CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application is based upon and claims priority to Provisional Applications No. 63/225,943 filed on July 26, 2021, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This disclosure is related to video coding and compression. More specifically, this disclosure relates to the improvements and simplifications of video coding using multi directional intra prediction.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Digital video is supported by a variety of electronic devices, such as digital televisions, laptop or desktop computers, tablet computers, digital cameras, digital recording devices, digital media players, video gaming consoles, smart phones, video teleconferencing devices, video streaming devices, etc. The electronic devices transmit and receive or otherwise communicate digital video data across a communication network, and/or store the digital video data on a storage device. Due to a limited bandwidth capacity of the communication network and limited memory resources of the storage device, video coding may be used to compress the video data according to one or more video coding standards before it is communicated or stored. For example, video coding standards include Versatile Video Coding (VVC), Joint Exploration test Model (JEM), High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC/H.265), Advanced Video Coding (AVC/H.264), Moving Picture Expert Group (MPEG) coding, or the like. Video coding generally utilizes prediction methods (e.g., inter-prediction, intra-prediction, or the like) that take advantage of redundancy inherent in the video data. Video coding aims to compress video data into a form that uses a lower bit rate, while avoiding or minimizing degradations to video quality.

SUMMARY

[0004] Examples of the present disclosure provide methods and apparatus for video coding using multi-directional intra prediction. [0005] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method for video decoding is provided. The method may include: determining, by a decoder, a blending parameter for the MDIP based a size of a coding unit.

[0006] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method for video decoding is provided. The method may include: determining, by a decoder, a size of each coding block; and in response to determining that the size of the coding block is smaller than or equal to a first preset threshold, determining, by the decoder, that the MDIP mode is disabled for the coding block.

[0007] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method for video decoding is provided. The method may include: determining, by a decoder, a size of each coding block; and in response to determining that the size of the coding block is larger than or equal to a second preset threshold, determining, by the decoder, that the MDIP mode is disabled for the coding block.

[0008] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method for video decoding is provided. The method may include: inferring, by a decoder, intra modes adopted in the MDIP according to intra prediction modes derived from an analysis, wherein the analysis comprises a texture analysis, or a coding mode analysis.

[0009] It is to be understood that the above general descriptions and detailed descriptions below are only exemplary and explanatory and not intended to limit the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate examples consistent with the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system for encoding and decoding video blocks in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure. [0012] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary video encoder in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary video decoder in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIGS. 4A through 4E are block diagrams illustrating how a frame is recursively partitioned into multiple video blocks of different sizes and shapes in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 5A illustrates a straight-line derivation of a and b using the min-max method in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 5B is a block diagram illustrating locations of the samples used for the derivation of a and b in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure. [0017] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of classifying the neighboring samples into two groups in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 7 illustrates examples of allowed GPM partitions in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of chosen pixels on which a gradient analysis is performed in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 9 illustrates a convolution process in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary neighboring blocks used in the derivation in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 11 illustrates a template matching prediction in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 12A illustrates a method for video decoding with MDIP in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 12B illustrates a method for video decoding with MDIP in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG. 13 illustrates a method for video decoding with MDIP in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 14 illustrates a method for video decoding with MDIP in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG. 15 illustrates a method for video decoding with MDIP in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 16 illustrates a method for video decoding with MDIP in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0029] FIG. 17 illustrates a method for video decoding with MDIP in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0030] FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating a computing environment coupled with a user interface in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure. [0031] FIG. 19 illustrates a method for video decoding with MDIP in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0032] FIG. 20 illustrates a method for video decoding with MDIP in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0033] FIG. 21 illustrates a method for video decoding with MDIP in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0034] FIG. 22 illustrates a method for video decoding with MDIP in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] Reference will now be made in detail to example embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The following description refers to the accompanying drawings in which the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements unless otherwise represented. The implementations set forth in the following description of example embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with the disclosure. Instead, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with aspects related to the disclosure as recited in the appended claims.

[0036] The terminology used in the present disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It shall also be understood that the term “and/or” used herein is intended to signify and include any or all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0037] It shall be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., may be used herein to describe various information, the information should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one category of information from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, first information may be termed as second information; and similarly, second information may also be termed as first information. As used herein, the term “if’ may be understood to mean “when” or “upon” or “in response to a judgment” depending on the context.

[0038] Various video coding techniques may be used to compress video data. Video coding is performed according to one or more video coding standards. For example, nowadays, some well-known video coding standards include Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC, also known as H.265 or MPEG-H Part2) and Advanced Video Coding (AVC, also known as H.264 or MPEG-4 Part 10), which are jointly developed by ISO/IEC MPEG and ITU-T VECG. AOMedia Video 1 (AVI) was developed by Alliance for Open Media (AOM) as a successor to its preceding standard VP9. Audio Video Coding (AVS), which refers to digital audio and digital video compression standard, is another video compression standard series developed by the Audio and Video Coding Standard Workgroup of China. Most of the existing video coding standards are built upon the famous hybrid video coding framework i.e., using block-based prediction methods (e.g., inter-prediction, intra-prediction) to reduce redundancy present in video images or sequences and using transform coding to compact the energy of the prediction errors. An important goal of video coding techniques is to compress video data into a form that uses a lower bit rate while avoiding or minimizing degradations to video quality.

[0039] The first generation AVS standard includes Chinese national standard “Information Technology, Advanced Audio Video Coding, Part 2: Video” (known as AVS 1) and “Information Technology, Advanced Audio Video Coding Part 16: Radio Television Video” (known as AVS+). It can offer around 50% bit-rate saving at the same perceptual quality compared to MPEG-2 standard. The AVS1 standard video part was promulgated as the Chinese national standard in February 2006. The second generation AVS standard includes the series of Chinese national standard “Information Technology, Efficient Multimedia Coding” (knows as AVS2), which is mainly targeted at the transmission of extra HD TV programs. The coding efficiency of the AVS2 is double of that of the AVS+. On May 2016, the AVS2 was issued as the Chinese national standard. Meanwhile, the AVS2 standard video part was submitted by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) as one international standard for applications. The AVS3 standard is one new generation video coding standard for UHD video application aiming at surpassing the coding efficiency of the latest international standard HEVC. In March 2019, at the 68-th AVS meeting, the AVS3-P2 baseline was finished, which provides approximately 30% bit-rate savings over the HEVC standard. Currently, there is one reference software, called high performance model (HPM), is maintained by the AVS group to demonstrate a reference implementation of the AVS3 standard.

[0040] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system 10 for encoding and decoding video blocks in parallel in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the system 10 includes a source device 12 that generates and encodes video data to be decoded at a later time by a destination device 14. The source device 12 and the destination device 14 may comprise any of a wide variety of electronic devices, including desktop or laptop computers, tablet computers, smart phones, set-top boxes, digital televisions, cameras, display devices, digital media players, video gaming consoles, video streaming device, or the like. In some implementations, the source device 12 and the destination device 14 are equipped with wireless communication capabilities.

[0041] In some implementations, the destination device 14 may receive the encoded video data to be decoded via a link 16. The link 16 may comprise any type of communication medium or device capable of moving the encoded video data from the source device 12 to the destination device 14. In one example, the link 16 may comprise a communication medium to enable the source device 12 to transmit the encoded video data directly to the destination device 14 in real time. The encoded video data may be modulated according to a communication standard, such as a wireless communication protocol, and transmitted to the destination device 14. The communication medium may comprise any wireless or wired communication medium, such as a Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum or one or more physical transmission lines. The communication medium may form part of a packet-based network, such as a local area network, a wide-area network, or a global network such as the Internet. The communication medium may include routers, switches, base stations, or any other equipment that may be useful to facilitate communication from the source device 12 to the destination device 14.

[0042] In some other implementations, the encoded video data may be transmitted from an output interface 22 to a storage device 32. Subsequently, the encoded video data in the storage device 32 may be accessed by the destination device 14 via an input interface 28. The storage device 32 may include any of a variety of distributed or locally accessed data storage media such as a hard drive, Blu-ray discs, Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs), Compact Disc Read-Only Memories (CD-ROMs), flash memory, volatile or non-volatile memory, or any other suitable digital storage media for storing the encoded video data. In a further example, the storage device 32 may correspond to a file server or another intermediate storage device that may hold the encoded video data generated by the source device 12. The destination device 14 may access the stored video data from the storage device 32 via streaming or downloading. The file server may be any type of computer capable of storing the encoded video data and transmitting the encoded video data to the destination device 14. Exemplary file servers include a web server (e.g., for a website), a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server, Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices, or a local disk drive. The destination device 14 may access the encoded video data through any standard data connection, including a wireless channel (e.g., a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) connection), a wired connection (e.g., Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), cable modem, etc.), or a combination of both that is suitable for accessing encoded video data stored on a file server. The transmission of the encoded video data from the storage device 32 may be a streaming transmission, a download transmission, or a combination of both.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 1, the source device 12 includes a video source 18, a video encoder 20 and the output interface 22. The video source 18 may include a source such as a video capturing device, e.g., a video camera, a video archive containing previously captured video, a video feeding interface to receive video from a video content provider, and/or a computer graphics system for generating computer graphics data as the source video, or a combination of such sources. As one example, if the video source 18 is a video camera of a security surveillance system, the source device 12 and the destination device 14 may form camera phones or video phones. However, the implementations described in the present application may be applicable to video coding in general, and may be applied to wireless and/or wired applications.

