Device and method for intra predictions in video coding

1. A method of decoding video data performed by an electronic device, the method comprising:

receiving the video data;

determining, from an image frame of the video data, a block unit;

determining a first intra prediction of the block unit based on a decoder-side intra mode derivation (DIMD) mode, wherein determining the first intra prediction of the block unit based on the DIMD mode comprises:

generating a histogram of gradient (HoG) list based on a first template region of the block unit, the HoG list comprising a plurality of angular modes associated with the block unit, wherein:

a plurality of template angles and a plurality of template amplitudes corresponding to the plurality of template angles are calculated by applying a filter on each of a plurality of positions in the first template region, and

each of the plurality of template angles corresponds to one of the plurality of angular modes;

determining a second intra prediction of the block unit based on an intra prediction mode other than the DIMD mode;

generating a third intra prediction based on the first intra prediction and the second intra prediction; and

reconstructing the block unit based on the third intra prediction.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the intra prediction mode other than the DIMD mode comprises at least one of a planar mode, a linear model mode, a direct current (DC) mode, or one of the plurality of angular modes different from the DIMD mode.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second intra prediction is determined based on a template-based intra mode derivation (TIMD) mode, and determining the second intra prediction of the block unit based on the TIMD mode comprises:

determining a second template region associated with the block unit, the second template region comprising a first reconstructed block left-neighboring the block unit and a second reconstructed block upper-neighboring the block unit;

calculating a plurality of template costs for a plurality of candidate modes of a candidate list respectively based on the second template region;

selecting a first candidate mode of the plurality of candidate modes corresponding to a first minimum template cost of the plurality of template costs and a second candidate mode of the plurality of candidate modes corresponding to a second minimum template cost of the plurality of template costs, wherein the first minimum template cost comprises a least template cost in the plurality of template costs, and the second minimum template cost comprises a template cost that is greater than the first minimum template cost, but less than all other template costs in the plurality of template costs; and

determining the second intra prediction based on the first candidate mode and the second candidate mode.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein calculating the plurality of template costs for the plurality of candidate modes of the candidate list respectively based on the second template region comprises:

generating a plurality of predictions of the second template region based on a plurality of reference samples of the second template region, the plurality of predictions corresponding to the plurality of candidate modes of the candidate list; and

calculating a plurality of template costs for the plurality of predictions based on a template reconstruction of the second template region, the plurality of template costs for the plurality of predictions corresponding to the plurality of template costs for the plurality of candidate modes of the candidate list.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein determining the second intra prediction based on the first candidate mode and the second candidate mode comprises:

determining whether the second minimum template cost is less than twice the first minimum template cost;

in a case that the second minimum template cost is less than twice the first minimum template cost, determining the second intra prediction based on the first candidate mode; and

in a case that the second minimum template cost is not less than twice the first minimum template cost, determining the second intra prediction based on the first candidate mode, the second candidate mode, the first minimum template cost, and the second minimum template cost.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the first intra prediction of the block unit based on the DIMD mode comprises:

selecting at least one of the plurality of angular modes for determining the first intra prediction, wherein the first template region of the block unit comprises a first reconstructed region adjacent to a left side of the block unit, a second reconstructed region adjacent to an upper side of the block unit, and a third reconstructed region joining the first reconstructed region and the second reconstructed region.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the at least one of the plurality of angular modes corresponds to at least one largest template amplitude within the plurality of template amplitudes.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the third intra prediction based on the first intra prediction and the second intra prediction comprises:

determining a first weight corresponding to the first intra prediction and a second weight corresponding to the second intra prediction; and

generating the third intra prediction by calculating a weighted average of the first intra prediction and the second intra prediction based on the first weight and the second weight.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

decoding a specific flag in the video data, wherein the specific flag indicates whether to use the third intra prediction for reconstructing the block unit.

