Office Action 1: Non-Final Rejection (2023-11-22)
Rejection types: 102 - Lack of Novelty

CLAIMS:
AMENDMENTS TO THE CLAIMS:

This listing of claims will replace all prior versions, and listings, of claims in the application:

1.-25. (Canceled) 224

26\. (New) A video decoder comprising:
a microprocessor; and
a memory, the memory having program code that, when executed by the microprocessor, cause the video decoder to:
decode, from a video bitstream, a sh\_ts\_residual\_codingdisabledflag, which, when set to 1, indicates performing regular residual coding, RRC;
decode, from the video bitstream, a transformskip-flag for a transform block (84), which indicates whether the transform block uses an identity transform or not;
when the transform-skip-flag indicates the transform block uses the identity transform:
when the sh\_ts\_residual\_coding\_disabled flag is set to 0, perform transform skip residual coding on the transform block, and
when the sh\_ts\_residual\_codingdisabled\_flag is set to 1, perform RRC on the transform block.

27\. (New) The video decoder of claim 26, wherein:
when the transform-skip-flag does not indicate that the transform block uses the identity transform, perform RRC on the transform block.

28\. (New) The video decoder of claim 26, wherein the sh\_ts\_residual\_coding\_disabledflag is indicated on slice level which correponds to a portion of a picture, wherein the slice contains the transform block.

29\. (New) A video encoder comprising:
a microprocessor; and a memory, the memory having program code that, when executed by the microprocessor, causes the video encoder to:
encode, into a video bitstream, a transform-skip-flag for a transform block, which indicates whether the transform block uses an identity transform or not; and
encode, into the video bitstream, a sh\_ts\_residual\_codingdisabledflag, which, when set to 1, indicates whether the coding is performed using regular residual coding, RRC.

30\. (New) The video encoder of claim 29, wherein when the transform-skip-flag indicates the transform block uses the identity transform:
when the sh\_ts\_residual\_codingdisabled flag is set to 0, performing transform skip residual coding on the transform block is indicated;
when the sh\_ts\_residual\_codingdisabledflag is set to 1, performing RRC on the transform block is indicated.

31\. (New) The video encoder of claim 30, wherein when the transform-skip-flag does not indicate that the transform block uses the identity transform, peforming RRC on the transform block is indicated.

32\. (New) The video encoder of claim 29, wherein the sh\_ts\_residual\_coding\_disabledflag is indicated on slice level which correponds to a portion of a picture, wherein the slice contains the transform block.

33\. (New) The video encoder of claim 29, wherein the memory has program code that, when executed by the microprocessor, causes the video encoder to:
determine that content for the video bitstream is camera-captured content; and
based on the determination that content for the video bitstream is camera-captured content, set the sh\_ts\_residual\_codingdisabledflag to 1.

34\. (New) The video encoder of claim 29, wherein the memory has program code that, when executed by the microprocessor, causes the video encoder to:
determine that content for the video bitstream is screen content; and
based on the determination that content for the video bitstream is screen content, set the sh\_ts\_residual\_codingdisabledflag to 0.

35\. (New) A method for a video decoder comprising:
decoding, from a video bitstream, a sh\_ts\_residual\_codingdisabledflag, which, when set to 1, indicates performing regular residual coding, RRC;
decoding, from the video bitstream, a transformskipflagfor a transform block, which indicates whether the transform block uses an identity transform or not;
when the transform-skip-flag indicates the transform block uses the identity transform:
when the sh\_ts\_residual\_codingdisabled flag is set to 0, performing transform skip residual coding on the transform block, and
when the sh\_ts\_residual\_codingdisabledflag is set to 1, performing RRC on the transform block.

36\. (New) The method of claim 35, further comprising:
when the transform-skip-flag does not indicate that the transform block uses the identity transform, performing RRC on the transform block.

37\. (New) The method of claim 35, wherein the sh\_ts\_residual\_codingdisabled\_flag is indicated on slice level which correponds to a portion of a picture, and wherein the slice contains the transform block.

