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Abstract

Disparity estimation between the right and left view pixel luminance values in a stereoscopic video signal is optimized by determining the minimum least-square-error between macroblocks of the right and left view pictures. Affine transform coefficients and disparity vectors which correspond to the minimum error are also determined and transmitted in the data stream for use by a decoder in reconstructing the right view picture. The scheme can be implemented either locally, at the macroblock level, or globally, at the picture level. At the macroblock level, least-square-error optimization may occur for each individual macroblock in the right view picture. In this case, affine transform coefficients are provided for each macroblock. At the picture level, the sum of the least-square-errors is minimized after the blocks of the right view picture are matched to the left view picture. In this case, only one set of affine transform coefficients are required for the entire right view picture. Or, block matching between an affinely transformed left view picture and the right view picture may be performed after minimizing the sum of the least-square-errors. The scheme is particularly useful in minimizing the effects of cross-channel luminance imbalances due to camera variations and scenes with significant changes in brightness or contrast, and is compatible with stereoscopic video systems such as the MPEG Multi-view Profile (MVP) system.

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