Patent ID: 7924922

Claim:
A method performed by a processing system, the method comprising: building, via a processing system, a first image pyramid of a first frame of a first channel of a digital video; building, via the processing system, a second image pyramid of a second frame of a second channel of the digital video, the second frame corresponding to the same instant as the first frame; determining, via the processing system, a first global motion estimation for the first frame to the second frame based on the first image pyramid and the second image pyramid; and determining, via the processing system, a local deformation motion estimation for the first frame to the second frame based on the first image pyramid, the second image pyramid, and the first global motion estimation, wherein determining the local deformation motion estimation includes initializing the local deformation motion estimation using the first global motion estimation; wherein determining the first global motion estimation for the first frame to the second frame comprises: determining an initial global motion estimation for the first frame to the second frame based on a top level of the first image pyramid and the second image pyramid; refining the initial global motion estimation for the first frame to the second frame based on each subsequent lower level of the first image pyramid and the second image pyramid down to the second to the bottom level of the first image pyramid and the second image pyramid to provide an intermediate global motion estimation; and extrapolating the intermediate global motion estimation to an original resolution of the first frame and the second flame, without refining the intermediate global motion estimation to the original resolution based on the first image pyramid and the second image pyramid, to provide the first global motion estimation such that noise of the first frame and the second frame does not result in an inaccurate first global motion estimation.