[0044] The captured, pre-captured, or computer-generated video may be encoded by the video encoder 20. The encoded video data may be transmitted directly to the destination device 14 via the output interface 22 of the source device 12. The encoded video data may also (or alternatively) be stored onto the storage device 32 for later access by the destination device 14 or other devices, for decoding and/or playback. The output interface 22 may further include a modem and/or a transmitter.

[0045] The destination device 14 includes the input interface 28, a video decoder 30, and a display device 34. The input interface 28 may include a receiver and/or a modem and receive the encoded video data over the link 16. The encoded video data communicated over the link 16, or provided on the storage device 32, may include a variety of syntax elements generated by the video encoder 20 for use by the video decoder 30 in decoding the video data. Such syntax elements may be included within the encoded video data transmitted on a communication medium, stored on a storage medium, or stored on a file server.

[0046] In some implementations, the destination device 14 may include the display device 34, which can be an integrated display device and an external display device that is configured to communicate with the destination device 14. The display device 34 displays the decoded video data to a user, and may comprise any of a variety of display devices such as a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a plasma display, an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display, or another type of display device.

[0047] The video encoder 20 and the video decoder 30 may operate according to proprietary or industry standards, such as VVC, HEVC, MPEG-4, Part 10, AVC, or extensions of such standards. It should be understood that the present application is not limited to a specific video encoding/decoding standard and may be applicable to other video encoding/decoding standards. It is generally contemplated that the video encoder 20 of the source device 12 may be configured to encode video data according to any of these current or future standards. Similarly, it is also generally contemplated that the video decoder 30 of the destination device 14 may be configured to decode video data according to any of these current or future standards. [0048] The video encoder 20 and the video decoder 30 each may be implemented as any of a variety of suitable encoder and/or decoder circuitry, such as one or more microprocessors, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), discrete logic, software, hardware, firmware or any combinations thereof. When implemented partially in software, an electronic device may store instructions for the software in a suitable, non-transitory computer-readable medium and execute the instructions in hardware using one or more processors to perform the video encoding/decoding operations disclosed in the present disclosure. Each of the video encoder 20 and the video decoder 30 may be included in one or more encoders or decoders, either of which may be integrated as part of a combined encoder/decoder (CODEC) in a respective device.

[0049] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary video encoder 20 in accordance with some implementations described in the present application. The video encoder 20 may perform intra and inter predictive coding of video blocks within video frames. Intra predictive coding relies on spatial prediction to reduce or remove spatial redundancy in video data within a given video frame or picture. Inter predictive coding relies on temporal prediction to reduce or remove temporal redundancy in video data within adjacent video frames or pictures of a video sequence. It should be noted that the term “frame” may be used as synonyms for the term “image” or “picture” in the field of video coding.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 2, the video encoder 20 includes a video data memory 40, a prediction processing unit 41, a Decoded Picture Buffer (DPB) 64, a summer 50, a transform processing unit 52, a quantization unit 54, and an entropy encoding unit 56. The prediction processing unit 41 further includes a motion estimation unit 42, a motion compensation unit 44, a partition unit 45, an intra prediction processing unit 46, and an intra Block Copy (BC) unit 48. In some implementations, the video encoder 20 also includes an inverse quantization unit 58, an inverse transform processing unit 60, and a summer 62 for video block reconstruction. An in -loop filter 63, such as a deblocking filter, may be positioned between the summer 62 and the DPB 64 to filter block boundaries to remove blockiness artifacts from reconstructed video. Another in-loop filter, such as Sample Adaptive Offset (S AO) filter and/or Adaptive in-Loop Filter (ALF), may also be used in addition to the deblocking filter to filter an output of the summer 62. In some examples, the in-loop filters may be omitted, and the decoded video block may be directly provided by the summer 62 to the DPB 64. The video encoder 20 may take the form of a fixed or programmable hardware unit or may be divided among one or more of the illustrated fixed or programmable hardware units.

[0051] The video data memory 40 may store video data to be encoded by the components of the video encoder 20. The video data in the video data memory 40 may be obtained, for example, from the video source 18 as shown in FIG. 1. The DPB 64 is a buffer that stores reference video data (for example, reference frames or pictures) for use in encoding video data by the video encoder 20 (e.g., in intra or inter predictive coding modes). The video data memory 40 and the DPB 64 may be formed by any of a variety of memory devices. In various examples, the video data memory 40 may be on-chip with other components of the video encoder 20, or off-chip relative to those components.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 2, after receiving the video data, the partition unit 45 within the prediction processing unit 41 partitions the video data into video blocks. This partitioning may also include partitioning a video frame into slices, tiles (for example, sets of video blocks), or other larger Coding Units (CUs) according to predefined splitting structures such as a Quad- Tree (QT) structure associated with the video data. The video frame is or may be regarded as a two-dimensional array or matrix of samples with sample values. A sample in the array may also be referred to as a pixel or a pel. A number of samples in horizontal and vertical directions (or axes) of the array or picture define a size and/or a resolution of the video frame. The video frame may be divided into multiple video blocks by, for example, using QT partitioning. The video block again is or may be regarded as a two-dimensional array or matrix of samples with sample values, although of smaller dimension than the video frame. A number of samples in horizontal and vertical directions (or axes) of the video block define a size of the video block. The video block may further be partitioned into one or more block partitions or sub-blocks (which may form again blocks) by, for example, iteratively using QT partitioning, Binary-Tree (BT) partitioning or Triple-Tree (TT) partitioning or any combination thereof. It should be noted that the term “block” or “video block” as used herein may be a portion, in particular a rectangular (square or non- square) portion, of a frame or a picture. With reference, for example, to HEVC and VVC, the block or video block may be or correspond to a Coding Tree Unit (CTU), a CU, a Prediction Unit (PU) or a Transform Unit (TU) and/or may be or correspond to a corresponding block, e.g. a Coding Tree Block (CTB), a Coding Block (CB), a Prediction Block (PB) or a Transform Block (TB) and/or to a sub-block.

[0053] The prediction processing unit 41 may select one of a plurality of possible predictive coding modes, such as one of a plurality of intra predictive coding modes or one of a plurality of inter predictive coding modes, for the current video block based on error results (e.g., coding rate and the level of distortion). The prediction processing unit 41 may provide the resulting intra or inter prediction coded block to the summer 50 to generate a residual block and to the summer 62 to reconstruct the encoded block for use as part of a reference frame subsequently. The prediction processing unit 41 also provides syntax elements, such as motion vectors, intra mode indicators, partition information, and other such syntax information, to the entropy encoding unit 56.

[0054] In order to select an appropriate intra predictive coding mode for the current video block, the intra prediction processing unit 46 within the prediction processing unit 41 may perform intra predictive coding of the current video block relative to one or more neighbor blocks in the same frame as the current block to be coded to provide spatial prediction. The motion estimation unit 42 and the motion compensation unit 44 within the prediction processing unit 41 perform inter predictive coding of the current video block relative to one or more predictive blocks in one or more reference frames to provide temporal prediction. The video encoder 20 may perform multiple coding passes, e.g., to select an appropriate coding mode for each block of video data.

[0055] In some implementations, the motion estimation unit 42 determines the inter prediction mode for a current video frame by generating a motion vector, which indicates the displacement of a video block within the current video frame relative to a predictive block within a reference video frame, according to a predetermined pattern within a sequence of video frames. Motion estimation, performed by the motion estimation unit 42, is the process of generating motion vectors, which estimate motion for video blocks. A motion vector, for example, may indicate the displacement of a video block within a current video frame or picture relative to a predictive block within a reference frame relative to the current block being coded within the current frame. The predetermined pattern may designate video frames in the sequence as P frames or B frames. The intra BC unit 48 may determine vectors, e.g., block vectors, for intra BC coding in a manner similar to the determination of motion vectors by the motion estimation unit 42 for inter prediction, or may utilize the motion estimation unit 42 to determine the block vector.

[0056] A predictive block for the video block may be or may correspond to a block or a reference block of a reference frame that is deemed as closely matching the video block to be coded in terms of pixel difference, which may be determined by Sum of Absolute Difference (SAD), Sum of Square Difference (SSD), or other difference metrics. In some implementations, the video encoder 20 may calculate values for sub-integer pixel positions of reference frames stored in the DPB 64. For example, the video encoder 20 may interpolate values of one-quarter pixel positions, one-eighth pixel positions, or other fractional pixel positions of the reference frame. Therefore, the motion estimation unit 42 may perform a motion search relative to the full pixel positions and fractional pixel positions and output a motion vector with fractional pixel precision.