38\. (New) A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium storing computer program instructions, which when executed, cause a decoder to perform the method of claim 35.
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OFFICE ACTION:
DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA  or AIA  Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) was/were submitted on 29 June 2022.  The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97.  Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 28, 32, and 37 are objected to because of the following informalities: The claim contain a typographical error in line 2 where “correponds” should appear to be --corresponds--.  Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA  35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA  35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA  to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 26-38 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ma et al. (JVET-Q0070-v2: CE3-2.5: Residual coding selection signaling for lossless coding).
Regarding Claims 26, 29-30, 35, and 38, Ma discloses a video encoder/decoder performing a method on a CRM, comprising: a microprocessor; and a memory, the memory having program code that, when executed by the microprocessor, cause the video decoder to: decode, from a video bitstream, a sh_ts_residual_coding_disabled_flag, which, when set to 1, indicates performing regular residual coding, RRC; decode, from the video bitstream, a transform_skip_flag for a transform block (84), which indicates whether the transform block uses an identity transform or not; when the transform-skip-flag indicates the transform block uses the identity transform: when the sh_ts_residual_coding_disabled_flag is set to 0, perform transform skip residual coding on the transform block, and when the sh_ts_residual_coding_disabled_flag is set to 1, perform RRC on the transform block [Ma: § 1: During this (Geneva) meeting, since the current TSRC still performs significantly worse for camera content but better for screen content, it is proposed to test the performance of signaling 1-bit syntax to select which coding scheme (i.e., RRC or TSRC) is applied under lossless coding. Two sub-tests are defined in this CE test, they are:
1.	CU level signaling to select RRC/TSRC (2 variants presented herein)
2.	TB level signaling to select RRC/TSRC].
Regarding Claims 27, 31, and 36, Ma discloses all the limitations of Claims 26, 29-30, and 35, respectively, and is analyzed as previously discussed with respect to those claims.
Furthermore, Ma discloses wherein: when the transform-skip-flag does not indicate that the transform block uses the identity transform, perform RRC on the transform block [Ma: § 2: Two high-level syntax, one PPS and one slice level, are signaled to indicate the selection of TSRC/RRC is enabled. In sub-test 1, a CU level syntax is signaled if PPS is enabled; otherwise, such CU level syntax is inferred to 0. In sub-test 2, a TB level syntax is signaled if PPS is enabled; otherwise, such TB level syntax is inferred to 0. In sub-test 3, signaling of the CU level syntax is done after signaling the root CBF for a CU].
Regarding Claims 28, 32, and 37, Ma discloses all the limitations of Claims 26, 29-30, and 35, respectively, and is analyzed as previously discussed with respect to those claims.
Furthermore, Ma discloses wherein the sh_ts_residual_coding_disabled_flag is indicated on slice level which corresponds to a portion of a picture, wherein the slice contains the transform block [Ma: § 2].
Regarding Claim 33, Ma discloses all the limitations of Claim 29, and is analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Ma discloses wherein the memory has program code that, when executed by the microprocessor, causes the video encoder to: determine that content for the video bitstream is camera-captured content; and based on the determination that content for the video bitstream is camera-captured content, set the sh_ts_residual_coding_disabled_flag to 1 [Ma: § 1: since the current TSRC still performs significantly worse for camera content but better for screen content].
Regarding Claim 34, Ma discloses all the limitations of Claim 29, and is analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Ma discloses wherein the memory has program code that, when executed by the microprocessor, causes the video encoder to: determine that content for the video bitstream is screen content; and based on the determination that content for the video bitstream is screen content, set the sh_ts_residual_coding_disabled_flag to 0 [Ma: § 1].
Conclusion


