Patent ID: 8165209

Claim:
A method comprising: performing a search on a base reference frame in a video signal to determine a first motion vector for each of possible partition configuration of a current macroblock in the base reference frame, the first motion vector providing a most optimal match for a corresponding partition in the base reference frame; determining an optimal partition for the current macroblock in the base reference frame, the optimal partition providing a minimum motion estimation cost among the possible partition configurations in the base reference frame; performing a search using the optimal partition determined from the base reference frame in a non-base reference frame in the video signal to determine a second motion vector that provides a most optimal match for a partition in the non-base reference frame corresponding to the optimal partition for the base reference frame; and performing a simplified search on each partition in the non-base reference frame other than the partition in the non-base reference frame corresponding to the optimal partition for the base reference frame to determine a second motion vector for each partition in the non-base reference frame other than the partition in the non-base reference frame corresponding to the optimal partition for the base reference frame.