Efficient motion estimation algorithm on the layers

The two-layer motion estimation (TME) algorithm searches the motion vectors on the layers with partial distortion measures to boost the computational speed of motion estimation. An efficient motion estimation algorithm is presented in which a fast partial distortion calculation method (FPDCM) has been developed to speed up the motion estimation process on the layers without affecting motion prediction quality. This FPDCM efficiently calculates the partial distortions on the layers faster by removing the redundant computations involved in the partial distortion calculation. As a result, the speed with motion estimation on the layers by using FPDCM is increased when compared with the TME algorithm. Experimental results are given to show the superiority of the proposed algorithm over TME as well as the state-of-the-art fast block matching algorithms.