A novel kite-cross-diamond search algorithm for fast video coding and videoconferencing applications

In this paper, we propose a kite-cross-diamond search (KCDS) algorithm, which is an improved version of the well-known cross-diamond search (CDS) algorithm and small cross-diamond search (SCDS) algorithm. Unlike traditional search pattern in block matching algorithm, such as square, diamond or cross - all are in vertically and horizontally symmetric shape, the KCDS algorithm adopts a novel asymmetric kite-shaped search patterns in the search step to keep similar distortion while the speed of the motion estimation for stationary or quasi-stationary blocks is further boosted. Experimental results show that the KCDS algorithm could achieve 39% searching point reduction as compared with CDS whereas similar and even better prediction accuracy is resulted in low-motion sequences. Simulations show that KCDS is the fastest algorithm and it performs more accurate in some kinds of sequences. This algorithm is especially suitable for videoconferencing applications.