A low complexity wavelet based depth map encoder for low bit rate 3D video applications

Depth maps, which aid the virtual view generation process in Depth Image Based Rendering (DIBR) applications in 3D video, are generally piecewise smooth images with sharp depth discontinuities. Compression artifacts that occur along the depth discontinuities often lead to poor quality of generated virtual views. In line with the importance of depth discontinuities towards view generation, we propose a non-uniform quantization method for wavelet based encoding of depth maps. Average rendering quality improvements of up to 0.8dB could be achieved.