Initial memory complexity analysis of the AVC codec

The Advanced Video Codec (AVC), currently being defined in a joined standardisation effort of ISO/IEC MPEG and ITU-T VCEG, aims at enhanced compression efficiency and network friendliness. To achieve these goals, a motion compensated hybrid DCT algorithm is introduced using advanced and complicated compression tools. As video coding is typically a data dominated process, we quantify the complexity cost in a memory centric way. The AVC codec is characterised by a large memory footprint and increased data transfer rate (an order of magnitude for the encoder) compared to previous video coding standards. The motion estimation/compensation are the initial implementation bottlenecks.