Fast motion estimation using hierarchical motion intensity structure

The embedded motion compensation model of the new H.264/AVC video coding standard dramatically increases the computational complexity of motion estimation. We propose a fast motion estimation algorithm using a hierarchical motion intensity structure to lower the computational complexity of the motion estimation in H.264/AVC. The proposed algorithm is mainly based on a multi-level motion intensity structure. It determines the motion intensity at three levels and, accordingly, uses different motion estimation techniques to find a more accurate, and faster, motion vector (MV). Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm provides promising performance in terms of the computational speedup and video reconstruction quality.