Complexity-adaptive search algorithm for block motion estimation

We propose a complexity-adaptive fast block matching algorithm design strategy that allows the user to terminate the algorithm at any target computational complexity. Two complexity-adaptive techniques, frame level complexity allocation and block level complexity allocation, are developed to approach the global complexity-distortion optimization A buffer control strategy is proposed to dynamically adjust the target complexity of one frame. The predictive complexity-distortion benefit list (PCDB list) technique is employed to allocate the target complexity into each block. By these techniques, we modify the full-search block matching, three-step search, new three-step search, and four-step search to the complexity-adaptive algorithms. Experimental results show that the complexity-adaptive algorithms could achieve better performance than traditional fixed algorithms from the viewpoint of complexity-distoftion optimization.