Fast PU Skip and Split Termination Algorithm for HEVC Intra Prediction

High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) is developed for next-generation video coding, which achieves significant improvements in coding efficiency compared with H.264/Advanced Video Coding by adopting various tools including a quadtree-based block partitioning structure. However, this causes high encoding complexity for exhaustive rate-distortion (RD) cost computation of the extended prediction unit (PU) searching. In this paper, a fast PU skip and split termination algorithm is proposed. The proposed method consists of three algorithms: 1) early skip; 2) PU skip; and 3) PU split termination. The early skip algorithm allows immediate skipping of the RD cost computation for large PUs according to the neighboring PUs. Based on Bayes's rule, the PU skip algorithm allows skipping of the full RD cost computation, and the split termination algorithm terminates further PU splitting using the RD cost of rough mode decision (RMD). The decision parameter for the PU skip and the split termination is presented as the ratio of the RMD RD costs between the current PU and the spatially adjacent or upper depth PU. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm achieves a saving of 53.52% encoding time while maintaining almost the same RD performances as the HEVC reference software.