Depth Map Coding Based on Virtual View Quality

Abstract

Multi-view video plus depth (MVD) is a 3D video representation. In MVD, the depth map provides the scene distance information and is used to render the virtual view through Depth Image Based Rendering (DIBR) technique. The depth map coding error will induce distortion in the rendered virtual views. This paper proposes a mathematic model that can estimate the synthesized virtual view distortion induced by depth map compression, and the model is employed to the rate distortion optimization (RDO) in the depth map coding. Based on the rendered virtual view quality, a Lagrangian optimization adjustment scheme at Coding Unit (CU) level is proposed to improve the depth map encoding efficiency. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can improve the BD-PSNR of virtual view for 0.62 dB, and the encoding complexity reduces compared with the view synthesis optimization (VSO) technique in the 3D-HEVC Test Model (HTM).