Course difference estimation decoupling

Abstract

A method and system for processing information (e.g., encoding video data). Various aspects of the present invention may comprise identifying a plurality of sets of data blocks. Such data blocks may, for example, be stored in a memory. One or more candidate data blocks may be selected from one or more of the sets of data blocks. Such a selection may be based on a first selection criterion. A candidate block selection module may, for example, perform the selection. One or more reference data blocks may be selected from the candidate data blocks. Such a selection may be based on a second selection criterion. A reference block selection module may, for example, perform the selection. The reference data block(s) may be utilized to process information. In an exemplary scenario, a reference block may be utilized to encode a current video data block, which may then be communicated to a receiving entity.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for processing a current data block, the method comprising:
 identifying a first set of data blocks;   identifying a second set of data blocks;   determining a set of candidate data blocks, wherein determining a set of candidate data blocks comprises:
 selecting at least a first candidate data block from the first set of data blocks based at least in part on a first selection criterion; and 
 selecting at least a second candidate data block from the second set of data blocks based at least in part on the first selection criterion; and 
   selecting a reference data block from the set of candidate data blocks based at least in part on a second selection criterion; and   utilizing information of the selected reference data block to encode the current data block.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first selection criterion comprises:
 determining a respective match quality between each data block of a set of data blocks and the current data block; and   selecting at least one candidate data block from the set of data blocks based at least in part on the determined respective match qualities for each data block of the set of data blocks.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first selection criterion comprises comparing the data in each data block of the first set of data blocks to data in the current data block. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein comparing the data in each data block of the first set of data blocks to data in the current data block comprises determining a sum of squared differences between a plurality of corresponding pixels in the first set of data blocks and the current data block. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein comparing the data in each data block of the first set of data blocks to data in the current data block comprises determining a sum of absolute differences between a plurality of corresponding pixels in the first set of data blocks and the current data block. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second selection criterion is different than the first selection criterion. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second selection criterion comprises determining a degree of difference between a resulting motion vector for the current data block and one or more reference motion vectors of the reference data block. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second selection criterion comprises determining an amount of distortion in a previously encoded data block. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the current data block comprises video information. 
     
     
         10 . An information processing system comprising:
 at least one module operable to:
 select at least a first candidate data block from a first set of data blocks in response to a first selection criterion; and 
 select at least a second candidate data block from a second set of data blocks in response to the first selection criterion; 
 select a reference data block from a set of candidate data blocks in response to a second selection criterion, the set of candidate data blocks comprising the first candidate data block and the at least a second candidate data block; and 
   an encoder module that encodes a current data block in response to the selected reference data block.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one module is operable to:
 determine a respective match quality between data blocks in a set of data blocks and the current data block; and   select at least one candidate data block from the set of data blocks based at least in part on the determined respective match qualities for the data blocks of the set of data blocks.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the encoder module comprises a video encoder module, the video encoder module encoding the current data block in response to information from the selected reference data block. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising a communication module, the communication module being communicatively coupled to the encoder module. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , further comprising a remote receiver, wherein the communication module communicates information of an encoded current data block to a remote receiver. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one module is operable to determine a sum of absolute differences between a plurality of corresponding pixels in the first set of data blocks and the current data block. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one module is operable to determine a degree of difference between a resulting motion vector for the current data block and one or more reference motion vectors of the reference data block. 
     
     
         17 . A method of encoding a current video data block, the method comprising
 determining a set of potential reference video data blocks;   determining a set of candidate video data blocks from the set of potential reference video data blocks based on a first criterion;   determining a subset of the set of candidate video data blocks based on a second criterion; and   encoding the current video data block in response to at least one of the subset of the set of candidate video data blocks.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein encoding comprises encoding the current video data block in response to motion side information of a previous video data block, and wherein determining a set of candidate video data blocks comprises determining match quality of at least a portion of the set of potential reference video data blocks before the motion side information of the previous video data block is determined. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein determining the match quality comprises comparing pixel information in a plurality of video data blocks of the set of potential reference video data blocks to corresponding pixel information in the current data block. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein determining the match quality comprises positioning and analyzing data blocks of the set of potential reference video data blocks at a plurality of spatial positions relative to the current data block.