Patent ID: 6931066
Filing Date: 2005-08-16
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A method of selecting a motion vector for use in a motion estimation system, said motion vector defining movement of a block of pixels between a search window and a reference frame, said method comprising the steps of: scanning a search window in a fixed order for a suitable match with an area of the reference frame such that each search position within a current row or column of the window is one pixel away from a previous search position; defining a preferred point in the search window; calculating a primary norm function with reference to the preferred point for a given position in each row or column; calculating a norm function for each search position based on a linear increment of the primary norm function for the respective row or column; calculating an Absolute Error (AE) for each search position, based on a difference between a given property of the search position and a position in the reference window; and selecting a motion vector, the displacement of the motion vector defined in terms of the search position having the smallest AE, and when more than one search position has the same smallest AE, selecting the search position having the smallest norm function.