Decomposition of residual data during signal encoding, decoding and reconstruction in a tiered hierarchy

1. A method comprising:

via computer processing hardware:

decoding encoded data for a bottom level of quality to produce a decoded rendition of a signal at the bottom level of quality;

decoding reconstruction data for a first level of quality and producing four planes of quantized parameters;

dequantizing the four planes of quantized parameters to produce four sets of dequantized transformed parameters;

performing an inverse directional decomposition of the four sets of dequantized transformed parameters to produce a plane of residuals;

upscaling data generated using the decoded rendition of the signal at the bottom level of quality to produce a predicted rendition of the signal at the first level of quality; and

combining the predicted rendition of the signal at the first level of quality with the plane of residuals on an element-by-element basis to generate a decoded rendition of the signal at the first level of quality,

wherein at least one of the four planes of quantized parameters does not carry directional information for the production of the plane of residuals and wherein performing an inverse directional decomposition comprises substituting a default value for dequantized values for said at least one of the four planes that does not carry directional information.

2. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

receiving parameters for generating the predicted rendition of the signal at the first level of quality; and

generating the predicted rendition of the signal at the first level of quality according to the received parameters.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein decoding encoded signal data for a bottom level of quality uses a first decoding method that is different from the decoding method used for decoding reconstruction data for the first level of quality.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the first decoding method is a H.264 decoding method.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predicted rendition of the signal at the first level of quality is generated using a corresponding element of a rendition of the signal at the bottom level of quality.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the method is performed in relation to 2 by 2 blocks of elements at the first level of quality and the corresponding element is a single element at the bottom level of quality for each 2 by 2 block.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein a plane of residuals is generated for a plurality of levels of quality.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least a first plane of quantized parameters is dequantized with a first set of dequantization operations and at least a second plane of quantized parameters is dequantized with a second set of dequantization operations, the first and second set of dequantization operations being different.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing an inverse directional decomposition comprises applying a matrix multiplication to dequantized values for the four sets of dequantized transformed parameters.

10. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

adding a predicted average modifier,

wherein an average component generated by a directional decomposition is replaced within the four planes of quantized parameters with an average delta component representing a difference between a predicted average and an actual average for a block of residual elements.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method is performed as part of a tiered-based hierarchical decoding loop.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method is performed for a plurality of 2 by 2 blocks within a frame of video, wherein, for each 2 by 2 block, generation of an adjusted rendition at the first level of quality only utilizes four directional decomposition components for that block resulting from the inverse directional decomposition and data from the bottom level of quality for that block.

13. A decoder comprising:

a first decoder to decode encoded data for a bottom level of quality to produce a decoded rendition of a signal at the bottom level of quality;

a second decoder to decode reconstruction data for a first level of quality to produce four planes of quantized parameters;

at least one dequantizer to dequantize the four planes of quantized parameters to produce four sets of dequantized transformed parameters;

an inverse directional decomposition component to perform an inverse directional decomposition of the four sets of dequantized transformed parameters to produce a plane of residuals;

an upscaler to upscale data generated using the decoded rendition of the signal at the bottom level of quality to produce a predicted rendition of the signal at the first level of quality; and

a combiner to combine the predicted rendition of the signal at the first level of quality with the plane of residuals on an element-by-element basis to generate a decoded rendition of the signal at the first level of quality,

wherein at least one of the four planes of quantized parameters does not carry directional information for the production of the plane of residuals and wherein performing an inverse directional decomposition comprises substituting a default value for dequantized values for said at least one of the four planes that does not carry directional information.

14. The decoder of claim 13 , wherein the first decoder is different from the second decoder.

15. The decoder of claim 13 , wherein the decoder performs decoding in relation to 2 by 2 blocks of elements at the first level of quality and the corresponding element is a single element at the bottom level of quality for each 2 by 2 block.

16. The decoder of claim 13 , wherein at least a first plane of quantized parameters is dequantized with a first set of dequantization operations and at least a second plane of quantized parameters is dequantized with a second set of dequantization operations, the first and second set of dequantization operations being different.

17. The decoder of claim 13 , comprising:

a predicted average combiner,

wherein an average component generated by a directional decomposition is replaced within the four planes of quantized parameters with an average delta component representing a difference between a predicted average and an actual average for a block of residual elements.

18. The decoder of claim 13 , wherein the decoder is applied for a plurality of 2 by 2 blocks within a frame of video, wherein, for each 2 by 2 block, generation of an adjusted rendition at the first level of quality only utilizes four directional decomposition components for that block resulting from the inverse directional decomposition and data from the bottom level of quality for that block.