[0057] The motion estimation unit 42 calculates a motion vector for a video block in an inter prediction coded frame by comparing the position of the video block to the position of a predictive block of a reference frame selected from a first reference frame list (List 0) or a second reference frame list (List 1), each of which identifies one or more reference frames stored in the DPB 64. The motion estimation unit 42 sends the calculated motion vector to the motion compensation unit 44 and then to the entropy encoding unit 56.

[0058] Motion compensation, performed by the motion compensation unit 44, may involve fetching or generating the predictive block based on the motion vector determined by the motion estimation unit 42. Upon receiving the motion vector for the current video block, the motion compensation unit 44 may locate a predictive block to which the motion vector points in one of the reference frame lists, retrieve the predictive block from the DPB 64, and forward the predictive block to the summer 50. The summer 50 then forms a residual video block of pixel difference values by subtracting pixel values of the predictive block provided by the motion compensation unit 44 from the pixel values of the current video block being coded. The pixel difference values forming the residual video block may include luma or chroma difference components or both. The motion compensation unit 44 may also generate syntax elements associated with the video blocks of a video frame for use by the video decoder 30 in decoding the video blocks of the video frame. The syntax elements may include, for example, syntax elements defining the motion vector used to identify the predictive block, any flags indicating the prediction mode, or any other syntax information described herein. Note that the motion estimation unit 42 and the motion compensation unit 44 may be highly integrated, but are illustrated separately for conceptual purposes.

[0059] In some implementations, the intra BC unit 48 may generate vectors and fetch predictive blocks in a manner similar to that described above in connection with the motion estimation unit 42 and the motion compensation unit 44, but with the predictive blocks being in the same frame as the current block being coded and with the vectors being referred to as block vectors as opposed to motion vectors. In particular, the intra BC unit 48 may determine an intra-prediction mode to use to encode a current block. In some examples, the intra BC unit 48 may encode a current block using various intra-prediction modes, e.g., during separate encoding passes, and test their performance through rate-distortion analysis. Next, the intra BC unit 48 may select, among the various tested intra-prediction modes, an appropriate intra prediction mode to use and generate an intra-mode indicator accordingly. For example, the intra BC unit 48 may calculate rate-distortion values using a rate-distortion analysis for the various tested intra-prediction modes, and select the intra-prediction mode having the best rate- distortion characteristics among the tested modes as the appropriate intra-prediction mode to use. Rate-distortion analysis generally determines an amount of distortion (or error) between an encoded block and an original, unencoded block that was encoded to produce the encoded block, as well as a bitrate (i.e., a number of bits) used to produce the encoded block. Intra BC unit 48 may calculate ratios from the distortions and rates for the various encoded blocks to determine which intra-prediction mode exhibits the best rate-distortion value for the block. [0060] In other examples, the intra BC unit 48 may use the motion estimation unit 42 and the motion compensation unit 44, in whole or in part, to perform such functions for Intra BC prediction according to the implementations described herein. In either case, for Intra block copy, a predictive block may be a block that is deemed as closely matching the block to be coded, in terms of pixel difference, which may be determined by SAD, SSD, or other difference metrics, and identification of the predictive block may include calculation of values for sub integer pixel positions.

[0061] Whether the predictive block is from the same frame according to intra prediction, or a different frame according to inter prediction, the video encoder 20 may form a residual video block by subtracting pixel values of the predictive block from the pixel values of the current video block being coded, forming pixel difference values. The pixel difference values forming the residual video block may include both luma and chroma component differences. [0062] The intra prediction processing unit 46 may intra-predict a current video block, as an alternative to the inter-prediction performed by the motion estimation unit 42 and the motion compensation unit 44, or the intra block copy prediction performed by the intra BC unit 48, as described above. In particular, the intra prediction processing unit 46 may determine an intra prediction mode to use to encode a current block. To do so, the intra prediction processing unit 46 may encode a current block using various intra prediction modes, e.g., during separate encoding passes, and the intra prediction processing unit 46 (or a mode selection unit, in some examples) may select an appropriate intra prediction mode to use from the tested intra prediction modes. The intra prediction processing unit 46 may provide information indicative of the selected intra-prediction mode for the block to the entropy encoding unit 56. The entropy encoding unit 56 may encode the information indicating the selected intra-prediction mode in the bitstream.

[0063] After the prediction processing unit 41 determines the predictive block for the current video block via either inter prediction or intra prediction, the summer 50 forms a residual video block by subtracting the predictive block from the current video block. The residual video data in the residual block may be included in one or more TUs and is provided to the transform processing unit 52. The transform processing unit 52 transforms the residual video data into residual transform coefficients using a transform, such as a Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) or a conceptually similar transform.

[0064] The transform processing unit 52 may send the resulting transform coefficients to the quantization unit 54. The quantization unit 54 quantizes the transform coefficients to further reduce the bit rate. The quantization process may also reduce the bit depth associated with some or all of the coefficients. The degree of quantization may be modified by adjusting a quantization parameter. In some examples, the quantization unit 54 may then perform a scan of a matrix including the quantized transform coefficients. Alternatively, the entropy encoding unit 56 may perform the scan.

[0065] Following quantization, the entropy encoding unit 56 entropy encodes the quantized transform coefficients into a video bitstream using, e.g., Context Adaptive Variable Length Coding (CAVLC), Context Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding (CABAC), Syntax-based context-adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding (SB AC), Probability Interval Partitioning Entropy (PIPE) coding or another entropy encoding methodology or technique. The encoded bitstream may then be transmitted to the video decoder 30 as shown in FIG. 1, or archived in the storage device 32 as shown in FIG. 1 for later transmission to or retrieval by the video decoder 30. The entropy encoding unit 56 may also entropy encode the motion vectors and the other syntax elements for the current video frame being coded.

[0066] The inverse quantization unit 58 and the inverse transform processing unit 60 apply inverse quantization and inverse transformation, respectively, to reconstruct the residual video block in the pixel domain for generating a reference block for prediction of other video blocks. As noted above, the motion compensation unit 44 may generate a motion compensated predictive block from one or more reference blocks of the frames stored in the DPB 64. The motion compensation unit 44 may also apply one or more interpolation filters to the predictive block to calculate sub-integer pixel values for use in motion estimation.

[0067] The summer 62 adds the reconstructed residual block to the motion compensated predictive block produced by the motion compensation unit 44 to produce a reference block for storage in the DPB 64. The reference block may then be used by the intra BC unit 48, the motion estimation unit 42 and the motion compensation unit 44 as a predictive block to inter predict another video block in a subsequent video frame.

[0068] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary video decoder 30 in accordance with some implementations of the present application. The video decoder 30 includes a video data memory 79, an entropy decoding unit 80, a prediction processing unit 81, an inverse quantization unit 86, an inverse transform processing unit 88, a summer 90, and a DPB 92. The prediction processing unit 81 further includes a motion compensation unit 82, an intra prediction unit 84, and an intra BC unit 85. The video decoder 30 may perform a decoding process generally reciprocal to the encoding process described above with respect to the video encoder 20 in connection with FIG. 2. For example, the motion compensation unit 82 may generate prediction data based on motion vectors received from the entropy decoding unit 80, while the intra-prediction unit 84 may generate prediction data based on intra-prediction mode indicators received from the entropy decoding unit 80.

[0069] In some examples, a unit of the video decoder 30 may be tasked to perform the implementations of the present application. Also, in some examples, the implementations of the present disclosure may be divided among one or more of the units of the video decoder 30. For example, the intra BC unit 85 may perform the implementations of the present application, alone, or in combination with other units of the video decoder 30, such as the motion compensation unit 82, the intra prediction unit 84, and the entropy decoding unit 80. In some examples, the video decoder 30 may not include the intra BC unit 85 and the functionality of intra BC unit 85 may be performed by other components of the prediction processing unit 81, such as the motion compensation unit 82.

[0070] The video data memory 79 may store video data, such as an encoded video bitstream, to be decoded by the other components of the video decoder 30. The video data stored in the video data memory 79 may be obtained, for example, from the storage device 32, from a local video source, such as a camera, via wired or wireless network communication of video data, or by accessing physical data storage media (e.g., a flash drive or hard disk). The video data memory 79 may include a Coded Picture Buffer (CPB) that stores encoded video data from an encoded video bitstream. The DPB 92 of the video decoder 30 stores reference video data for use in decoding video data by the video decoder 30 (e.g., in intra or inter predictive coding modes). The video data memory 79 and the DPB 92 may be formed by any of a variety of memory devices, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), including Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), Magneto-resistive RAM (MRAM), Resistive RAM (RRAM), or other types of memory devices. For illustrative purpose, the video data memory 79 and the DPB 92 are depicted as two distinct components of the video decoder 30 in FIG. 3. But it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the video data memory 79 and the DPB 92 may be provided by the same memory device or separate memory devices. In some examples, the video data memory 79 may be on-chip with other components of the video decoder 30, or off-chip relative to those components.

