Fast Depth Coding Based on Depth Map Segmentation for 3D Video Coding

This paper proposes a fast algorithm based on depth map segmentation for the depth coding of 3D video coding to reduce the coding complexity of the depth map. The proposed algorithm segments the depth map into different regions by modifying automatic thresholding technique. We also propose the search range adjustment according to the classification of the coding tree unit (CTU). The early termination and fast prediction unit mode decisions are also proposed to reduce the coding complexity. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can reduce the coding time of depth map and maintain good synthesized view quality.