Low-complexity sub-pixel motion estimation utilizing shifting matrix in transform domain

Motion estimation (ME) algorithms supporting quarter-pixel accuracy have been recently introduced to retain detailed motion information for high quality of video in the state-of-the-art video compression standard of H.264/AVC. Conventional sub-pixel ME algorithms in the spatial domain are faced with a common problem of computational complexity because of embedded interpolation schemes. This paper proposes a low-complexity sub-pixel motion estimation algorithm in the transform domain utilizing shifting matrix. Simulations are performed to compare the performances of spatial-domain ME algorithms and transform-domain ME algorithms in terms of peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and the number of bits per frame. Simulation results confirm that the transform-domain approach not only improves the video quality and the compression efficiency, but also remarkably alleviates the computational complexity, compared to the spatial-domain approach.