| 摘要 |
<p>The multi-viewpoint video encoder disclosed herein comprises a depth estimator, a predictor connected to the depth estimator, and a comparator connected to the predictor. In addition, the multi-viewpoint video encoder has an output, preferably including a multiplexer for multiplexing the first image, the depth map, the second viewpoint vector and the prediction errors into a signal. The multi-viewpoint video encoder also includes a depth map encoder/compressor. The depth map is compressed according to a video compression standard, preferably compatible with the MPEG-2 standard. The multi-viewpoint video encoder further includes a first image encoder. The first image is encoded according to a video coding standard, preferably compatible with the MPEG-2 standard. In this manner, an MPEG-2 monitor can display the first image video without any further modifications. Many of the elements described above are already found in MPEG-2 encoders. Accordingly, a multi-viewpoint video encoder only requires the addition of the depth estimator and the predictor mentioned above. A multi-viewpoint video decoder as well as methods to encode and decode multi-viewpoint video are also disclosed herein.</p> |
