Device and method for video decoding video blocks

1. An apparatus for encoding video data, comprising:

a memory configured to store data indicative of a square video block having a size of N×N pixels of more than 16×16 pixels, where N is one of 32, 64, 128 and 256;

a processor configured to:

partition the video block into partitions using hierarchical partitioning with one or more levels,

wherein, at each hierarchical partitioning level in which the video block is further partitioned, square partitions are further partitioned into two equally sized rectangular partitions or into four square partitions, wherein some of the partitions to be encoded are differently sized;

encode one of the partitions using a first encoding mode, wherein the first encoding mode comprises intra-prediction encoding mode, I-mode, and wherein to encode the partition using the first encoding mode wherein the processor is further configured to spatial predict the partition from one or more neighboring pixels according to the I-mode;

encode another of the partitions using a second encoding mode, wherein the second encoding mode comprises one of P-mode and B-mode, and wherein the second encoding mode is different from the first encoding mode;

generate block-type syntax information for the video block that indicates the size of the video block and identifies the partitions of the video block and the encoding modes used to encode the partitions; and

generate an encoded video bitstream comprising coded data for the video block and the block-type syntax information.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to select the encoding modes used to encode the partitions based on an encoding cost analysis.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to select the partitioning of the video block based on the encoding cost analysis, wherein the encoding cost analysis includes an analysis of bit rate and distortion for intra and inter-encoding of the partitions.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the video block has a size of at least 64×64 pixels.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein in the processor comprises a video encoder.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a camera configured to capture a frame including the video block.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the differently sized partitions include sizes that are larger than 16×16, or wherein the differently sized partitions include sizes that are larger than 16×16 and smaller than 16×16.

8. A method of encoding video data, comprising: receiving, with a video encoder, a square video block having a size of N×N pixels of more than 16×16 pixels, where N is one of 32, 64, 128 and 256;

partitioning the video block into partitions using hierarchical partitioning with one or more levels, wherein, at each hierarchical partitioning level in which the video block is further partitioned, square partitions are further partitioned into two equally sized rectangular partitions or into four square partitions, wherein some of the partitions to be encoded are differently sized;

encoding one of the partitions using a first encoding mode, wherein the first encoding mode comprises intra-prediction encoding mode, I-mode, and wherein encoding the partition using the first encoding mode comprises spatial predicting the partition from one or more neighboring pixels according to the I-mode;

encoding another of the partitions using a second encoding mode, wherein the second encoding mode comprises one of P-mode and B-mode, and wherein the second encoding mode is different from the first encoding mode;

generating block-type syntax information for the video block that indicates the size of the video block and identifies the partitions of the video block and the encoding modes used to encode the partitions; and

generating an encoded video bitstream comprising coded data for the video block and the block-type syntax information.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising selecting the encoding modes used to encode the partitions based on an encoding cost analysis, and

selecting the partitioning of the video block based on the encoding cost analysis, wherein the encoding cost analysis includes an analysis of bit rate and distortion for encoding modes and the partitions.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the differently sized partitions include sizes that are larger than 16×16, or wherein the differently sized partitions include sizes that are larger than 16×16 and smaller than 16×16.

11. An apparatus for decoding video data, comprising:

a memory configured to store data indicative of a square video block having a size of N×N pixels of more than 16×16 pixels, where N is one of 32, 64, 128 and 256,

wherein the video block is partitioned into partitions using hierarchical partitioning with one or more levels, wherein, at each hierarchical partitioning level in which the video block is further partitioned, square partitions are further partitioned into two equally sized rectangular partitions or into four square partitions, some of the partitions to be decoded are differently sized,

one of the partitions is encoded with a first encoding mode, wherein the first encoding mode comprises intra-prediction encoding mode, I-mode, and wherein the partition is encoded using the first encoding mode comprising spatial predicting the partition from one or more neighboring pixels according to the I-mode,

and another of the partitions is encoded with a second encoding mode, wherein the second encoding mode comprises one of P-mode and B-mode, and wherein the second encoding mode is different from the first encoding mode;

a processor configured to:

receive block-type syntax information for the video block that indicates the size of the video block and identifies the partitions of the video block and the encoding modes used to encode the partitions; and

decode the video block based on the block-type syntax information.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processor comprises a video decoder.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 , further comprising a display device configured to display a frame including the video block.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the differently sized partitions include sizes that are larger than 16×16, or wherein the differently sized partitions include sizes that are larger than 16×16 and smaller than 16×16.

15. A method of decoding video data, comprising:

receiving, with a video decoder, a square video block having a size of N×N pixels of more than 16×16 pixels, where N is one of 32, 64, 128 and 256,

wherein the video block is partitioned into partitions using hierarchical partitioning with one or more levels, wherein, at each hierarchical partitioning level in which the video block is further partitioned, square partitions are further partitioned into two equally sized rectangular partitions or into four square partitions, some of the partitions to be decoded are differently sized,

one of the partitions is encoded with a first encoding mode, wherein the first encoding mode comprises intra-prediction encoding mode, I-mode, and wherein the partition is encoded using the first encoding mode comprising spatial predicting the partition from one or more neighboring pixels according to the I-mode,

and another of the partitions is encoded with a second encoding mode, wherein the second encoding mode comprises one of P-mode and B-mode, and wherein the second encoding mode is different from the first encoding mode;

receiving block-type syntax information for the video block that indicates the size of the video block and identifies the partitions of the video block and the encoding modes used to encode the partitions; and

decoding the video block based on the block-type syntax information.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the differently sized partitions include sizes that are larger than 16×16, or wherein the differently sized partitions include sizes that are larger than 16×16 and smaller than 16×16.