Adaptively weighted vector-median filters for motion-fields smoothing

In the field of video coding recent issues of backward prediction and standard conversion have focused an increasing attention towards techniques for an effective estimation of the true interframe motion. In this paper the problem of restoration of motion vector-fields computed by means of a standard Block Matching algorithm is addressed. The restoration must be carried out carefully by exploiting both the spatial correlation of the vector-field, and the significance of the obtained vectors as measures of the reliability of the previous estimation step. In this paper a novel approach matching both the above requirements is presented. Based on the theory of vector-median filters an adaptive scheme is developed and results are discussed.