A complexity aware, variable-bit-depth motion estimation

Demands for using different complexity level algorithms to deliver multimedia content delivery over portable devices are increasing thanks to advanced battery technology. This work describes a novel complexity aware motion estimation for H.264 based on pixel representation of different bit-depth and a simple scene change detection module. The experimental results show that with identical searching complexity, improvement on averaged PSNR is more than 0.2 dB for 4-bit representation and more than 2 dB for 1/2-bit representation as compared to the conventional bit-truncation method.