A video signal processor core for motion estimation in MPEG2 encoding

This paper describes the core of a video signal processor dedicated to perform MPEG-2 motion estimation and prediction selection. A mixed Hardware/Software approach based on a small RISC controller was adopted which gives flexibility and robustness in the choice of the algorithms. Hardware optimizations were investigated to implement genetic motion estimation algorithm which appears to be the best candidate for this kind of architecture. The candidate motion vectors generated by the controller allow nearly full search quality with a drastic decrease of the required calculation power and the hardware complexity.