[0071] During the decoding process, the video decoder 30 receives an encoded video bitstream that represents video blocks of an encoded video frame and associated syntax elements. The video decoder 30 may receive the syntax elements at the video frame level and/or the video block level. The entropy decoding unit 80 of the video decoder 30 entropy decodes the bitstream to generate quantized coefficients, motion vectors or intra-prediction mode indicators, and other syntax elements. The entropy decoding unit 80 then forwards the motion vectors or intra-prediction mode indicators and other syntax elements to the prediction processing unit 81.

[0072] When the video frame is coded as an intra predictive coded (I) frame or for intra coded predictive blocks in other types of frames, the intra prediction unit 84 of the prediction processing unit 81 may generate prediction data for a video block of the current video frame based on a signaled intra prediction mode and reference data from previously decoded blocks of the current frame.

[0073] When the video frame is coded as an inter-predictive coded (i.e., B or P) frame, the motion compensation unit 82 of the prediction processing unit 81 produces one or more predictive blocks for a video block of the current video frame based on the motion vectors and other syntax elements received from the entropy decoding unit 80. Each of the predictive blocks may be produced from a reference frame within one of the reference frame lists. The video decoder 30 may construct the reference frame lists, List 0 and List 1, using default construction techniques based on reference frames stored in the DPB 92.

[0074] In some examples, when the video block is coded according to the intra BC mode described herein, the intra BC unit 85 of the prediction processing unit 81 produces predictive blocks for the current video block based on block vectors and other syntax elements received from the entropy decoding unit 80. The predictive blocks may be within a reconstructed region of the same picture as the current video block defined by the video encoder 20.

[0075] The motion compensation unit 82 and/or the intra BC unit 85 determines prediction information for a video block of the current video frame by parsing the motion vectors and other syntax elements, and then uses the prediction information to produce the predictive blocks for the current video block being decoded. For example, the motion compensation unit 82 uses some of the received syntax elements to determine a prediction mode (e.g., intra or inter prediction) used to code video blocks of the video frame, an inter prediction frame type (e.g., B or P), construction information for one or more of the reference frame lists for the frame, motion vectors for each inter predictive encoded video block of the frame, inter prediction status for each inter predictive coded video block of the frame, and other information to decode the video blocks in the current video frame.

[0076] Similarly, the intra BC unit 85 may use some of the received syntax elements, e.g., a flag, to determine that the current video block was predicted using the intra BC mode, construction information of which video blocks of the frame are within the reconstructed region and should be stored in the DPB 92, block vectors for each intra BC predicted video block of the frame, intra BC prediction status for each intra BC predicted video block of the frame, and other information to decode the video blocks in the current video frame.

[0077] The motion compensation unit 82 may also perform interpolation using the interpolation filters as used by the video encoder 20 during encoding of the video blocks to calculate interpolated values for sub-integer pixels of reference blocks. In this case, the motion compensation unit 82 may determine the interpolation filters used by the video encoder 20 from the received syntax elements and use the interpolation filters to produce predictive blocks. [0078] The inverse quantization unit 86 inverse quantizes the quantized transform coefficients provided in the bitstream and entropy decoded by the entropy decoding unit 80 using the same quantization parameter calculated by the video encoder 20 for each video block in the video frame to determine a degree of quantization. The inverse transform processing unit 88 applies an inverse transform, e.g., an inverse DCT, an inverse integer transform, or a conceptually similar inverse transform process, to the transform coefficients in order to reconstruct the residual blocks in the pixel domain.

[0079] After the motion compensation unit 82 or the intra BC unit 85 generates the predictive block for the current video block based on the vectors and other syntax elements, the summer 90 reconstructs decoded video block for the current video block by summing the residual block from the inverse transform processing unit 88 and a corresponding predictive block generated by the motion compensation unit 82 and the intra BC unit 85. An in-loop filter 91 such as deblocking filter, SAO filter and/or ALF may be positioned between the summer 90 and the DPB 92 to further process the decoded video block. In some examples, the in-loop filter 91 may be omitted, and the decoded video block may be directly provided by the summer 90 to the DPB 92. The decoded video blocks in a given frame are then stored in the DPB 92, which stores reference frames used for subsequent motion compensation of next video blocks. The DPB 92, or a memory device separate from the DPB 92, may also store decoded video for later presentation on a display device, such as the display device 34 of FIG. 1.

[0080] In a typical video coding process, a video sequence typically includes an ordered set of frames or pictures. Each frame may include three sample arrays, denoted SL, SCb, and SCr. SL is a two-dimensional array of luma samples. SCb is a two-dimensional array of Cb chroma samples. SCr is a two-dimensional array of Cr chroma samples. In other instances, a frame may be monochrome and therefore includes only one two-dimensional array of luma samples.

[0081] As shown in FIG. 4A, the video encoder 20 (or more specifically the partition unit 45) generates an encoded representation of a frame by first partitioning the frame into a set of CTUs. A video frame may include an integer number of CTUs ordered consecutively in a raster scan order from left to right and from top to bottom. Each CTU is a largest logical coding unit and the width and height of the CTU are signaled by the video encoder 20 in a sequence parameter set, such that all the CTUs in a video sequence have the same size being one of 128x128, 64x64, 32x32, and 16x16. But it should be noted that the present application is not necessarily limited to a particular size. As shown in FIG. 4B, each CTU may comprise one CTB of luma samples, two corresponding coding tree blocks of chroma samples, and syntax elements used to code the samples of the coding tree blocks. The syntax elements describe properties of different types of units of a coded block of pixels and how the video sequence can be reconstructed at the video decoder 30, including inter or intra prediction, intra prediction mode, motion vectors, and other parameters. In monochrome pictures or pictures having three separate color planes, a CTU may comprise a single coding tree block and syntax elements used to code the samples of the coding tree block. A coding tree block may be an NxN block of samples.

[0082] To achieve a better performance, the video encoder 20 may recursively perform tree partitioning such as binary-tree partitioning, ternary-tree partitioning, quad-tree partitioning or a combination thereof on the coding tree blocks of the CTU and divide the CTU into smaller CUs. As depicted in FIG. 4C, the 64x64 CTU 400 is first divided into four smaller CUs, each having a block size of 32x32. Among the four smaller CUs, CU 410 and CU 420 are each divided into four CUs of 16x16 by block size. The two 16x16 CUs 430 and 440 are each further divided into four CUs of 8x8 by block size. FIG. 4D depicts a quad-tree data structure illustrating the end result of the partition process of the CTU 400 as depicted in FIG. 4C, each leaf node of the quad-tree corresponding to one CU of a respective size ranging from 32x32 to 8x8. Like the CTU depicted in FIG. 4B, each CU may comprise a CB of luma samples and two corresponding coding blocks of chroma samples of a frame of the same size, and syntax elements used to code the samples of the coding blocks. In monochrome pictures or pictures having three separate color planes, a CU may comprise a single coding block and syntax structures used to code the samples of the coding block. It should be noted that the quad-tree partitioning depicted in FIGS. 4C and 4D is only for illustrative purposes and one CTU can be split into CUs to adapt to varying local characteristics based on quad/temary/binary-tree partitions. In the multi-type tree structure, one CTU is partitioned by a quad-tree structure and each quad-tree leaf CU can be further partitioned by a binary and ternary tree structure. As shown in FIG. 4E, there are five possible partitioning types of a coding block having a width W and a height H, i.e., quaternary partitioning, horizontal binary partitioning, vertical binary partitioning, horizontal ternary partitioning, and vertical ternary partitioning.

[0083] In some implementations, the video encoder 20 may further partition a coding block of a CU into one or more MxN PBs. A PB is a rectangular (square or non-square) block of samples on which the same prediction, inter or intra, is applied. APU of a CU may comprise a PB of luma samples, two corresponding PBs of chroma samples, and syntax elements used to predict the PBs. In monochrome pictures or pictures having three separate color planes, a PU may comprise a single PB and syntax structures used to predict the PB. The video encoder 20 may generate predictive luma, Cb, and Cr blocks for luma, Cb, and Cr PBs of each PU of the CU.

[0084] The video encoder 20 may use intra prediction or inter prediction to generate the predictive blocks for a PU. If the video encoder 20 uses intra prediction to generate the predictive blocks of a PU, the video encoder 20 may generate the predictive blocks of the PU based on decoded samples of the frame associated with the PU. If the video encoder 20 uses inter prediction to generate the predictive blocks of a PU, the video encoder 20 may generate the predictive blocks of the PU based on decoded samples of one or more frames other than the frame associated with the PU.