10. An electronic device for decoding video data, the electronic device comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more non-transitory computer-readable media coupled to the one or more processors and storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:

receive the video data;

determine, from an image frame of the video data, a block unit;

determine a first intra prediction of the block unit based on a decoder-side intra mode derivation (DIMD) mode, wherein determining the first intra prediction of the block unit based on the DIMD mode comprises:

generating a histogram of gradient (HoG) list based on a first template region of the block unit, the HoG list comprising a plurality of angular modes associated with the block unit, wherein:

a plurality of template angles and a plurality of template amplitudes corresponding to the plurality of template angles are calculated by applying a filter on each of a plurality of positions in the first template region, and

each of the plurality of template angles corresponds to one of the plurality of angular modes;

determine a second intra prediction of the block unit based on an intra prediction mode other than the DIMD mode;

generate a third intra prediction based on the first intra prediction and the second intra prediction; and

reconstruct the block unit based on the third intra prediction.

11. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the intra prediction mode other than the DIMD mode comprises at least one of a planar mode, a linear model mode, a direct current (DC) mode, or one of the plurality of angular modes different from the DIMD mode.

12. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the second intra prediction is determined based on a template-based intra mode derivation (TIMD) mode, and determining the second intra prediction of the block unit based on the TIMD mode comprises:

determining a second template region associated with the block unit, the second template region comprising a first reconstructed block left-neighboring the block unit and a second reconstructed block upper-neighboring the block unit;

calculating a plurality of template costs for a plurality of candidate modes of a candidate list respectively based on the second template region;

selecting a first candidate mode of the plurality of candidate modes corresponding to a first minimum template cost of the plurality of template costs and a second candidate mode of the plurality of candidate modes corresponding to a second minimum template cost of the plurality of template costs, wherein the first minimum template cost comprises a least template cost in the plurality of template costs, and the second minimum template cost comprises a template cost that is greater than the first minimum template cost, but less than all other template costs in the plurality of template costs; and

determining the second intra prediction based on the first candidate mode and the second candidate mode.

13. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein calculating the plurality of template costs for the plurality of candidate modes of the candidate list respectively based on the second template region comprises:

generating a plurality of predictions of the second template region based on a plurality of reference samples of the second template region, the plurality of predictions corresponding to the plurality of candidate modes of the candidate list; and

calculating a plurality of template costs for the plurality of predictions based on a template reconstruction of the second template region, the plurality of template costs for the plurality of predictions corresponding to the plurality of template costs for the plurality of candidate modes of the candidate list.

14. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein determining the second intra prediction based on the first candidate mode and the second candidate mode comprises:

determining whether the second minimum template cost is less than twice the first minimum template cost;

in a case that the second minimum template cost is less than twice the first minimum template cost, determining the second intra prediction based on the first candidate mode; and

in a case that the second minimum template cost is not less than twice the first minimum template cost, determining the second intra prediction based on the first candidate mode, the second candidate mode, the first minimum template cost, and the second minimum template cost.

15. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein determining the first intra prediction of the block unit based on the DIMD mode comprises:

selecting at least one of the plurality of angular modes for determining the first intra prediction, wherein the first template region of the block unit comprises a first reconstructed region adjacent to a left side of the block unit, a second reconstructed region adjacent to an upper side of the block unit, and a third reconstructed region joining the first reconstructed region and the second reconstructed region.

16. The electronic device of claim 15 , wherein the at least one of the plurality of angular modes corresponds to at least one largest template amplitude within the plurality of template amplitudes.

17. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein generating the third intra prediction based on the first intra prediction and the second intra prediction comprises:

determining a first weight corresponding to the first intra prediction and a second weight corresponding to the second intra prediction; and

generating the third intra prediction by calculating a weighted average of the first intra prediction and the second intra prediction based on the first weight and the second weight.

18. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one of the one or more processors, further cause the electronic device to:

decode a specific flag in the video data, wherein the specific flag indicates whether to use the third intra prediction for reconstructing the block unit.