NEXT OFFICE ACTION: DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA  or AIA  Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 26, 29, 35, and 38 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 26, 29, 35, and 38 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yoo et al. (US 2021/0385478 A1).
Regarding Claims 26, 29, 35, and 38, Yoo discloses a video encoder/decoder performing a method via CRM comprising: a microprocessor; and a memory, the memory having program code that, when executed by the microprocessor, cause the video decoder to: decode, from a video bitstream, a high-level flag which, when set to a first value, indicates performing regular residual coding (RRC) for a specific area of a current picture [Yoo: ¶ [0116]: Residual coding used when the transform skip is not applied (that is, when the transform is applied) may be called regular residual coding (RRC), and residual coding used when the transform skip is not applied (that is, when the transform is not applied) may be called transform skip residual coding (TSRC)]; determine, from the video bitstream, for a transform block, whether an inverse transform corresponding to the transform block is an identity transform or not [Yoo: ¶ [0171]: the rice parameter cRiceParam may be determined based on whether a transform skip is applied to a current block ]; when it is determined that the inverse transform is the identity transform and the high- level flag is set to a second value different from the first value, determine a first Rice parameter for a binarization of a residual transform coefficient of the transform block; when it is determined that the inverse transform is not the identity transform or the high- level flag is set to the first value, determine a second Rice parameter for the binarization of the residual transform coefficient of the transform block; and decode the residual transform coefficient of the transform block using the first or second Rice parameter [Yoo: ¶ [0171]: Alternatively, for example, the rice parameter cRiceParam may be determined based on whether a transform skip is applied to a current block. That is, if a transform is not applied to a current TB including a current CG, in other words, if the transform skip is applied to the current TB including the current CG, the rice parameter cRiceParam may be derived to be 1. Alternatively, if the transform is applied to the current TB including the current CG, in other words, if the transform skip is not applied to the current TB including the current CG, the rice parameter cRiceParam for the abs_remainder[n] to be currently coded as described].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 33-34 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoo as applied to claims 29 above, and further in view of Ma et al. (JVET-Q0070-v2).
Regarding Claim 33-34, Yoo disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 29, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Yoo discloses wherein the memory has program code that, when executed by the microprocessor, causes the video encoder to: determine that content for the video bitstream is camera/screen-captured content [Yoo: ¶ [0053]: The IBC prediction mode or palette mode may be used for content image/video coding of a game or the like, for example, screen content coding (SCC)].
Yoo does not explicitly disclose and based on the determination that the content for the video bitstream is camera-captured content, set the high-level flag to the first value.
However, Ma discloses and based on the determination that the content for the video bitstream is camera/screen-captured content, set the high-level flag to the first value [Ma: § 1: since the current TSRC still performs significantly worse for camera content but better for screen content; wherein it would have been obvious to use a flag to utilize a known better process and to signal it via syntax coding] .
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the preferred processing of Ma with the processing of Yoo in order to provide a more efficient process, improving overall output quality.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action.  Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL.  See MPEP § 706.07(a).  Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action.  In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action.  In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.