[0085] After the video encoder 20 generates predictive luma, Cb, and Cr blocks for one or more PUs of a CU, the video encoder 20 may generate a luma residual block for the CU by subtracting the CU’s predictive luma blocks from its original luma coding block such that each sample in the CU’s luma residual block indicates a difference between a luma sample in one of the CU's predictive luma blocks and a corresponding sample in the CU's original luma coding block. Similarly, the video encoder 20 may generate a Cb residual block and a Cr residual block for the CU, respectively, such that each sample in the CU's Cb residual block indicates a difference between a Cb sample in one of the CU's predictive Cb blocks and a corresponding sample in the CU's original Cb coding block and each sample in the CU's Cr residual block may indicate a difference between a Cr sample in one of the CU's predictive Cr blocks and a corresponding sample in the CU's original Cr coding block.

[0086] Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 4C, the video encoder 20 may use quad-tree partitioning to decompose the luma, Cb, and Cr residual blocks of a CU into one or more luma, Cb, and Cr transform blocks respectively. A transform block is a rectangular (square or non square) block of samples on which the same transform is applied. A TU of a CU may comprise a transform block of luma samples, two corresponding transform blocks of chroma samples, and syntax elements used to transform the transform block samples. Thus, each TU of a CU may be associated with a luma transform block, a Cb transform block, and a Cr transform block. In some examples, the luma transform block associated with the TU may be a sub-block of the CU's luma residual block. The Cb transform block may be a sub-block of the CU's Cb residual block. The Cr transform block may be a sub-block of the CU's Cr residual block. In monochrome pictures or pictures having three separate color planes, a TU may comprise a single transform block and syntax structures used to transform the samples of the transform block. [0087] The video encoder 20 may apply one or more transforms to a luma transform block of a TU to generate a luma coefficient block for the TU. A coefficient block may be a two- dimensional array of transform coefficients. A transform coefficient may be a scalar quantity. The video encoder 20 may apply one or more transforms to a Cb transform block of a TU to generate a Cb coefficient block for the TU. The video encoder 20 may apply one or more transforms to a Cr transform block of a TU to generate a Cr coefficient block for the TU. [0088] After generating a coefficient block (e.g., a luma coefficient block, a Cb coefficient block or a Cr coefficient block), the video encoder 20 may quantize the coefficient block. Quantization generally refers to a process in which transform coefficients are quantized to possibly reduce the amount of data used to represent the transform coefficients, providing further compression. After the video encoder 20 quantizes a coefficient block, the video encoder 20 may entropy encode syntax elements indicating the quantized transform coefficients. For example, the video encoder 20 may perform CABAC on the syntax elements indicating the quantized transform coefficients. Finally, the video encoder 20 may output a bitstream that includes a sequence of bits that forms a representation of coded frames and associated data, which is either saved in the storage device 32 or transmitted to the destination device 14.

[0089] After receiving a bitstream generated by the video encoder 20, the video decoder 30 may parse the bitstream to obtain syntax elements from the bitstream. The video decoder 30 may reconstruct the frames of the video data based at least in part on the syntax elements obtained from the bitstream. The process of reconstructing the video data is generally reciprocal to the encoding process performed by the video encoder 20. For example, the video decoder 30 may perform inverse transforms on the coefficient blocks associated with TUs of a current CU to reconstruct residual blocks associated with the TUs of the current CU. The video decoder 30 also reconstructs the coding blocks of the current CU by adding the samples of the predictive blocks for PUs of the current CU to corresponding samples of the transform blocks of the TUs of the current CU. After reconstructing the coding blocks for each CU of a frame, video decoder 30 may reconstruct the frame.

[0090] As noted above, video coding achieves video compression using primarily two modes, i.e., intra-frame prediction (or intra-prediction) and inter-frame prediction (or inter prediction). It is noted that IBC could be regarded as either intra-frame prediction or a third mode. Between the two modes, inter-frame prediction contributes more to the coding efficiency than intra-frame prediction because of the use of motion vectors for predicting a current video block from a reference video block.

[0091] But with the ever improving video data capturing technology and more refined video block size for preserving details in the video data, the amount of data required for representing motion vectors for a current frame also increases substantially. One way of overcoming this challenge is to benefit from the fact that not only a group of neighboring CUs in both the spatial and temporal domains have similar video data for predicting purpose but the motion vectors between these neighboring CUs are also similar. Therefore, it is possible to use the motion information of spatially neighboring CUs and/or temporally co-located CUs as an approximation of the motion information (e.g., motion vector) of a current CU by exploring their spatial and temporal correlation, which is also referred to as “Motion Vector Predictor (MVP)” of the current CU.

[0092] Instead of encoding, into the video bitstream, an actual motion vector of the current CU determined by the motion estimation unit 42 as described above in connection with FIG. 2, the motion vector predictor of the current CU is subtracted from the actual motion vector of the current CU to produce a Motion Vector Difference (MVD) for the current CU. By doing so, there is no need to encode the motion vector determined by the motion estimation unit 42 for each CU of a frame into the video bitstream and the amount of data used for representing motion information in the video bitstream can be significantly decreased.

[0093] Like the process of choosing a predictive block in a reference frame during inter- frame prediction of a code block, a set of rules need to be adopted by both the video encoder 20 and the video decoder 30 for constructing a motion vector candidate list (also known as a “merge list”) for a current CU using those potential candidate motion vectors associated with spatially neighboring CUs and/or temporally co-located CUs of the current CU and then selecting one member from the motion vector candidate list as a motion vector predictor for the current CU. By doing so, there is no need to transmit the motion vector candidate list itself from the video encoder 20 to the video decoder 30 and an index of the selected motion vector predictor within the motion vector candidate list is sufficient for the video encoder 20 and the video decoder 30 to use the same motion vector predictor within the motion vector candidate list for encoding and decoding the current CU.

[0094] Cross-component linear model prediction

[0095] To reduce the cross-component redundancy, a cross-component linear model (CCLM) prediction mode is used in VVC, for which the chroma samples are predicted based on the reconstructed luma samples of the same CU by using a linear model as follows: pred _c (i, j) = a · rec _L '(i,j) + b where pred _c (i, j) represents the predicted chroma samples in a CU and rec _L '(i, j)represents the downsampled reconstructed luma samples of the same CU. Linear model parameter a and b are derived from the straight-line relationship between luma values and chroma values from two samples, which are minimum luma sample A (XA, YA) and maximum luma sample B (XB, YB) inside the set of neighboring luma samples, as exemplified in FIG. 5A. Here XA, YA are the x-coordinate (i.e., luma value) and y-coordinate (i.e., chroma value) value for sample A, and XB, YB are the x-coordinate and y-coordinate value for sample B. The linear model parameters a and b are obtained according to the following equations. b ~ y,r «¾

[0096] Such a method is also called min-Max method. The division in the equation above could be avoided and replaced by a multiplication and a shift.

[0097] For a coding block with a square shape, the above two equations are applied directly. For a non-square coding block, the neighboring samples of the longer boundary are first subsampled to have the same number of samples as for the shorter boundary. FIG. 5B shows the location of the left and above samples and the sample of the current block involved in the CCLM mode.

[0098] Besides the scenario wherein the above template and the left template are used to calculate the linear model coefficients, the two templates also can be used alternatively in the other two LM modes, called LM_A, and LM_L modes.

[0099] In LM_A mode, only pixel samples in the above template are used to calculate the linear model coefficients. To get more samples, the above template is extended to the size of (W+W). In LM_L mode, only pixel samples in the left template are used to calculate the linear model coefficients. To get more samples, the left template is extended to the size of (H+H). [00100] Note that when the upper reference line is at the CTU boundary, only one luma row (which is stored in line buffer for intra prediction) is used to make the down-sampled luma samples.

[00101] For chroma intra mode coding, a total of 8 intra modes are allowed for chroma intra mode coding. Those modes include five traditional intra modes and three cross-component linear model modes (CCLM, LM_A, and LM_L). Chroma intra prediction mode is derived using cclm mode flag, cclm mode idx, intra chroma pred mode and lumalntraPredMode as specified in Table 1. Chroma mode coding directly depends on the intra prediction mode of the corresponding luma block. Since separate block partitioning structure for luma and chroma components is enabled in I slices, one chroma block may correspond to multiple luma blocks. Therefore, for Chroma DM mode, the intra prediction mode of the corresponding luma block covering the center position of the current chroma block is directly inherited.

