Rate control for immersive video depth map coding

Abstract

A novel rate control algorithm for immersive video depth map coding is proposed to ensure the immersive video quality in the context of limited bandwidth. The algorithm is developed based on the frame level approach for Versatile Video Coding (VVC) and is optimized using the open-source encoder implementation project, VVenC. Specifically, by considering the content characteristic of different videos, the rate-distortion (R-D) curve is refitted using hyperbolic model for the rate control parameters α and β. And the original α and β values of the depth map are modified to better guide the bit allocation. Experimental results indicate that the proposed rate control algorithm outperforms the VVenC 0.3.1.0 frame level rate control algorithm, achieving an average 4.2% BD-rate saving and 1.616dB gain under random access (RA) configuration, which is superior to existing rate control schemes for immersive video.