CITED REFERENCE SUMMARIES: Ref US20210112279A1: Claims:
A method of decoding video data, the method comprising: receiving, from a video bitstream, one or more syntax elements of the video data indicative of whether a first type of coding scheme or a second type of coding scheme is applied to residual values of a block of video data coded with transform skip, wherein the residual values are indicative of a difference between the block and a prediction block, and wherein, in transform skip, the residual values are not transformed from a sample domain to a frequency domain; determining a type of coding scheme to apply to the residual values based on the one or more syntax elements; determining the residual values based on the determined type of coding scheme; and reconstructing the block based on the determined residual values and the prediction block.
receiving, from a video bitstream, one or more syntax elements of the video data indicative of whether a first type of coding scheme or a second type of coding scheme is applied to residual values of a block of video data coded with transform skip, wherein the residual values are indicative of a difference between the block and a prediction block, and wherein, in transform skip, the residual values are not transformed from a sample domain to a frequency domain;
determining a type of coding scheme to apply to the residual values based on the one or more syntax elements;
determining the residual values based on the determined type of coding scheme; and
reconstructing the block based on the determined residual values and the prediction block.
The method of claim 1 , wherein the first type of coding scheme is a transform coefficient coding (TRCC) scheme, and the second type of coding scheme is a transform skip residual coding (TSRC) scheme.
The method of claim 2 , wherein, in the TRCC scheme, information indicative of a position of a last significant value is parsed, and wherein, in the TSRC scheme, information indicative of the position of the last significant value is not parsed.
The method of claim 2 , wherein, in the TRCC scheme, a number of flags indicating whether a residual value of the residual values is greater than a threshold value is different than a number of flags indicating whether the residual value of the residual values is greater than the threshold value in the TSRC scheme.
The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the residual values comprises determining the residual values without applying an inverse transform to the residual values.
The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the one or more syntax elements comprises receiving a flag in a slice header indicating whether the first type of coding scheme or the second type of coding scheme is applied to the residual values of the block coded with transform skip.
The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving a first flag indicating whether transform skip is enabled, wherein receiving the one or more syntax elements comprises parsing a second flag in a slice header indicating whether the first type of coding scheme or the second type of coding scheme is applied based on the first flag indicating that transform skip is enabled.
receiving a first flag indicating whether transform skip is enabled,
wherein receiving the one or more syntax elements comprises parsing a second flag in a slice header indicating whether the first type of coding scheme or the second type of coding scheme is applied based on the first flag indicating that transform skip is enabled.
The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the one or more syntax elements comprises receiving the one or more syntax elements based on a quantization parameter (QP) being less than or equal to a threshold value.
A method of encoding video data, the method comprising: determining residual values based on a difference between a block of video data that is to be coded with transform skip and a prediction block, wherein, in transform skip, the residual values are not transformed from a sample domain to a frequency domain; determining a type of coding scheme between a first type of coding scheme and a second type of coding scheme to apply to the residual values; encoding the residual values based on the determined type of coding scheme; and signaling, into a video bitstream, one or more syntax elements of the video data indicative of whether the first type of coding scheme or the second type of coding scheme is applied to the residual values.
determining residual values based on a difference between a block of video data that is to be coded with transform skip and a prediction block, wherein, in transform skip, the residual values are not transformed from a sample domain to a frequency domain;
determining a type of coding scheme between a first type of coding scheme and a second type of coding scheme to apply to the residual values;
encoding the residual values based on the determined type of coding scheme; and
signaling, into a video bitstream, one or more syntax elements of the video data indicative of whether the first type of coding scheme or the second type of coding scheme is applied to the residual values.
The method of claim 9 , wherein the first type of coding scheme is a transform coefficient coding (TRCC) scheme, and the second type of coding scheme is a transform skip residual coding (TSRC) scheme.
The method of claim 9 , wherein signaling the one or more syntax elements comprises signaling a flag in a slice header indicating whether the first type of coding scheme or the second type of coding scheme is applied to the residual values.
The method of claim 9 , wherein signaling the one or more syntax elements comprises signaling the one or more syntax elements based on a quantization parameter (QP) being less than or equal to a threshold value.
A device for decoding video data, the device comprising: memory configured to store video data; and processing circuitry coupled to the memory and configured to: receive, from a video bitstream, one or more syntax elements of the video data indicative of whether a first type of coding scheme or a second type of coding scheme is applied to residual values of a block of video data coded with transform skip, wherein the residual values are indicative of a difference between the block and a prediction block, and wherein, in transform skip, the residual values are not transformed from a sample domain to a frequency domain; determine a type of coding scheme to apply to the residual values based on the one or more syntax elements; determine the residual values based on the determined type of coding scheme; and reconstruct the block based on the determined residual values and the prediction block.
