (CD), a DVD or other computer readable medium of the like. In other embodiments, article 710 may be a distribution server distributing encoder apparatus 1 and/or decoder apparatus 5 on line, via private and/or public networks, such as the Internet. In one embodiment, article 710 is a web server.

Figure 8 illustrates an example system having video sender 802 and video receiver 804 communicatively coupled to each other as shown, with video sender 802 encoding a video in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, and providing the encoded video to video receiver 802, and video receiver 802, in turn decoding the encoded video to render the video. Video sender 802 and video receiver 804 are equipped with the earlier described encoder apparatus 1 and decoder apparatus 5 respectively.

An example of video sender 802 is a video server, whereas an example of a video receiver 804 is a client device coupled to video sender 802.

In various alternate embodiments, encoding for Modes 4 and 6 are streamlined to employ only the pixels of the adjacent subblocks above the subblock being encoded in predicting the pixel values of the subblock being encoded. More

specifically, the pixel values of the subblock being encoded are predicted under modes 4 and 6 as follows : Streamlined Mode 4 a = (A + 2*B + C + 2)/4 ; b, e = (B + 2*C + D + 2)/4 ; c, f, i = (C + 2*D + E + 2)/4 ; d, g, j, m = (D + 2*E + F + 2)/4 ; h, k, n = (E + 2*F + G + 2)/4 ; l, o = (F + 2*G + H + 2)/4 ; p = (G + 3*H + 2)/4 ; Streamlined Mode 6 a = (A + B + 1)/2 ; b, i = (B + C + 1)/2 ; c, j = (C + D + 1)/2 ; d, k = (D + E + 1)/2 ; 1 = (E + F + 1)/2 ; e- (A + 2*B + C + 2)/4 ; f, m = (B + 2*C + D + 2)/4 ; g, n = (C + 2*D + E + 2)/4 ; h, o = (D + 2*E + F + 2)/4 ; p = (E + 2*F + G + 2)/4 ; Further, encoding for Mode 7 is streamlined to employ only the pixels of the adjacent subblock to the left of the subblock being encoded in predicting the pixel values of the subblock being encoded. More specifically, the pixel values of the subblock being encoded are predicted as follows : Streamlined Mode 7 a = (I + J + 1)/2 ; b = (I + 2*J + K + 2)/4 ; c, e = (J + K + 1)/2 ; d, f = (J + 2*K + L + 2)/4 ; g, i = (K + L + 1)/2 ;

h, j = (K + 2*L + L + 2) /4 ; 1, n, k, m, o, p = L ; In yet other embodiments, a macroblock may be subdivided into MxN subblocks where MxN may be 8x8,8x4 or 4x8 instead. For the purpose of this portion of the description, as illustrated in Figures 9a-9c, a pixel of a MxN subblock shall be referred to as p, j, where the index i denotes a row position of the subblock and may assume a value of 1 through 8 in the cases of 8x8 and 8x4 subblocks or 1 through 4 in the case of 4x8 subblocks, and the index j denotes a column position of the subblock and may likewise assume a value of 1 through 8 in the cases of 8x8 and 4x8 subblocks or 1 through 4 in the case of 8x4 subblocks.

As illustrated, the predictor pixels of the adjacent subblocks above the subblock being encoded are referred to as to through t15, and the predictor pixels of the adjacent subblocks to the left of the subblock being encoded are referred to as lo through lis.

For Modes 0-2, pixel values of a MxN subblock, whether MxN is 8x8,8x4, or 4x8, are predicted as follows : Mode 0 Where to-tN and lo-1M are available, pij = (t0 + ... + tN + lo +... + 1M + N/2 + M/2)/ (M + N) ; Else if only to-tN are available, pij = (t0 + ... + tN + N/2)/N ; Else if only lo-1M are available, pij = (lo +... + 1M + M/2)/M ; Else Pij = 128 ; i=0- (N-1), j=0- (M-1).

Mode 1 Where t0 -tN are available Pij = tj;

i = 0 - (N-1),j = 0 - (M-1).

Mode 2 Where 10-IN are available Pij = li ; j = 0 - (N-1),j = 0 - (M-1).

