End-to-end rate-distortion optimization for bi-directional learned video compression

Conventional video compression methods employ a linear transform and block motion model, and the steps of motion estimation, mode and quantization parameter selection, and entropy coding are optimized individually due to the combinatorial nature of the end-to-end optimization problem. Learned video compression allows end-to-end rate-distortion optimized training of all nonlinear modules, quantization parameter and entropy model simultaneously. Most of the works on learned video compression considered training a sequential video codec based on end-to-end optimization of cost averaged over pairs of successive frames. It is well-known in conventional video compression that hierarchical, bi-directional coding outperforms sequential compression because of its ability to selectively use reference frames from both future and past. To this effect, a hierarchical bi-directional learned lossy video compression system is presented in this thesis. Experimental results show that the rate-distortion performance of the proposed framework outperforms both traditional and other learned codecs in the literature yielding state-of-the art results.