memory configured to store video data; and
processing circuitry coupled to the memory and configured to: receive, from a video bitstream, one or more syntax elements of the video data indicative of whether a first type of coding scheme or a second type of coding scheme is applied to residual values of a block of video data coded with transform skip, wherein the residual values are indicative of a difference between the block and a prediction block, and wherein, in transform skip, the residual values are not transformed from a sample domain to a frequency domain; determine a type of coding scheme to apply to the residual values based on the one or more syntax elements; determine the residual values based on the determined type of coding scheme; and reconstruct the block based on the determined residual values and the prediction block.
receive, from a video bitstream, one or more syntax elements of the video data indicative of whether a first type of coding scheme or a second type of coding scheme is applied to residual values of a block of video data coded with transform skip, wherein the residual values are indicative of a difference between the block and a prediction block, and wherein, in transform skip, the residual values are not transformed from a sample domain to a frequency domain;
determine a type of coding scheme to apply to the residual values based on the one or more syntax elements;
determine the residual values based on the determined type of coding scheme; and
reconstruct the block based on the determined residual values and the prediction block.
The device of claim 13 , wherein the first type of coding scheme is a transform coefficient coding (TRCC) scheme, and the second type of coding scheme is a transform skip residual coding (TSRC) scheme.
The device of claim 14 , wherein, in the TRCC scheme, information indicative of a position of a last significant value is parsed, and wherein, in the TSRC scheme, information indicative of the position of the last significant value is not parsed.
The device of claim 14 , wherein, in the TRCC scheme, a number of flags indicating whether a residual value of the residual values is greater than a threshold value is different than a number of flags indicating whether the residual value of the residual values is greater than the threshold value in the TSRC scheme.
The device of claim 13 , wherein to determine the residual values, the processing circuitry is configured to determine the residual values without applying an inverse transform to the residual values.
The device of claim 13 , wherein to receive the one or more syntax elements, the processing circuitry is configured to receive a flag in a slice header indicating whether the first type of coding scheme or the second type of coding scheme is applied to the residual values of the block coded with transform skip.
The device of claim 13 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: receive a first flag indicating whether transform skip is enabled, wherein to receive the one or more syntax elements, the processing circuitry is configured to parse a second flag in a slice header indicating whether the first type of coding scheme or the second type of coding scheme is applied based on the first flag indicating that transform skip is enabled.
receive a first flag indicating whether transform skip is enabled,
wherein to receive the one or more syntax elements, the processing circuitry is configured to parse a second flag in a slice header indicating whether the first type of coding scheme or the second type of coding scheme is applied based on the first flag indicating that transform skip is enabled.
The device of claim 13 , wherein to receive the one or more syntax elements, the processing circuitry is configured to receive the one or more syntax elements based on a quantization parameter (QP) being less than or equal to a threshold value.
The device of claim 13 , further comprising a display configured to display a picture that includes the reconstructed block.
The device of claim 13 , wherein the device comprises one or more of a camera, a computer, a mobile device, a broadcast receiver device, a set-top box, or a wireless communication device.
A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to: receive, from a video bitstream, one or more syntax elements of the video data indicative of whether a first type of coding scheme or a second type of coding scheme is applied to residual values of a block of video data coded with transform skip, wherein the residual values are indicative of a difference between the block and a prediction block, and wherein, in transform skip, the residual values are not transformed from a sample domain to a frequency domain; determine a type of coding scheme to apply to the residual values based on the one or more syntax elements; determine the residual values based on the determined type of coding scheme; and reconstruct the block based on the determined residual values and the prediction block.
A device for decoding video data, the device comprising: means for receiving one or more syntax elements of the video data indicative of whether a first type of coding scheme or a second type of coding scheme is applied to residual values of a block coded with transform skip, wherein the residual values are indicative of a difference between the block and a prediction block, and wherein, in transform skip, the residual values are not transformed from a sample domain to a frequency domain; means for determining a type of coding scheme to apply to the residual values based on the one or more syntax elements; means for determining the residual values based on the determined type of coding scheme; and means for reconstructing the block based on the determined residual values and the prediction block.
means for receiving one or more syntax elements of the video data indicative of whether a first type of coding scheme or a second type of coding scheme is applied to residual values of a block coded with transform skip, wherein the residual values are indicative of a difference between the block and a prediction block, and wherein, in transform skip, the residual values are not transformed from a sample domain to a frequency domain;
means for determining a type of coding scheme to apply to the residual values based on the one or more syntax elements;
means for determining the residual values based on the determined type of coding scheme; and
means for reconstructing the block based on the determined residual values and the prediction block.