Multi-level Inter-frame Parallelization in an Open Optimized VVC Encoder

This work investigates video encoding parallelization techniques based on the Versatile Video Coding (VVC) standard, using the open and optimized encoder software implementation VVenC. Modern multi-processor systems offer significant opportunities for accelerating video encoding. By employing a proposed combination of parallelization methods, the VVenC encoder achieves an acceleration factor of up to 22 compared to single-threaded mode on a 32-core system, with potential increases to 27× at higher bitrates. Building upon prior work on Inter-frame Parallelization (IFP), the study introduces frame region-based synchronization, enabling further acceleration of up to 10%. Beyond that, the study demonstrates extending frame parallelization beyond Group of Pictures (GOP) boundaries, which improves IFP speed up by 37% and 11% at high-definition (HD) and ultra-high-definition (UHD) resolutions, respectively. Additional combinations with other VVC parallelization tools, such as tiles and VVC Wavefront Parallel Processing (WPP), are also explored. The article provides a comprehensive analysis of parallelization challenges and highlights areas for further improvement.