Patent ID: 8553763

Claim:
An apparatus for optimizing encoding in a video codec, comprising: a computer configured for receiving a video having a plurality of pictures; a memory coupled to said computer; and programming configured for retention in said memory and executable on said computer for: performing first pass encoding of said plurality of pictures within said video in response to executing transforms, quantization, and filtering by a predetermined interpolation filter optimized for sub-pixel motion vectors, and estimating an adaptive interpolation filter; performing at least one additional iteration pass of encoding said plurality of pictures within said video in response to executing transforms, quantization, and filtering by an adaptive interpolation filter using estimates for the adaptive interpolation filter determined in a previous pass of encoding, and estimating an adaptive interpolation filter optimized for sub-pixel motion vectors; wherein a last said additional iteration pass of encoding is an nth pass of encoding; encoding the current picture again in a final n+1th iteration pass of an adaptive interpolation filter to create a final pass encoded representation; selecting either the first pass encoded representation or the final pass encoded representation as an optimally efficient encoded representation for the current picture; and outputting an encoded video stream of the optimally efficient encoded representation.