Computationally efficient exhaustive search algorithm for rate-constrained motion estimation

A computationally efficient exhaustive search algorithm for rate-constrained motion estimation is presented. The motion vectors are selected from a search window based on a rate-distortion criterion by successively eliminating the search positions depending on the rate constraint. The performance of the proposed algorithm is identical to the performance of the rate-constrained full search algorithm, with considerable reduction in computation. The number of matching calculations decreases as the constraint imposed on the rate increases.