For Modes 3-8, a pixel value of a MxN subblock is predicted as follows : Mode 3 Where all t0 - tN and l0 - lM are available for prediction 4x8 subblock 8x4 subblock 8x8 subblock predicted by p07 p07 (ts + t6<<1 + t7 + 2 >> 2 p06, p17 p06, 017 (t4 + t5<<1 + t6 + 2)>> 2 p05, p16, p27 p05, p16, p27 (t3 + t4<<1 + t5 + 2) >> 2 p04, p15, p26, p37 p04, p15, p26, p37 (t2 + t3<<1 + t4 + 2) >> 2 p03 p03, p14, p25, p36 p03, p14, p25, p36, p47 (t1 + t2<<1 + t3 + 2) >> 2 p02, p13 p02, p13, p24, p35 p02, p13, p24, p35, p26, (t0 + t1<< + t2 + 2) >> 2 P57 pOl, P12, P23 p01, P12, P23, P34 p01, p12, p23, p34, , (q + t0<<1 + tl + 2) >> 2 P4s, p56, p57 Poo, p11, p22, p33 p00, p11, p22, p33 p00, p11, p22, p33, (10 + q « 1 + to + 2) >> 2 p44, p55, p66, p77 p10, p21, p22, p43 p10, p21, p22 p10, p21, p32, , p43, (11 + 10<<1 + q + 2) » 2 p54, p65, p76 P20, p31, p42, Ps3 P20, P31 pao. P31, p42 p53, (12 + 11<<1 + lo + 2) >> 2 p64, p75 p30, P41, Ps2, P63 p30 p30, p41, p52, p63, p74 (13 + 12<<1 + 11 + 2) >> 2 P40, p51, p62, p73 - p40, p51, p62, p73 (14 + 13<<1 + 12 + 2) >> 2 p50, p61, p72 - p50, p61, p72 (15 + 14<<1 + 13 + 2) >> 2 P60, p71 - P60, p71 (16 + 15<<1 + 14 + 2) >> 2 P70 p70 (17 + 16<<1 + 15 + 2) >> 2 Mode 4 Where all to-tN and 10 -1M are available for prediction, 4x8 subblock 8x4 subblock 8x8 subblock predicted by p00 Poo Poo (t2 + t1<<1 + t0 + 2) >> 2 Poi, pio p01, Pio Poi, Pio (t3 + t2<<1 + t1 + 2) >> 2 p02, p11, p20 p02, p11, p20 p02, p11, p20 (t4 + t3<<1 + t2 +2) >> 2 p03, p12, p21, p30 p03, p12, p21, p30 p03, p12, p21, p30 (t5 + t4<<1 + t3 + 2) >> 2 p13, p22, p31, p40 p04, p13, p22, p31 p04, p13, p22, p31, p40 (t6 + t5<<1 + t4 + 2) >> 2 p23, p32, p41, P50 p05, p14, p23, p32 p05, p14, p23, p32, p41, p50 (t7 + t6<<l + t5 + 2) >> 2 p33, p42, p51, p60 p06, p15, p24, P33 Po6, p15, p24, p33, p42, P51, (t8 + t7 « l + t6 + 2) >> 2 P60 p43, p52, p61, p70 p07, p16, p25, p34 p07, p16, p25, p34, p43, p52, (t9 + te « 1 + t7 + 2) >> 2 p61, p70 Pus3, p62, P71 Pl-7 p26, p35 p17, p26, p35, , p44, p53, (t10 + t9<<1 + ta + 2) >> 2 p62, P71 P63, p72 p27, p36 p27, p35, p45, p54, p63, p72 (t11 + t10<<1 + tg + 2) >> 2 p73 p37 p37, p46 p55, p64, p73 (t12 + t11<<1 + t10 + 2) >> 2 p47, p56, p65, p74 (t13 + t12<<1 + t11 + 2) >> 2 p57, p66, p75 (t14 + t13<<1 + t12 + 2) >> 2 . P67, (t15 + t14<<1 + t13 + 2) >> 2 P77 (t15 + t15<<1 + t14 + 2) >> 2 Mode 5 Where all to-tN and 10 - 1M are available for prediction, then 4x8 subblock 8x4 subblock 8x8 subblock predicted by p07 p07 (t6 + t7 + 1) >> 1 p17 p17 (t5 + t6<<1 + t7 +2) >> 2 p06, p27 p06, p27 (t5 + t6 + 1) >> 1 P16, p37 p16, p37 (t4 + t5<< + t6 + 2) >> p05, p26 p05, p26, p47 (t4 + tu + 1) >> 1 p15, p36 p15, p36, p57 (t3 + t4<<1 + t5 + 2) >> 2 - p04, p25 p04, p25, p46, p67 (t3 + t4 + 1) >> 1 - p14, p35 p14, p35, p56, p77 (t2 + t3<<1 + t4 + 2) >>2 p03 p03, p24 p03, p24, p45, p66 (t2 + t3 + 1) >> 1 p13 p13, p34 p13, p34, p55, p76 (t1 + t2<<1 + 53 + 2) >>2 p02, p23 p02, p23 p02, p23, p44, p65 (t1 + t2 +1) >> 1 P12, p33 p12, p33 p12, p33, p54, p75 (t0 + t1<<1 + t2 +2) >> 2 Pol, p22, P43 Pol, p22 p01, p22, p43, p64 (t0 + t1 + 1) >> 1 Pll, P32, Ps3 Pll, P32 Pll, P32, P53, P74 (q + t0<<1 + t1 + 2) >> 2 POO, p21, p42, p63 p00, p21 p00, p21, p42, p63 (q + t0 + 1) >> 1 P10, p31, p52, p73 p10, P31 P10, P31, p52, P73 (lo + q « 1 + to + 2) >> 2 p20, P41, p62 p20 p20, p41, p62 (11 + 10<<1 + q + 2) >> 2 P30, p51, p72 p30 p30, p51, p72 (13 + 12<<1 + 11 +2) >> 2 P40, p61 - p40, p61 (13 + 12<<1 + 11 +2) >> 2 P50, p71 - p50, p71 (14 + 13<<1 + 12 +2) >> 2 p60 - p60 (15 + 14<<1 + 13 +2) >> 2 p70 - p70 (16 + 15<<1 + 14 +2) >> 2 Mode 6 Where all t0 - tN and 10 - 1M are available for prediction 4x8 subblock 8x4 subblock 8x8 subblock predicted by Poo Poo Poo (t0 + t1 +1) >>1 Pio p10 Pio (to + t1<<1 + t2 + 2) >> 2 Pol, p20 p01, p20 p01, p20 (t1 + t2 +1) >> 1 Pll, p30 Pll, P30 p11, p30 (t1 + t2<<1 + t3 +2) >> 2 p02, p21, p40 p02, p21 p02, p21, p40 (t2 + t3 + 3) >> 1 p12, p31, p50 p12, p31 p12, p31, p50 (t2 + t3<<1 + t4 + 2) >> 2 p03, p22, Pu. p60 Po3, P22 p03, p22, p41, p60 (t3 + t4 + 1) >> 1 P13, p32, p51, p70 p13, p32 p13, p32, p51, p70 (t3 + t4<<1 +t5 + 2) >> 2 p23, p42, p61 p04, p23 p04, p23, p42, p61 (t4 + t5 + 1) >> 1 P33, # p52, p71 p14, p33 p14, p33, p52, p71 (g4 + t5<<1 + t6 +2) >>2 p43, P62 Pos, p24 Pos, p24, p43, P62 (t5 + t6 + 1) >> 1 p53, p72 pisr p34 Pls, p34, p53, p72 (t5 + t6<<1 + t7 + 2) >>2 p63 p06, 025 p06, p25, p44, p63 (t6 + t7 + 1) >>1 P73 P16, P35 p16, p35 p54, P73 (t6 + t7<<1 + ta + 2 >> 2 p07, p26 p07, p26, p45, p64 (t7 + g8 + 1) >> 1 p17, p36 p17, p36, p55, p74 (t7 + te « 1 + tg + 2) >> 2 P27 p27, p46, p65 (t8 + t9 +1) >> 1 P37 p37, p56, p75 (t8 + t9<<1 + t10 + 2) >> 2 p47, p66 (t9 + t10 +1) >> 1 p57, P76 (t9 + t10<<1 + t11 + 2) >> 2 P67 (t10 + t11 + 1) >> 1 p77 (t10 + t11<<1 + t12 + 2) >> 2 Mode 7 Where all to-tN and 10 - 1M are available for prediction 4x8 subblock 8x4 subblock 8x8 subblock predicted by Poo Poo Poo (10 + 11 + 1) >> 1 p01 Pol Poi (10 + 11<<1 + 12 + 2) >> 2 p10, p02 p10, p02 p10, p02 (11 + 12 + 1) >>1 P11, p03 p11, p03 p11, p03 (11 + 12<<1 + 13 + 2) >> 2 P20, P12 P20, P12, P04 P20, P12, P04 (12 + 13 + 1) >> 1 p21, P13 p21, p13, p05 p21, p13, p15 (12 + 13<<1 + 14 + 2) >> 2 p30, p22 p30, p22, p14, p06 p30, p22, p14, p06 (13 + 14 + 1) >>1 P31, P23 