Enhanced inter mode decision based on contextual prediction for P-slices in H.264/AVC video coding

We propose a fast macroblock mode prediction and decision algorithm based on contextual information for P-slices in the H.264/AVC video standard, in which the mode prediction part is composed of intra and inter modes. There are nine 4x4 and four 16x16 modes in the intra mode prediction, and seven block types exist for the best coding gain based on rate-distortion optimization. This scheme gives rise to exhaustive computations (search) in the coding procedure. To overcome this problem, a fast inter mode prediction scheme is applied that uses contextual mode information for P-slices. We verify the performance of the proposed scheme through a comparative analysis of experimental results. The suggested mode search procedure increased more than 57% in speed compared to a full mode search and more than 20% compared to the other methods.