Table 1 Specification of Chroma intra prediction mode depending on cclm mode flag, cclm mode idx, intra chroma pred mode and lumalntraPredMode

[00102] Multi-model linear model prediction

[00103] To reduce the cross-component redundancy, multi-model linear model (MMLM) prediction mode is proposed, for which the chroma samples are predicted based on the reconstructed luma samples of the same CU by using two linear models as follows: ipred _c (i, j) = a ₁ · rec _L '(i, j) + b ₁ if rec _L '(i, j) < Threshold lpred _c (i,j) = a ₂ rec _L '(i,j) + b ₂ if rec _L '(i,j) > Threshold where pred _c (i, j)pred _c (i, j) represents the predicted chroma samples in a CU and rec _L '(i, j)represents the downsampled reconstructed luma samples of the same CU. Threshold is calculated as the average value of the neighboring reconstructed luma samples. FIG. 6 shows an example of classifying the neighboring samples into two groups based on the value Threshold. For each group, parameter a, and b _ί , with i equal to 1 and 2 respectively, are derived from the straight-line relationship between luma values and chroma values from two samples, which are minimum luma sample A (XA, YA) and maximum luma sample B (XB, YB) inside the group. Here XA, YA are the x-coordinate (i.e., luma value) and y-coordinate (i.e., chroma value) value for sample A, and XB, YB are the x-coordinate and y-coordinate value for sample B. The linear model parameters a and b are obtained according to the following equations.

P >vr «X _A

[00104] Such a method is also called min-Max method. The division in the equation above could be avoided and replaced by a multiplication and a shift.

[00105] For a coding block with a square shape, the above two equations are applied directly. For a non-square coding block, the neighboring samples of the longer boundary are first subsampled to have the same number of samples as for the shorter boundary.

[00106] Besides the scenario wherein the above template and the left template are used together to calculate the linear model coefficients, the two templates also can be used alternatively in the other two MMLM modes, called MMLM_A, and MMLM_L modes. [00107] In MMLM A mode, only pixel samples in the above template are used to calculate the linear model coefficients. To get more samples, the above template is extended to the size of (W+W). In MMLM L mode, only pixel samples in the left template are used to calculate the linear model coefficients. To get more samples, the left template is extended to the size of (H+H).

[00108] Note that when the upper reference line is at the CTU boundary, only one luma row (which is stored in line buffer for intra prediction) is used to make the down-sampled luma samples.

[00109] For chroma intra mode coding, a total of 11 intra modes are allowed for chroma intra mode coding. Those modes include five traditional intra modes and six cross-component linear model modes (CCLM, LM_A, LM_L, MMLM, MMLM A and MMLM L). Chroma mode coding directly depends on the intra prediction mode of the corresponding luma block. Since separate block partitioning structure for luma and chroma components is enabled in I slices, one chroma block may correspond to multiple luma blocks. Therefore, for Chroma DM mode, the intra prediction mode of the corresponding luma block covering the center position of the current chroma block is directly inherited.

[00110] Geometric partition mode (GPM) [00111] In the VVC, a geometric partitioning mode is supported for inter prediction. The geometric partitioning mode is signaled by one CU-level flag as one special merge mode. In the current GPM design, 64 partitions are supported in total by the GPM mode for each possible CU size with both width and height not smaller than 8 and not larger than 64, excluding 8x64 and 64x8.

[00112] When this mode is used, a CU is split into two parts by a geometrically located straight line as shown in FIG. 7. The location of the splitting line is mathematically derived from the angle and offset parameters of a specific partition. Each part of a geometric partition in the CU is inter-predicted using its own motion; only uni -prediction is allowed for each partition, that is, each part has one motion vector and one reference index. The uni -prediction motion constraint is applied to ensure that same as the conventional bi-prediction, only two motion compensated prediction are needed for each CU. If geometric partitioning mode is used for the current CU, then a geometric partition index indicating the partition mode of the geometric partition (angle and offset), and two merge indices (one for each partition) are further signaled. The number of maximum GPM candidate size is signaled explicitly at sequence level. [00113] Blending along geometric partition edge

[00114] After each geometric partition is obtained using its own motion, blending is applied to the two uni -prediction signals to derive samples around geometric partition edge. The blending weight for each position of the CU are derived based on the distance from each individual sample position to the corresponding partition edge.

[00115] GPM signaling design

[00116] According to the current GPM design, the usage of the GPM is indicated by signaling one flag at the CU-level. The flag is only signaled when the current CU is coded by either merge mode or skip mode. Specifically, when the flag is equal to one, it indicates the current CU is predicted by the GPM. Otherwise (the flag is equal to zero), the CU is coded by another merge mode such as regular merge mode, merge mode with motion vector differences, combined inter and intra prediction and so forth. When the GPM is enabled for the current CU, one syntax element, namely merge gpm partition idx, is further signaled to indicate the applied geometric partition mode (which specifies the direction and the offset of the straight line from the CU center that splits the CU into two partitions as shown in FIG. 7). After that, two syntax elements merge gpm idxO and merge gpm idxl are signaled to indicate the indices of the uni-prediction merge candidates that are used for the first and second GPM partitions. More specifically, those two syntax elements are used to determine the uni- directional MVs of the two GPM partitions from the uni -prediction merge list as described in the section “uni-prediction merge list construction”. According to the current GPM design, in order to make two uni-directional MVs more different, the two indices cannot be the same. Based on such prior knowledge, the uni -prediction merge index of the first GPM partition is firstly signaled and used as the predictor to reduce the signaling overhead of the uni -prediction merge index of the second GPM partition. In details, if the second uni -prediction merge index is smaller than the first uni -prediction merge index, its original value is directly signaled. Otherwise (the second uni -prediction merge index is larger than the first uni -prediction merge index), its value is subtracted by one before being signaled to bit-stream. At decoder side, the first uni-prediction merge index is firstly decoder. Then, for the decoding of the second uni prediction merge index, if the parsed value is smaller than the first uni -prediction merge index, the second uni -prediction merge index is set equal to the parse value; otherwise (the parsed value is equal to or larger than the first uni -prediction merge index), the second uni -prediction merge index is set equal to the parsed value plus one. Table 2 illustrates the existing syntax elements that are used for the GPM mode in the current VVC specification.

Table 2 The existing GPM syntax elements in merge data syntax table of the VVC specification

[00117] On the other hand, in the current GPM design, truncated unary code is used for the binarization of the two uni -prediction merge indices, i.e., merge gpm idxO and merge gpm idxl. Additionally, because the two uni -prediction merge indices cannot be the same, different maximum values are used to truncate the code-words of the two uni -prediction merge indices, which are set equal to MaxGPMMergeCand - 1 and MaxGPMMergeCand -2 for merge gpm idxO and merge gpm idxl, respectively. MaxGPMMergeCand is the number of the candidates in the uni -prediction merge list.

[00118] When the GPM/AWP mode is applied, two different binarization methods are applied to translate the syntax m erge gpm parti ti on_i dx into a string of binary bits. Specifically, the syntax element is binarized by fixed-length code and truncated binary code in the VVC and AVS3 standards, respectively. Meanwhile, for the AWP mode in the AVS3, different maximum values are used for the binarizations of the [00119] Spatial angular weighted prediction (SAWP)

[00120] In the AVS, a spatial angular weighted prediction (SAWP) mode which extends the GPM mode to the intra block. Instead of weighting two inter prediction blocks, in the SAWP mode, two intra prediction blocks are weighted. The two intra prediction blocks are predicted using two different intra prediction modes which are selected from the intra prediction modes. The intra prediction mode is selected from angular mode 5 to 30. The maximum size is 32x32. The 2 MPMs of regular intra mode is used for most probable mode (MPM) derivation of the SAWP mode.

[00121] Multi-direction intra prediction design (MDIP) which follows the same design spirit of SAWP but with some subtle differences in certain design details.

[00122] Decoder-side Intra Mode Derivation (DIMD)

[00123] In DIMD mode, the intra prediction mode is no longer searched for at the encoder but rather derived using previously encoded neighboring pixels through a gradient analysis. DIMD is signaled for intra coded blocks using a simple flag. At the decoder, if the DIMD flag is true, the intra prediction mode is derived in the reconstruction process using the same previously encoded neighboring pixels. If not, the intra prediction mode is parsed from the bitstream as in classical intra coding mode.

[00124] To derive the intra prediction mode for a block, we must first select a set of neighboring pixels on which we will perform a gradient analysis. For normativity purposes, these pixels should be in the decoded / reconstructed pool of pixels. We choose, as shown in FIG. 8, a template surrounding the current block by T pixels to the left, and T pixels above. Next, we perform a gradient analysis on the pixels of the template. This allows to determine a main angular direction for the template, which we assume (and that is the core premise of our method) has a high chance to be identical to the one of the current blocks. We thus use a simple 3x3 Sobel gradient filter, defined by the following matrices that will be convoluted with the template: [00125] For each pixel of the template, we point-by-point multiply each of these two matrices with the 3x3 window centered around the current pixel and composed of its 8 direct neighbors, and sum the result. Thus, we obtain two values Gx (from the multiplication with Mx), and Gy (from the multiplication with My) corresponding to the gradient at the current pixel, in the horizontal and vertical direction respectively.

