Method of removing a blocking artifact using quantization information in a filtering system

Abstract

In one embodiment, the method includes obtaining quantization information related to at least one of a first block and an adjacent second block, comparing the quantization information with a predefined constant value, and performing a filtering process based on a result from the comparing step. The filtering process includes calculating a value of at least one pixel in the first block based on pixel values of at least two pixels in the first block, and calculating a value of at least one pixel in the second block based on pixel values of at least two pixels in the second block.

1 - 18 . (canceled). 
     
     
         19 . A method for removing blocking artifacts in a picture comprising a first block and a second block, the method comprising:
 comparing a difference between a motion vector of the first block and a motion vector of the second block with a constant;   obtaining a filtering strength value, the filtering strength value being set equal to 1 when the difference between the motion vector of the first block and the motion vector of the second block is greater than the constant;   obtaining at least one parameter based on the filtering strength value and at least one of quantization information of the first block or quantization information of the second block; and   performing a filtering operation on at least two successive pixels in the first block and at least two successive pixels in the second block based on the obtained at least one parameter.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the filtering strength value is set equal to 2 when the first block or the second block has non-zero transform coefficient information. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the filtering strength value is set equal to 2 when the first block or the second block is intra-coded. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the filtering strength value is set equal to 0, based on none of the first block and the second block being intra-coded, none of the first block and the second block having non-zero transform coefficient information, and the difference between the motion vector of the first block and the motion vector of the second block being smaller than the constant. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the filtering operation is performed when the filtering strength value is greater than 0. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the filtering operation is skipped when the filtering strength value is equal to 0. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the quantization information corresponds to a quantization parameter. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the at least one parameter is obtained using a table based on the quantization information. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the filtered values of the at least two successive pixels are obtained by applying a shift operation. 
     
     
         28 . A decoder apparatus configured to remove blocking artifacts in a picture comprising a first block and a second block, the decoder apparatus comprising a loop filter system configured to:
 compare a difference between a motion vector of the first block and a motion vector of the second block with a constant;   obtain a filtering strength value, the filtering strength value being set equal to 1 when the difference between the motion vector of the first block and the motion vector of the second block is greater than the constant;   obtain at least one parameter based on the filtering strength value and at least one of quantization information of the first block or quantization information of the second block; and   perform a filtering operation on at least two successive pixels in the first block and at least two successive pixels in the second block based on the obtained at least one parameter.   
     
     
         29 . The decoder apparatus of  claim 28 , wherein the filtering strength value is set equal to 2 when the first block or the second block has non-zero transform coefficient information. 
     
     
         30 . The decoder apparatus of  claim 28 , wherein the filtering strength value is set equal to 2 when the first block or the second block is intra-coded. 
     
     
         31 . The decoder apparatus of  claim 28 , wherein the filtering strength value is set equal to 0, based on none of the first block and the second block being intra-coded, none of the first block and the second block having non-zero transform coefficient information, and the difference between the motion vector of the first block and the motion vector of the second block being smaller than the constant. 
     
     
         32 . The decoder apparatus of  claim 31 , wherein the filtering operation is performed when the filtering strength value is greater than 0. 
     
     
         33 . The decoder apparatus of  claim 31 , wherein the filtering operation is skipped when the filtering strength value is equal to 0. 
     
     
         34 . The decoder apparatus of  claim 28 , wherein the quantization information corresponds to a quantization parameter. 
     
     
         35 . The decoder apparatus of  claim 28 , wherein the at least one parameter is obtained using a table based on the quantization information. 
     
     
         36 . The decoder apparatus of  claim 28 , wherein the filtered values of the at least two successive pixels are obtained by applying a shift operation.