Bytedance's overseas technical team has achieved the latest breakthroughs in the global video coding field.
According to the official website of the Joint Video Expert Group JVET, ByteDance AVG (Advanced Video Team) launched a video compression technical proposal in February this year, which can optimize compression quality while saving at least 13% of storage and bandwidth. For example, a 180-minute H.266/VVC standard high-definition video (1080P resolution) requires about 3GB of data volume, and only 2.6GB after applying the new technology. This is the best performance gain of a single smart coding tool disclosed in the industry.
ByteDance AVG has established a R&D team in California, USA. The members include senior researchers from Qualcomm, Microsoft, Intel and other giants, as well as new generations from top universities at home and abroad. In the process of JVET formulating a new generation of international video codec standard H.266/VVC, Byte Beat AVG has submitted a total of 260+ technical proposals, 130+ of which were adopted, and the number of adopted proposals and adoption rate are ranked in the world. Forefront, is one of the main contributors to the H.266/VVC core algorithm.
Video is a sequence of dynamic images connected by pictures. Video codec is the underlying core technology of video applications. The function is to compress and digitally encode images to transmit high-quality video data with the smallest possible bandwidth. H.266/VVC can reduce the video bit rate to half of the previous generation standard H.265/HEVC without affecting the picture quality. It was originally only enough for the speed of SD video, and it can also play high-definition video smoothly.
The new algorithm proposed by AVG aims to build a filter (DAM) that reduces video compression distortion through deep learning technology. The backbone is a deep convolutional network based on stacking residual units, supplemented by adaptive model selection to maximize Adapt to natural videos with complex characteristics. The so-called residual unit refers to the introduction of layer-jumping connections, allowing the network to focus on changing residuals, which is similar to the residuals between video image frames, such as martial arts masters duel, "sword light flashes" Most of the content of each frame of image is the same, and the flashing sword light forms a residual error, which is also the focus of video coding and compression.
Experimental results show that compared with the latest H.266/VVC standard, the byte-beating DAM solution can significantly improve video encoding performance. The luminance signal Y can achieve a performance gain of 10.28%, and the two chrominance signals U and V , Performance gains have reached 28.22% and 27.97% respectively. While the video quality has been optimized, the data volume can be reduced by at least 13%.
It is reported that ByteDance AVG has independently developed the BVC2.0 encoder and participated in the internationally authoritative MSU 2020 video encoder competition for the first time, ranking first in four evaluation indicators. AVG's various research results will also be applied through the upgrade of the BVC encoder, including the video content processing of apps such as Douyin, Watermelon Video, and Toutiao, as well as cloud computing, cloud gaming and other infrastructure fields, so as to provide users Bring a higher-definition picture quality and smoother video experience.
In addition to its in-depth participation in the formulation of international video standards, AVG has also made important contributions to the domestic new generation of video compression standard AVS3, including block division, motion vector coding and prediction, color-luminance intra prediction and many other original technologies that have been adopted by the AVS3 video standard. Adopted. ByteDance therefore won the 2019 AVS Industry Technology Innovation Proposal Award and is the only Internet company that has won the award so far.
Dr. Zhang Li of ByteDance AVG said that video compression standards, as a specification that service providers must follow, not only contain immeasurable commercial value, but also bring real convenience to users. Through standard formulation and product development, Bytedance will continue to innovate and output technical capabilities, and work with the industry to provide users with better video services.