Joint Machine Learning and Game Theory for Rate Control in High Efficiency Video Coding

In this paper, a joint machine learning and game theory modeling (MLGT) framework is proposed for inter frame coding tree unit (CTU) level bit allocation and rate control (RC) optimization in high efficiency video coding (HEVC). First, a support vector machine-based multi-classification scheme is proposed to improve the prediction accuracy of CTU-level rate-distortion (R-D) model. The legacy “chicken-and-egg” dilemma in video coding is proposed to be overcome by the learning-based R-D model. Second, a mixed R-D model-based cooperative bargaining game theory is proposed for bit allocation optimization, where the convexity of the mixed R-D model-based utility function is proved, and Nash bargaining solution is achieved by the proposed iterative solution search method. The minimum utility is adjusted by the reference coding distortion and frame-level quantization parameter (QP) change. Finally, intra frame QP and inter frame adaptive bit ratios are adjusted to make inter frames have more bit resources to maintain smooth quality and bit consumption in the bargaining game optimization. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed MLGT-based RC method can achieve much better R-D performances, quality smoothness, bit rate accuracy, buffer control results, and subjective visual quality than the other state-of-the-art one-pass RC methods, and the achieved R-D performances are very close to the performance limits from the FixedQP method.