Architectures for multi-threaded MVC-compliant multi-view video decoding and benchmark tests

3D video based on stereo/multi-view representations is becoming widely popular. Real-time encoding/decoding of such video is an important concern as the number and spatial/temporal resolution of views increase. We present a systematic method for design and optimization of multi-threaded multi-view video encoding/decoding algorithms using multi-core processors and provide benchmark results for real-time decoding. The proposed multi-core decoding architectures are compliant with the current MVC extension of H.264/AVC international standard, and enable multi-threaded processing with negligible loss of encoding efficiency and minimum processing overhead. Benchmark results show that multi-core processors and multi-threading decoding are necessary for real-time high-definition multi-view video decoding and display. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.