[00126] FIG. 9 shows the convolution process. The pixel 910 in the center of the window is the current pixel. Inner pixels (including the current pixel) adjacent to and inside template box 920 are pixels on which the gradient analysis is possible. Pixels just outside of the current block are pixels on which the gradient analysis is not possible due to lack of some neighbors. Outside pixels 930 are available (reconstructed) pixels outside of the considered template, used in the gradient analysis of the inner pixels. In case an outside pixel is not available (due to blocks being too close to the border of the picture for instance), the gradient analysis of all inner pixels that use this outside pixel is not performed. For each inner pixel, we compute the intensity (G) and the orientation (O) of the gradient using Gx and Gy as such: atan (— )

[00127] The orientation of the gradient is then converted into an intra angular prediction mode, used to index a histogram (first initialized to zero). The histogram value at that intra angular mode is increased by G. Once all the inner pixels in the template have been processed, the histogram will contain cumulative values of gradient intensities, for each intra angular mode. The mode that shows the highest peak in the histogram is selected as intra prediction mode for the current block. If the maximum value in the histogram is 0 (meaning no gradient analysis was able to be made, or the area composing the template is flat), then the DC mode is selected as intra prediction mode for the current block.

[00128] Secondary MPM

[00129] The secondary MPM modes are derived from the modes included into the MPM list and if MPM mode is angular and is from a neighboring block. The existing primary MPM (PMPM) list consists of 6 entries and the secondary MPM (SMPM) list includes 16 entries. A general MPM list with 22 entries is constructed first, and then the first 6 entries in this general MPM list are included into the PMPM list, and the rest of entries form the SMPM list. The first entry in the general MPM list is the Planar mode. The remaining entries are composed of the intra modes of the left (L), above (A), below-left (BL), above-right (AR), and above-left (AL) neighboring blocks as shown in FIG. 10, the directional modes with added offset from the first two available directional modes of neighboring blocks, and the default modes. If a CU block is vertically oriented, the order of neighboring blocks is A, L, BL, AR, AL; otherwise, it is L, A, BL, AR, AL. A PMPM flag is parsed first, if equal to 1 then a PMPM index is parsed to determine which entry of the PMPM list is selected, otherwise the SMPM flag is parsed to determine whether to parse the SMPM index or the remaining modes. Similar to the MPM list construction, if secondary MPM list is not complete, default modes are added. The default mode list is defined as {2, 18, 34, 50, 66; 10, 26, 42, 58; 6, 14, 22, 30, 38, 46, 54, 62; 17, 19, 49, 51}.

[00130] Intra template matching

[00131] Template matching prediction (TMP) is a special intra prediction mode that copies the best prediction block from the reconstructed part of the current frame, whose L-shaped templated matches the current template. This is illustrated in FIG. 11. For a predefined search range, the encoder searches for the most similar template to the current template in the reconstructed part of the current frame, and uses the corresponding block as a prediction block. The encoder then signals the usage of this mode, and the inverse operation is made at the decoder side.

[00132] Although the SAWP/MDIP mode can enhance the intra prediction efficiency, there is room to further improve its performance. Meanwhile, some parts of the existing SAWP/MDIP mode also need to be simplified for efficient codec hardware implementations or improved for better coding efficiency. Furthermore, the tradeoff between its implementation complexity and its coding efficiency benefit needs to be further improved.

[00133] In this disclosure, several methods are proposed to further improve the MDIP/SAWP coding efficiency or simplify the existing MDIP/SAWP design to facilitate hardware implementations. It is noted that the disclosed methods may be applied independently or jointly.

[00134] Multi-direction intra prediction with decoder-side intra mode derivation [00135] In this disclosure, to further improve the coding efficiency, intra modes used in MDIP are not explicitly signaled in the bitstream but inferred instead. As illustrated in FIG. 12A, step 1202, it is inferred according to the intra prediction modes derived from decoder- side intra mode derivation (DIMD). The proposed methods are named as multi-direction intra prediction with decoder-side intra mode derivation (MDIP -DIMD). In the proposed schemes as shown in step 1204, prediction modes are selected based on the highest peak and the second highest peak in the histogram, the intra prediction mode of the current block combines the selected prediction modes in one similar manner of the existing DIMD design. If the maximum value corresponding to the highest peak or the second largest value corresponding to the second highest peak in the histogram is 0 (meaning no gradient analysis was able to be made, or the area composing the template is flat), then the default mode (i.e., DC, planar) is selected as intra prediction mode for the current block.

[00136] In the example shown in FIG. 12B, the histogram has two peaks at two modes Mi and M2. A first prediction block Predl is obtained using mode Mi while a second prediction block Pred2 is obtained using mode M2. The decoder may select the first mode Mi corresponding to the second highest peak and select the second mode M2 corresponding to the highest peak. The decoder obtains the final prediction block as a weighted sum of the first prediction block Predl and the second prediction block Pred2, where W1 and W2 are two weight matrices.

[00137] In this case, for a given CU, a flag is signaled to decoder to indicate whether the block uses a MDIP-DIMD mode or not. If it is coded using a MDIP-DIMD mode, two intra prediction modes derived from DIMD are used to infer which intra modes are actually used. Additionally, the blending method of two intra modes are signaled in one similar manner of the existing GPM/AMP design, i.e., binarized by fixed-length code and truncated binary code in the VVC and AVS3 standards, respectively.

[00138] Multi-direction intra prediction with secondary MPM

[00139] In another aspect of the disclosure as shown in FIG. 13, intra modes used in MDIP are received by applying secondary MPM in the bitstream, as in step 1302. The proposed methods are named as multi-direction intra prediction with secondary MPM. In the proposed schemes as in step 1304, two intra prediction modes used in MDIP are received in one similar manner of the existing secondary MPM design, i.e., a PMPM flag is parsed first, if equal to 1 then a PMPM index is parsed to determine which entry of the PMPM list is selected, otherwise the SMPM flag is parsed to determine whether to parse the SMPM index or the remaining modes.

[00140] In this case, for a given CU, a flag is signaled to decoder to indicate whether the block uses a MDIP mode or not. If the block is coded using a MDIP mode, two intra prediction modes are further signaled with secondary MPM. Additionally, the blending method of two intra modes are signaled in similar manners of the existing GPM/AMP design, i.e., binarized by fixed-length code and truncated binary code in the VVC and AVS3 standards, respectively. [00141] Multi-direction intra prediction with Intra template matching [00142] In yet another aspect of this disclosure as shown in FIG. 14, it is proposed to use intra template matching in MDIP, as in step 1402. The proposed methods are named as multi direction intra prediction with intra template matching (MDIP-TMP). According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, the intra template matching mode is selected as the intra prediction mode of the current block in one similar manner of the existing intra template matching design, as shown in step 1404. In one example, for a given CU, a flag is signaled to decoder to indicate whether the block uses a MDIP-TMP mode or not. If it is coded using a MDIP-TMP mode, one intra prediction mode is further signaled and the other intra mode is generated by intra template matching. Additionally, the blending method of two intra modes are signaled in one similar manner of the existing GPM/AMP design, i.e., binarized by fixed- length code and truncated binary code in the VVC and AVS3 standards, respectively.

[00143] Multi-direction intra prediction with CCLM/MMLM mode [00144] In another aspect of this disclosure, it is proposed to use CCLM/MMLM in MDIP, as illustrated in FIG. 15, step 1502. The proposed methods are named as multi-direction intra prediction with cross-component linear model prediction (MDIP-CCLM). According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, in step 1504, the CCLM/MMLM mode is selected as the intra prediction mode of the current block in one similar manner of the existing CCLM/MMLM design. In one example, for a given CU, a flag is signaled to decoder to indicate whether the block uses a MDIP-CCLM mode or not. If it is coded using a MDIP-CCLM mode, one intra prediction mode is further signaled and the other intra mode is generated by CCLM/MMLM. Additionally, the blending method of two intra modes are signaled in one similar manner of the existing GPM/AMP design, i.e., binarized by fixed-length code and truncated binary code in the VVC and AVS3 standards, respectively.

[00145] Fixed blending methods in multi-direction intra prediction

[00146] In yet another aspect of this disclosure, it is proposed to use fixed blending methods in MDIP, as shown in FIG. 16. According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, one of a plurality of GEO blending methods is selected as the blending method for MDIP in step 1602, and the selection is determined according to certain coded information of the current block, e.g., width, height, neighbor intra modes, intra mode from DIMD or quantization parameter associated with the TB/CB and/or the slice/profile in step 1604.

In one example, the blending method of two intra modes is determined according to the ratio of CU width and height, i.e., when CU width is equal to CU height then triangular blending method in GEO blending methods is selected.

[00147] Signaled blending methods in multi-direction intra prediction [00148] In another aspect of this disclosure, it is proposed to signal blending methods for MDIP as illustrated in FIG. 17. According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, in step 1702, the blending method is determined according to a new syntax element associated with the TB/CB/slice/picture/sequence level. In step 1704, different binary methods may be used for the new syntax element, with some exemplar methods listed as follows.

