Patent ID: 6765962
Filing Date: 2004-07-20
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
A method for encoding frames of a video sequence, comprising the steps of:(a) generating a metric characterizing quantization levels corresponding to a set of image data in the video sequence; (b) comparing the metric to one or more specified thresholds to select a quantization scale for a current frame in the video sequence; and (c) encoding the current frame using the selected quantization scale, wherein: the quantization scale is one of a linear quantization scale and a non-linear quantization scale; the linear quantization scale represents a set of quantization levels forming a linear progression; and the non-linear quantization scale represents a set of quantization levels forming a non-linear progression, wherein step (b) comprises the steps of: (1) comparing the metric to a low threshold and to a high threshold; and (2) selecting a first quantization scale, if the metric is between the low and high thresholds; otherwise, selecting a second quantization scale.