P31, P23, p15, p07 p31, p23, p15, p07 (13 + 14<<1 + 15 + 2) >> 2 P40, P32 p32, p24, P16 p40, p32, p24, p16 (14 + 15 + 1) >> 1 p41, p33 P33, p25, pm P41, p33, p25, p17 (14 + 15<<1 + 16 + 2) >> 2 p50, p42 p34, p26 p50, p42, p34, p26 (15 + 16 + 1) >> 1 p51, p43 p35, p27 p51, p43, p35, p27 (15 + 16<< + 17 + 2) >> 2 p60, p52 p36 p60, p52, p44, p36 (16 + 17 + 1) >> 1 P61, p53 P37 P61, p53, p45, P37 (lus + l+l7+2) » 2 p70, p62, p71, - p70, p71, p72, p73, 17 P63, p72, P73 p74, p75, p76, p77, p62, p63, p64, p65, P66, P67, p54, Pss, p56, p57, p46, p47 Mode 8 Where all to-tN and 10 - 1M are available for prediction, then 4x8 subblock 8x4 subblock 8x8 subblock predicted by p07 p07 (t4 + t5<<1 + t6 + 2) >> 2 - p06 p06 (t3 + t4<< + t5 + 2) >> 2 - p05, p17 p05, p17 (t2 + t3<<1 + t4 + 2) >> 2 - p04, p16 p04, p16 (t1 + t2<<1 + t3 + 2) >> 2 p03 p03, p15, p27 p03, p15, p27 (t0 +t1<<1 + t2 + 2) >> 2 Po2 p02, p14, p26 p02, p14, p26 (q + t0<<1 + ti + 2) >> 2 POl, P13 Pol, P13, p25, p37 p01, p13, p25, p37 (10 + q<<1 + to + 2) >> 2 p00, p12 POO, Piz. P24, P36 Poo, P12, p24, P36 (q + lo + 1) » 1 Plo, p22 p10, p22, p34 p10, p22, p34, p46 (10 + 11 + 1) » 1 p11, p23 p11, p23, p35 p11, p23, p35, p47 (q + 10<<1 + 11 + 2) >> 2 P20, P32 P20, p32 p20, p32, p44, p56 (11 + 12 + 1)>> 1 P21, p33 P21, P33 P21, P33, p45, P57 (lo + ll<<l + 12 + 2) >> 2 P30, P42 P30 P30, p42, p54, p66 (12 + 13 + 1) >> 1 P31, P43 P31 P31, P43, p55, P67 (11 + 12<<1 + 13 + 2) >> 2 p40, p52 - p40, p52, p64, p76 (13 + 14 + 1) >> 1 P41, p53 - p41, p53 p65, p77 (12 + 13<<1 + 14 + 2) >> 2 p50, p62 - p50, p62, p76 (14 + 15 + 1) >> 1 P51, p63 - p51, p63, p76 (13 + 14<<1 + Is + 2) >> 2 P60, , p72 - p60, p72 (15 + 16 + 1) >> 1 P61, p73 - p61, p73 (14 + 15<<1 + 16 + 2) >> 2 p70 - p70 (16 + 17 + 1) >> 1 p71 - p71 (15 + 16<<1 + 17 + 2) >> 2

Conclusion and Epilogue Thus, it can be seen from the above descriptions, a novel method for intracoding and decoding video frame data, including encoders, decoders, devices and systems incorporated with the method have been described.

While the present invention has been described in terms of the foregoing embodiments and example applications, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodiments and example application described.

The present invention can be practiced with modification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. In particular, some or all of the present invention (e. g. the various operational logic) may be implemented in Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC).

Thus, the description is to be regarded as illustrative instead of restrictive on the present invention.