1. Fixed length binarization

2. Truncated Rice binarization

3. Truncated Binary (TB) binarization process

4. k-th order Exp-Golomb binarization process (EGk)

5. Limited k-th order Exp-Golomb binarization

[00149] CU size dependent signaled blending methods in multi-direction intra prediction [00150] In yet another aspect of this disclosure, it is proposed to signal blending parameters for MDIP based on CU size, as illustrated in Step 1902 of FIG. 19. According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, in Step 1904, the blending parameter is determined according to a new syntax element associated with the TB/CB/slice/picture/sequence level and CU size. Blending methods applied to the CU may be determined based on the blending parameters. Different binary methods may be used for the new syntax element, with some exemplar methods listed as follows.

1. Fixed length binarization

2. Truncated Rice binarization

3. Truncated Binary (TB) binarization process

4. k-th order Exp-Golomb binarization process (EGk)

5. Limited k-th order Exp-Golomb binarization

[00151] The partition angle variable angleldx and the distance variable distanceldx of the geometric partitioning mode are set according to the value of merge gpm partition idx [xCb][yCb] as specified in Table 3.

[00152] Table 3 The specification of angleldx and distanceldx based on erge gpm partition idx i {

[00153] The 64 supported GPM partitioning modes are indexed by the syntax element erge gpm partition idx that is coded into the bitstream using the VVC entropy coding engine. The GPM partitioning modes are grouped by angles index and distances index. [00154] Different blending parameter sets may be used for different CU size, and different blending parameter sets may correspond to different blending methods, with some exemplar methods listed as follows.

1. Fixed weight in all positions, e.g., (1/2, 1/2}, (1/3, 2/3}

2. All GPM partitions

3. Subset of GPM partitions, e.g., { 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 36 }, { 0, 8, 10, 12,

13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 34, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60 }, { 0, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 55, 56, 57, 58 }, { 0, 1, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 31, 37, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 51, 55, 56, 57, 59 } 4. Zero offset of GPM partitions

[00155] In one example, the blending method of two intra modes is determined according to the signaled index and CU width and height, i.e., when CU width and CU height are equal to 64, then one of (18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 36} in GEO blending methods is selected, when CU width is equal to 32 and CU height is equal to 32, then one of { 0, 1, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,

15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 31, 37, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 51, 55, 56, 57, 59 } in GEO blending methods is selected, when CU width is equal to 32 and CU height is equal to

16, then one of { 0, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 55, 56, 57, 58 } in GEO blending methods is selected, when CU width is equal to 32 and CU height is equal to 8, then one of { 0, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 34, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60 } in GEO blending methods is selected.

[00156] MDIP mode excluding small blocks

[00157] In another aspect of this disclosure, to reduce the complexity, it is proposed to disable the MDIP mode for small block size, as illustrated in FIG. 20. In one example, it is proposed to disable the MDIP mode for all the blocks with a size smaller than or equal to a certain threshold, e.g., 16 samples. In dual tree cases, the chroma component should be considered separately, the MDIP mode for chroma CU that are smaller than or equal to 16 pixels is disabled on dual-tree cases. The following table gives one example where the proposed syntax is signaled on VVC Draft.

[00158] Coded layer video sequence (CLVS): A sequence of PUs with the same value of nuh layer id that consists, in decoding order, of a CLVSS PU, followed by zero or more PUs that are not CLVSS PUs, including all subsequent PUs up to but not including any subsequent

PU that is a CLVSS PU.

[00159] sps_mdip_enabled_flag equal to 1 specifies that the MDIP mode is enabled for the CLVS. sps mdip enabled flag equal to 0 specifies that the MDIP mode is disabled for the CLVS. When sps mdip enabled flag is not present, it is inferred to be equal to 0.

[00160] pred_mode_mdip_flag specifies the use of MDIP mode in the current coding unit pred mode mdip flag equal to 1 indicates that MDIP mode is applied in the current coding unit pred mode mdip flag equal to 0 indicates that MDIP mode is not applied in the current coding unit. When pred mode mdip flag is not present, it is inferred to be equal to 0.

[00161] In another embodiment of the disclosure, for local dual tree cases, it is proposed to disable the MDIP mode for small-size block. In one example for local dual tree cases, the MDIP mode for CU that are smaller or equal to 32 pixels is disabled.

[00162] MDIP mode excluding large blocks

[00163] In another aspect of this disclosure, to reduce the complexity, it is proposed to disable the MDIP mode for large block size, as illustrated in FIG. 21. In one example, it is proposed to disable the MDIP mode for all the blocks with a size larger than or equal to a certain threshold, e.g., width >= 64 and height >= 64. The following table gives one example where the proposed syntax is signaled on VVC Draft.

[00164] Implicit intra mode for multi-direction intra prediction

[00165] In another aspect of this disclosure, to further improve the coding efficiency, intra modes used in MDIP are not explicitly signaled in the bitstream but inferred instead, as illustrated in FIG. 22. It is inferred according to the intra prediction modes derived through some analysis, such as texture analysis (edge, fore- or background) or coding mode analysis (from nearest neighbor mode). If the analysis is not reliable (meaning no gradient analysis was able to be made, or the area composing the template is flat) or nearest neighbor mode is not intra mode, then the default mode (i.e., DC, planar) is selected as intra prediction mode for the current block.

[00166] The above methods may be implemented using an apparatus that includes one or more circuitries, which include application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, or other electronic components. The apparatus may use the circuitries in combination with the other hardware or software components for performing the above- described methods. Each module, sub-module, unit, or sub-unit disclosed above may be implemented at least partially using the one or more circuitries.

[00167] FIG. 18 shows a computing environment 1610 coupled with a user interface 1650. The computing environment 1610 can be part of a data processing server. The computing environment 1610 includes a processor 1620, a memory 1630, and an Input/Output (I/O) interface 1640.

[00168] The processor 1620 typically controls overall operations of the computing environment 1610, such as the operations associated with display, data acquisition, data communications, and image processing. The processor 1620 may include one or more processors to execute instructions to perform all or some of the steps in the above-described methods. Moreover, the processor 1620 may include one or more modules that facilitate the interaction between the processor 1620 and other components. The processor may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a single chip machine, a Graphical Processing Unit (GPU), or the like.

[00169] The memory 1630 is configured to store various types of data to support the operation of the computing environment 1610. The memory 1630 may include predetermined software 1632. Examples of such data includes instructions for any applications or methods operated on the computing environment 1610, video datasets, image data, etc. The memory 1630 may be implemented by using any type of volatile or non-volatile memory devices, or a combination thereof, such as a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), an Erasable Programmable Read- Only Memory (EPROM), a Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a magnetic memory, a flash memory, a magnetic or optical disk.

[00170] The EO interface 1640 provides an interface between the processor 1620 and peripheral interface modules, such as a keyboard, a click wheel, buttons, and the like. The buttons may include but are not limited to, a home button, a start scan button, and a stop scan button. The EO interface 1640 can be coupled with an encoder and decoder.

[00171] In an embodiment, there is also provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising a plurality of programs, for example, in the memory 1630, executable by the processor 1620 in the computing environment 1610, for performing the above-described methods. Alternatively, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may have stored therein a bitstream or a data stream comprising encoded video information (for example, video information comprising one or more syntax elements) generated by an encoder (for example, the video encoder 20 in FIG. 2) using, for example, the encoding method described above for use by a decoder (for example, the video decoder 30 in FIG. 3) in decoding video data. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, a ROM, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disc, an optical data storage device or the like. [00172] In an embodiment, the is also provided a computing device comprising one or more processors (for example, the processor 1620); and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or the memory 1630 having stored therein a plurality of programs executable by the one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors, upon execution of the plurality of programs, are configured to perform the above-described methods.

[00173] In an embodiment, there is also provided a computer program product comprising a plurality of programs, for example, in the memory 1630, executable by the processor 1620 in the computing environment 1610, for performing the above-described methods. For example, the computer program product may include the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.

[00174] In an embodiment, the computing environment 1610 may be implemented with one or more ASICs, DSPs, Digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), FPGAs, GPUs, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, or other electronic components, for performing the above methods.

[00175] The description of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the present disclosure. Many modifications, variations, and alternative implementations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings.

[00176] Unless specifically stated otherwise, an order of steps of the method according to the present disclosure is only intended to be illustrative, and the steps of the method according to the present disclosure are not limited to the order specifically described above, but may be changed according to practical conditions. In addition, at least one of the steps of the method according to the present disclosure may be adjusted, combined or deleted according to practical requirements.

[00177] The examples were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the disclosure and to enable others skilled in the art to understand the disclosure for various implementations and to best utilize the underlying principles and various implementations with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Therefore, it is to be understood that the scope of the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific examples of the implementations disclosed and that modifications and other implementations are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure.