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Prahfitz Ov Inzaniti, or P.O.I. for short, was formed in 1999 by Joseph Crook and Arthur McDonald, in the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States.
Their first full album entitled "Covet Thy Ak" was released on August 1st 2001, and was a mixture of a previous demo tape made in 1999 entitled "May I Axe You?", and a couple of new added tracks. Prominent tracks from these early days include "Attempted Suicide" and "Nothing". This album was recorded with very crude technology, including a karaoke machine/cassette tape recorder hooked up to a PC.
Read more about Prahfitz Ov Inzaniti on Last.fm.
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Potty training… potty learning… it doesn't really matter how you flush it, it all means the same thing: teaching your child to use the toilet instead of a diaper. It's a hallmark of toddler care, a rite of passage that every kid goes through, right? That's what the diaper companies would have you think – but is it all a great big hoax?
Singing and Dancing Around the Toilet
So have parents been dancing around toilet seats to encourage their kids to use the bathroom since the beginning of time? Giggling potties, diapered teddy bears, and sticker charts weren't part of human toddlerhood back in the day. How did they do it?
I don't want to be totally unfair to the diaper companies here — cloth diapers, moss, and other absorbent substances have been used against baby bums for centuries.
But it's not true that babies have no elimination awareness. It's completely false that you need to wait for some "readiness" to start teaching your kid that his pants are not his toilet. It doesn't require stickers, singing toilets, or special pull-on diapers.
And the advice that it's harmful to "potty train too early" — total hoax.
Baby, You're Born With It
Did you know that human babies are born with a desire to avoid soiling themselves? It's hard to figure out why that's so surprising, shocking, and bordering on sacrilegious. After all, animals clearly demonstrate that they don't want to soil their nests, even as babies. Why do we think that human babies, certainly more developed, would do that?
Babies are born with an awareness that they're eliminating — urinating or having a bowel movment. Babies squirm, grunt, sign, squeal, shiver, kick, fuss, and give any number of other signs.
Think about how many parents glance over at their baby and just know she's filling her diaper… we have an instinct about it.
Diaper Duty
Of course the diaper industries have a pretty vested interest in keeping our kids in diapers. Cloth or disposable, it's money to keep them toddling around in those diaper-clad bottoms.
"Delayed toilet training" is touted as gentler, more kid-friendly, and respectful.
The truth is, listening to your baby's signals from the start is what's really the most respectful to your baby's dignity. And, well, it's just a little easier to flush the toilet than clean poop that's smeared into every crack and crevice on your precious baby's bottom.
Wait, Is This All or Nothing?
I want to be clear that this isn't an all-or-nothing thing. My first baby spent a lot more time diaper free than my other babies have. I'll admit it, when I'm busy with running a home and keeping up with a bunch of kids, I like the diapers helping me out.
But I still feel good that I can catch most of my baby's cues throughout the day, helping her to stay clean and dry – with minimal work for me. I've been listening to her cues since birth, and it's just part of daily life to keep respecting them. I'm certainly not perfect, and sometimes I feel baffled by just how she managed to sneak a dirty diaper up on me 😉 But on the whole, we're staying clean, dry, and happy.
"Potty training" for us will be a transition from Mama helping all the time to a proud tot going all by herself… it certainly won't be the celebrated (and dreaded) milestone the diaper companies make it out to be.
How can you listen to your little one's cues? What can you do if you're getting a late start… is it still possible to learn when your kiddo needs to go? Get the answers to these questions and more in my favorite guide to elimination communication: EC Simplified. It's packed with photos, flowcharts, advice, and easy step-by-step help to get started successfully today.
Photo by Manish Bansal

subset: commoncrawl


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A living memorial to canoe club's stalwart
Posted: November 28, 2013|
A GENEROUS donation in memory of a Penzance canoeist has seen yet another location take delivery of equipment that could save a life.
A public access defibrillator (PAD) has been sited at the Watersports Centre on Albert Pier in Penzance.
The installation was arranged by Penzance Canoe Club and paid for by the family of club member Christopher Prescott, who died of cancer in December 2012 aged 38.
Club member Dan Tolchard said: "Chris wanted to leave something for others and he'd be delighted to think that he could be partly responsible for helping protect and save lives at his canoe club."
The memorial plaque on the PAD cabinet reads: "Donated by and in memory of Chris Prescott, a paddler who helped others," and Mr Tolchard said: "This was so true of Chris, who was always quick to help others – running courses, lifting boats or supporting with paddling skills on the water.
"Chris was one of those people who was always just there, a regular, loyal friend to many. His unique gift to the club is so appropriate and has allowed him to continue being there to help others in need."
The equipment will now form part of an ever-expanding network of PADs put in place around west Cornwall and beyond by The Cornishman's Heart Start campaign.
At the beginning of the year this newspaper announced it would be working alongside the Penzance-based Ronnie Richards Memorial Charity (RRMC) to secure 100 defibrillators, which can be used to save the life of a person suffering from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), and see 500 people trained to use them.
RRMC secretary Paul Williams said: "It's a wonderful tribute to a warm-natured person who was, and is still, there for people. The essential lifesaving equipment covers educational establishments which make use of the facilities at the Watersports Centre.
"We're touched by the generosity of people who have donated money in memory of loved ones for equipment to save other people's lives.
"I can't think of a more warm-hearted gesture."
Anyone wanting to donate money towards essential lifesaving PAD equipment in memory of a loved one should visit the charity's website at www.rrmc.webs.com or e-mail email@example.com or call Mr Williams on 01736 360864 or 07581 188043.


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Is Harvard "scholar" another word for idiot?
If I break into my own house and someone thinks I broke in, I would expect the police to ask for my picture iD with my address on it. Otherwise they are not protecting me.
The president is an idiot. He never should have made such a stupid comment.
By the way, I know SEVERAL WHITE People who have been arrested for SMART MOUTHING POLICE. Any imbecile knows not to be a smart butt to the cops.
we recently got new signs in the CBD area. Examples are: freight loading, no parking.- this is in front of an empty parking lot. Same block has meters there (so you can legally park there apparently) "emergency lane" in odd places as well. Many other examples of meaningless signs going up recently that are questionable. I think someones bro has a sign company now.
They took a lien on your house. They can take your house or make you pay the grant back. Your choice. Is there a place you can report the ones who are bragging about being overpaid?
Can the editor and the writer please learn how to spell primary or primaries?
probably at least 3 of them are me. They took my information and "lost" it 3 times, so I had 3 application numbers besides the one I finally ended up with when I had to re-apply yet again when I went for the face to face meeting. I am sure they did it to others. Those applicants are probably just lost paperwork and they are too dumb to figure it out.
No, they really are that stupid, even if you owe them money.
They once nearly got me fired over a 30.00 tax I owed. It seems they did not and were unable to find out my zip code (only 1 in my town) except through contacting my employer to let them know I was evading paying my taxes and wanted to garnish my salary.
I wish we had better choices.
But, I am voting for Royal because Buddy is a good ole boy crook.
You are getting a refund from the state, you have to ask for it on your taxes.
Unfortunately, it looks like I will only be getting an increase and NO DISCOUNT whatsoever. My policy expires june 25, so I missed out on the refund of 10% since it is only retro until august 07 and the rate hike will go into effect june 2008. Looks like I am screwed both ways.
Thanks! For nothing!
In response to all the stupid comments:
Speaking as a person who at one time sold alcohol at a grocery store, white people put alcoholic drinks in paper bags and loiter in front of stores too.
I think a lot of the people posting on this site are just completely insane and/or have nothing better to do but look for trouble.
You know who you are.
God bless this little boy, and I hope his future is better now.
My concern is the millions in PERSONAL money put up to win these campaigns...How much does the governor make per year? How do they recoup these personal funds? And I doubt seriously that Jindal is going to be able to "give" 19,000 contributers anything. Can't you only make a 5,000 contribution at most? Maybe they just want him to win because they think he is the best person for the job.
My concern is the millions in PERSONAL money put up to win these campaigns...How much does the governor make per year? How do they recoup these personal funds? And I doubt seriously that Jindal is going to be able to "give" 19,000 contributers anything. Can't you only make a 5,000 contribution at most? Maybe they just want him to win because they think he is the best person for the job.
mfh02 :
The road home program was never just for New Orleans residents or flood damage or Katrina. It has always been for damages from both hurricanes and open to anyone who received hurricane damage of any kind as long as it met some other criteria, amount, ownership, designated area, etc...
quote from article:
"But in the end, he was reluctant to give up a job that gave him enormous latitude in raising and spending money and hiring and firing deputies. He boasted that he could legally spend public funds to buy his personal secretary a Mercedes. "Why would I want to be governor when I can be king?" Mr. Lee asked. "
It does not say he DID buy a Mercedes, it said he COULD; and maybe he could, I don't know, maybe someone has to look at the policies/rules of the department because maybe the next guy WOULD.
And if he thinks he is king, so what? So do most men.
The road home money is NOT just for flood, it is for all damage due to the hurricanes. However, what I don't understand is why some people get these huge amounts of money for storm damage that is non-existant. I thought there was a 5,000 minimum of damage. A co-worker got 12,000 even though she was paid by her insurance for 3,000 worth of damage which was generous considering she lost A SHINGLE and A piece of siding....all of which was replaced. There are other stories but, someone needs to do more investigating before they pay out this money to people whose homes are already fixed. Maybe those should have come last instead of first as I know it is hard to prove damage was not there when the adjuster cant see it.
Is there a hotline to report fraud or abuse of this system?
I think they need to go back to the graveyard and dig up their last season. What did they think would happen? Once you bury something, it is not supposed to come back to life. Who gave them that advice? What a bunch of idiots! By the way, what was wrong with actually keeping all the guys they had last year who made them a winning "team"; if you get rid of parts of the team, you are not that team anymore, you are a different team.
I thought the Jazzfest was a privately owned festival. Do the taxpayers pay to hold the Jazzfest? If so, then I guess if he is running it, he can do as he pleases. If not, then why would it be our business who the owner/manager invites to go in and out for free?
Just so you know, I am not a Mitch fan. Just curious as to why taxpayers are paying for the Jazzfest, if that is true.
I guess I should have jumped out my car last night and beat the heck out of the 4 black teenagers that were calling me names from the back of their truck. It was definately hateful. But, I didn't. It's just talk. It didn't hurt me. And, they are free to say what they want. I could have given them a symbol of my displeasure with them via the finger. I didn't, I ignored them and their racist actions against me.
All this is way overblown. And no matter what someone else does, it does not give you the right to lay hands on them. So now, 6 kids think the right thing to do when someone irrates you or insults you is to beat them up in a gang no less. The charges against them were dropped. Al and Jesse and the ACLU are just supporting racist behavior. Thats all.
It doesn't matter what party the pres is, they always close the roads around ANY of them, even if one should happen to be libertarian one day.
If they find the Mangano's guilty of this, then EVERYONE who did not evacuate, MUST be found guilty if family members or others died in their presence. Plenty of entire familys were killed because parents, caretakers, etc... did not take them out of harms way. Why should these be the only people prosecuted? If this is true, then they should just be the first. Personally, I think hindsight is 20/20. The people who sued should have just cared more about their family members rather than leave them to die, as they claim the nursing home did. The only difference is, the nursing home staff and owners and their families stayed and the patients families left them there instead of making sure they were evacuated either by them or by the home. I have not seen any reports of these people telling family that they were evacuating and did not. Since they didn't I do not consider it their fault.
They did stay along with their family members, grandchildren etc. I doubt they would intentionally put their own family in harms way if they did not belive it was going to be alright.
Also, all these people who are suing...they did not have to leave their loved ones there. Ultimately, if my parents were in homes, I would see if they were being evacuated and if not, and I thought it was necessary, I would make arrangements myself or go get them. I certainly would not wait and see what happens and if they die - sue someone for MY error in judgement.


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As you know, we're always working on developing new features and improving existing ones. We're pleased to announce that we've just released a new feature for the Jimdo online store: starting today, you can export and download all your order information as a CSV file.
The advantages:
First of all, exporting your order data only works if you already have orders in your online store. In order to export your orders, log into your JimdoPage and click on the store button (with the shopping cart symbol) in the SiteAdmin on the right. Then click on the button "Export Orders" button and choose which orders you would like to export: all of them, those during a specific time period, or based on the order number. Sounds good, right?
To make creating invoices from your exported data really easy, we'd like to introduce you to our new partner FastBill.com -- they specialize in automatically creating invoices.
Here's how to use FastBill and Jimdo together:
Here's the free alternative. If you use a word processing program like Microsoft Word or OpenOffice (a great free option if you haven't bought Word), you can create invoices using the "mail merge" feature. This is a little more complicated and you'll need to have a little patience while you're setting it up.
Very good news!
Thank's to you JIMDO...
Thanks for this tool as I would like to study the possibility of placing a tool for language I think in my case is very cool to not depend on others.THANKS
Thank you for developing the ability to send professional invoices through our online store. Very nice feature indeed!
this is very good......
Cool! Say, can we also download our store inventory? Thanks
Hi Jesse, it's not possible to download store inventory right now. But that's a good suggestion and I'll pass it on!


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BF7MB-R-05 OmniFilter Water Filter Housing Mounting Bracket KitFits OmniFilter heavy-duty water filter housings that use the BF7-MB Bracket Learn More$23.99
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Latest Headlines
Despite the fact that Thorne constantly jinxed the O's with talk about streaks, the O's break club records
Posted on 27 Aug 2012 by Brendan Keelan.
Baltimore Orioles fans have sore knuckles after having to knock on wood several times due to O's TV announcer Gary Thorne on MASN (Mid-Atlantic Sports Network) jinxing Baltimore in this game by talking about the team's different winning streaks before the game was over. When you are the visiting team's announcer at the game and you talk about the other teams streaks in attempt to jinx them that...
Continue Reading
In a win that guarantees another series win, several O's fall short of individual milestones
Posted on 25 Aug 2012 by Brendan Keelan.
With 36 games left in the season the Orioles matched last year's win total with an 8-2 victory over Toronto. The O's are now within four games of the East Division Lead after a Yankee loss today. Although posting stellar performances Matt Wieters and J.J. Hardy fell just shy of tying all-time Orioles single game records. Matt Wieters gunned down three runners trying to steal in tonight's game, ...
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Hey Ranger batters bring the O's pitching staff to the Home Run Derby next year if your invited
Posted on 22 Aug 2012 by Brendan Keelan.
In this year's season series between the Orioles and Rangers Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre had multi-multi home run performances against the O's. The Rangers dominance of the Orioles wasn't just leaving the park, the total tally of overall runs in the six games played were 48 to 21 runs in favor of Texas. Hamilton hit four home runs on May 8th this season versus the O's and Beltre hit three t...
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O's force a "rubber" game, Britton remains undefeated against the Tigers
Posted on 18 Aug 2012 by Brendan Keelan.
Both of these playoff contenders came into this game with the same overall record and desperately needed to win this game to keep alive in the AL Wild Card race. Tonight the O's won by the feathers on their chinny chin chin's by a score of 3-2. Zach Britton who was 1-0 with a 9.00 ERA versus Detroit in his career earned the win and continues his undefeated streak. Britton pitched seven scoreles...
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Beckett vs. Chen- Round 2: Chen and the O's take the victory once again
Posted on 14 Aug 2012 by Brendan Keelan.
Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen and Red Sox starter Josh Beckett faced off tonight for the second time this season. In their first meeting back on June 6th the Orioles defeated the Red Sox 2-1, Chen earned the win and Beckett earned the loss. Chen went seven innings, and gave up seven hits and only one run. Beckett lasted eight innings and gave up two runs. In Tonight's game the O's won by a score...
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Britton blows up and blows the O's chance for a sweep
Posted on 1 Aug 2012 by Brendan Keelan.
The Orioles came into this game winning the first two games of this series and the Yankees came in with a four game losing streak. They were trying to do something that they haven't done since 1986, and that was to sweep the Yankees at Yankee stadium, but they failed by a score of 12-3 due to a dissapointing start by the O's Zach Britton. Britton went only two and two-thirds innings giving up s...
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Gonzalez shines in first game facing the Yankees
Posted on 30 Jul 2012 by Brendan Keelan.
Orioles starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez has had an up and down season so far, mostly down in these past few weeks, so him taking the mound for the first time ever against the first place Yankees would seem a little scary. Gonzalez' last start against the Rays was a train wreck as he only two and two-thirds innings, gave up seven earned runs on seven hits and two wild pitches. But he would rede...
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Pitchers give up leads, Batters grab the leads but still strikeout
Posted on 28 Jul 2012 by Brendan Keelan.
Both the Orioles and the Athletics needed to win some games in this series to move closer to a American League Wild Card lead. In this series opener it was the A's in the end who would take the game in the ninth and win by a score of 14-9. Both the O's pitching and batting are to blame. The O's offense improved in way tonight because they clawed back when they were down and had big run innings ...
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Orioles woes worsen both on the pitcher's mound and in the batter's box
Posted on 25 Jul 2012 by Brendan Keelan.
Tonight's game between the Orioles and Rays was a painful game to watch that ended in a 10-1 score in favor of the Rays. It became ugly right from the first pitch of the game from the O's Miguel Gonzalez to the Rays Desmond Jennings. Jennings hit a lead off home run on the first pitch out of Gonzalez' hand. The game did not get any better for the O's on offense nor on defense. Gonzalez left ear...
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Wins and home runs are good, but the Orioles aren't O "K"
Posted on 21 Jul 2012 by Brendan Keelan.
The Orioles despite winning tonight's game versus the Indians by a score of 3-1, have still been horrific with how many times they strikeout. Three of their everyday players are on pace to have near one hundred and fifty strikeouts by the end of the season (Chris Davis-90, Mark Reynolds-83, and Wilson Betemit-78). In tonights game, Oriole batters struck out nine times against Indians pitching, ...
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Twins may be a last place team in the AL Central, but they can still hit minor league pitching
Posted on 17 Jul 2012 by Brendan Keelan.
Both the Orioles and the Twins came into this game, the opener of the last series between these two teams this season, with streaks. The Twins, who just suffered a sweep against the Athletics, were on a five game losing streak losing seven of their last eight. On the other side Baltimore was 7-0 versus Minnesota this season, but both these streaks came to an end as the Twins punished the O's by...
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Tillman gets the win in 1st appearance of the season
Posted on 4 Jul 2012 by Brendan Keelan.
Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman made his first start of the season in Wednesday afternoon's game (a.k.a the 4th of July) after being called up from Triple-A Norfolk. While in Norfolk Tillman went 5-1 with a 1.96 ERA in his last six starts, and has not pitched in the majors since back in 2011 when he went 3-5 with a 5.52 ERA for the O's before being sent back down to Norfolk. Tillman's career reco...


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Weird News
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Cat Circus Purr-forms In Austin
Updated: Saturday, August 3 2013, 09:47 PM CDT
Who knew cats could perform with near purr-fect precision? This week the amazing Acro-cats are in Austin.
We checked out their gymnastics on Monday at the Blue Theatre in Southeast Austin.
The cat's owner travels across the country to entertain crowds with her fabulous felines. All of them are rescues given a new lease -- or should we say jump -- on life.
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PhosAgro has reached a major milestone in creating a comprehensive corporate information system based on Oracle E-Business Suite
Moscow, Russia, 2010 - PhosAgro, Russia's largest producer of phosphorous fertiliser, BearingPoint, an international management and technology consulting firm and Oracle, the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company, announced the successful launch of an Oracle® E-Business Suite based corporate implementation at Russia's two largest chemical plants, Ammophos and Cherepovetsky Azot both based in Cherepovets, Vologda Region.
The integrated full-scale Oracle E-Business Suite covers all the key business processes: Supply Chain Management and Procurement, Sales and Order Management, Process Manufacturing, Financial, Management and Tax Accounting, IFRS, Budgeting.
The project team consisted of PhosAgro staff and BearingPoint consultants. A key success factors of the project was the involvement of PhosAgro key specialists and experts in the project.
The project has helped the companies reorganise and standardise the business processes in the holding and develop a comprehensive corporate information system based on Oracle E-Business Suite.
The system went live simultaneously at two enterprises. There are 900 users on the system, corresponding to 14 per cent of staff of the companies involved in the project. Transition processes and system stabilisation work were completed by the end of April 2010.
The project is an important milestone in developing a corporate information system for PhosAgro. Now every employee at the three major subsidiaries has access to the Oracle E-Business Suite and may use it for everyday job tasks. A total of 2,000 users are operating in the system.
The project was unique in several ways: the system was implemented simultaneously at Russia's two largest chemical plants; the system went live by connecting to a live system instance already running at OAO Apatit; and an ERP system was fully integrated with the MES and logistics systems.
About PhosAgro
PhosAgro is a vertically integrated fertiliser producer with full cycle operations, from phosphorous feedstock recovery through to end products (fertilizer, feed phosphates, phosphorous acid, etc.) PhosAgro is Europe's largest and the world's second largest producer of concentrated phosphorus fertilizer.
For more information please visit www.phosagro.ru
About BearingPoint
BearingPoint is an independent management and technology consultancy. Owned and operated by its Partners throughout Europe, BearingPoint offers clients the best possible value in terms of tangible, measurable results by leveraging business and technology expertise. The company currently employs 3,250 people in 14 European countries and serve commercial, financial and public services clients.
BearingPoint offers its clients a seamless cross-border approach, strong focus on results, an entrepreneurial culture, profound industry and functional knowledge and solutions customised to clients' specific needs. The firm ranks high in client satisfaction, has long-standing relationships with reputable organisations and is seen as a trusted adviser. BearingPoint has European roots but operates with a global reach.
About Oracle
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company.
For more information about Oracle, visit www.oracle.com.
Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.


text: Prev | Next Purchase this photo Marshall University's Marco stops by to visit with children Monday, Nov. 17, 2008, at the MU Child Development Academy in Huntington. Gallery: Marco through the years Jul. 24, 2013 @ 05:29 PM The Herald-Dispatch / 2015 The Herald-Dispatch combed through its archives and found these file photos of Marshall University mascot Marco. ()


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Swatches of the Starflash eyeshadows for your perusal! Review to follow.
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Laura McCallum Feature Archive
Legislature taking another look at parole boards
Minnesota hasn't had a parole board since 1982, when it was replaced by sentencing guidelines. The Legislature is considering changing that. Supporters say some inmates deserve a second chance through early release. Critics say inmates should serve their time.
Committee deadline passes, but stadium bills still alive
Tuesday marks the first committee deadline of the 2005 legislative session. Bills had to clear all the necessary policy committees in either the House or the Senate by the end of the day. Those that don't face much tougher odds of survival, and that includes two stadium proposals that haven't even had a hearing.
Senate votes to lift limit on MinnesotaCare
The Minnesota Senate has voted to lift a cap on state-subsdized health care benefits for some low-income Minnesotans. Currently, MinnesotaCare health coverage is limited to $5,000 for adults who have no children. Opponents of the bill say the state needs to trim health care costs, rather than expanding benefits.
Governor, legislators cut deal on bonding bill
Gov. Pawlenty and legislative leaders have reached a deal on a package of public works projects. If the agreement holds up, it would mark the most significant breakthrough at the Capitol in more than a year. The Legislature failed to pass a bonding bill last session, in the midst of partisan gridlock.
Minnesota House beats back attempt to boost state spending on education
In the the first major debate of the session on whether to raise taxes, the Minnesota House of Representatives voted to cap state spending at $29.8 billion over the next two years, while rejecting an attempt to raise the limit to provide more money for schools.
Political leaders mourn Red Lake deaths
Minnesota's political leaders are expressing their sorrow and condolences over the shooting rampage in Red Lake. Ten people are dead in the nation's worst school shooting since Columbine nearly six years ago. Many lawmakers attended a ceremony on the state Capitol steps to mourn the Red Lake deaths.
Ethanol bill nears crucial test
About 200 ethanol supporters rallied at the state Capitol in support of doubling the state's ethanol mandate on Wednesday. Gov. Pawlenty urged the crowd to persuade wavering lawmakers to vote for the plan. The bill has bipartisan support in the Legislature, but it's about to face its toughest test in a key House committee, which holds a hearing on the bill on Thursday.
Group plans suit against Minnesota over faith-based initiatives
Gov. Tim Pawlenty is proposing the state hire a coordinator to work with faith-based groups seeking state grants to provide social services. Twenty governors have established similar offices, but the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation says the initiatives violate the constitutional separation of church and state.
Bill to steer support to pregnant women passes House committee
A bill designed to help pregnant women, once seen as possible common ground in the bitter abortion debate, ended up highlighting the divisions Thursday in a House committee hearing.
Education spending popular in Pawlenty's budget balancer
Last November, with much fanfare, Gov. Tim Pawlenty invited Minnesotans to suggest ways to balance the state budget without raising taxes by logging on to a new Web site. The governor's office has just released the results. More than 17,000 people responded, and most wanted the state to spend more money on education, both K-12 and higher ed. Democrats question whether Pawlenty is paying attention to the results of his own Web site.
Casino plan likely to end up in court
Gov. Pawlenty's plan for a new state-tribal casino could spark several legal challenges. Pawlenty and leaders of three northern Minnesota Indian tribes have agreed to build a 4,000-slot-machine casino in the metropolitan area. Other Minnesota tribes that aren't involved in the deal aren't ruling out suing the state.
Minnesota revenue report slices one-third off budget deficit
State finance officials say Minnesota's budget deficit has shrunk to a projected $466 million for the next two years. That's about a third smaller than the number predicted in December. Gov. Pawlenty and Republican leaders hailed the news, while DFLers said the forecast shows the state's budget woes persist.
Poker bill survives legislative test
A bill that would legalize Texas Hold'em tournaments cleared its first legislative hurdle on Wednesday. It's one of the smaller gambling proposals lawmakers are likely to consider this session.
House approval of bonding bill puts commuter rail on track
The Minnesota House has overwhelmingly passed an $816 million package of public works projects. And as part of the legislation the House has, for the first time, approved some seed money for the proposed Northstar commuter rail line between Minneapolis and Big Lake.
Ethanol bill is in Legislature's fast lane
Some lawmakers say legislation to double the amount of ethanol in gasoline is moving so quickly that legitimate concerns are being brushed aside.
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text:
Historic Boston, Inc., restored the 1859 Eustis Street Fire House, now a LEED Silver-certified building.
When your office is located in an old firehouse, chances are you're going to get a lot of questions about the fire pole.
Sadly, Kathy Kottaridis, executive director of Historic Boston, Inc., must inform those curious about her nonprofit organization's new office that the original fire pole in the 1859 Eustis Street Fire House is long gone.
But pole or no pole, the firehouse -- the oldest remaining firehouse in Boston -- is today a vibrant 21st-century office space, thanks to the efforts of Historic Boston, Inc., a preservation group that fully restored the structure back in 2011.... Read More →
The National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America's historic places. Join us today to help protect the places that matter to you.
Lauren Walser
Lauren Walser is the Los Angeles-based Field Editor at Preservation magazine. She enjoys writing and thinking about history, art, architecture, and public space.


text:
Find out all about us from the history of our site, to how we started and who we are now using the links below.
Explore our Social Media Channels
Nottingham Contemporary is one of the largest contemporary arts centres in the UK, with a total floor area of 3,000sq metres.
Nottingham Contemporary is built on one of Nottingham's most historic sites.
Contact staff at Nottingham Contemporary.
Information about current vacancies or internship opportunities.
Find out about our Board Members
See the latest press coverage, blogs and download press releases from Nottingham Contemporary.
+44 (0)115 948 9750
+44 (0)115 948 9755
Website by De Facto


text:
The QDomComment class represents an XML comment. More...
#include <QDomComment>
Inherits: QDomCharacterData.
Note: All functions in this class are reentrant.
Public Functions
|QDomComment ()
|QDomComment ( const QDomComment & x )
|nodeType () const
|QDomComment &
|operator= ( const QDomComment & x )
- 10 public functions inherited from QDomCharacterData
- 66 public functions inherited from QDomNode
Detailed Description
The QDomComment class represents an XML comment.
A comment in the parsed XML such as this:
<!-- this is a comment -->
is represented by QDomComment objects in the parsed Dom tree.
For further information about the Document Object Model see http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-DOM-Level-1/ and http://www.w3.org/TR/DOM-Level-2-Core/. For a more general introduction of the DOM implementation see the QDomDocument documentation.
Member Function Documentation
QDomComment::QDomComment ()
Constructs an empty comment. To construct a comment with content, use the QDomDocument::createComment() function.
QDomComment::QDomComment ( const QDomComment & x )
Constructs a copy of x.
The data of the copy is shared (shallow copy): modifying one node will also change the other. If you want to make a deep copy, use cloneNode().
QDomNode::NodeType QDomComment::nodeType () const
Returns CommentNode.
QDomComment & QDomComment::operator= ( const QDomComment & x )
Assigns x to this DOM comment.
The data of the copy is shared (shallow copy): modifying one node will also change the other. If you want to make a deep copy, use cloneNode().
© 2013 Digia Plc and/or its subsidiaries. Documentation contributions included herein are the copyrights of their respective owners.
The documentation provided herein is licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License version 1.3 as published by the Free Software Foundation.
Documentation sources may be obtained from www.qt-project.org.
Digia, Qt and their respective logos are trademarks of Digia Plc in Finland and/or other countries worldwide. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. Privacy Policy


text:
Guide to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of conditions from A to Z.
Spine, Shoulder, and Pelvis Disorders Home
Facts About the Spine, Shoulder, and Pelvis
Physicians and Specialists
Chronic Pain
Common Disorders of the Spine, Shoulder, and Pelvis
Ankylosing Spondylitis
Treatment for Arthritis
Avascular Necrosis
Hip Problems
Hip Replacement Surgery
Low Back Pain
Neck Problems
Neck Pain and Problems
Torticollis (Wryneck)
Whiplash Injury
Pelvis Problems
Shoulder Problems
Overview of Shoulder Problems
Shoulder Dislocation
Shoulder Tendonitis
Rotator Cuff Injury
Soft-Tissue Injuries
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text:
DENVER, CO - Brandon Moss hit two home runs on Tuesday and the Athletics downed the Rockies, 8-5, in the opener of a three-game interleague series.
Colorado scored four in the first inning, but Oakland responded with a six-run third, highlighted by a two-run blast from Moss, who was called up from the minors on Wednesday.
He added a solo shot in the fifth while Brandon Inge went 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBI, helping the A's halt a three-game skid.
Bartolo Colon (6-6) got the win, surrendering five runs on nine hits over five innings. Ryan Cook allowed runners to reach first and second in the ninth before recording three straight outs to earn his first career save.
Tyler Colvin and Todd Helton both hit solo home runs for the Rockies, who lost their sixth straight game and fell to 0-7 in interleague play on the season.
Jeremy Guthrie (3-5) was charged with seven runs on eight hits over five inning in the setback.


text:
Creative Pride
Artist Profiles from the University of Houston with Mike Emery
Monthly Archive for February, 2011
UH Visiting Artist Gus Kaikkonen Talks 'Wild Oats' and Westerns
The "Wild Oats" band: Chase Harris (guitar), Colin David (bass), Greg Cote (percussion). Photo by Pin Lim Before arriving at the University of Houston School of Theatre & Dance, visiting artist Gus Kaikkonen had never directed a Western. He did, however, know a little bit about horses…or at least playing one onstage. Kaikkonen, director of […] [Read More]
Five Jazz Cats – or Cougars – to Hear in Houston
(This installment of Creative Pride was written by Ryan Gabbart, assistant director of jazz studies at the University of Houston's Moores School of Music. Gabbart is among the musicians participating in the UH Moores Jazz Festival Feb. 25 – 26.) Houston is filled with great musicians and great music. In fact, the talent in our […] [Read More]
Need to Read? Check Out Arte Público's Spring Releases
We are well into 2011. For those who haven't made a new year's resolution, how about electing to read more? Nicolás Kanellos, the University of Houston's Brown Foundation Professor of Hispanic Literature, certainly agrees with this idea. Kanellos is the founder and publisher of UH's Arte Público Press, the oldest publisher of Hispanic books in […] [Read More]
UH's Alan Austin Talks Ars Lyrica's Grammy Nod
Ars Lyrica (Alan Austin at far right, front row) It's Grammy weekend. Fans are looking forward to the event's glitzy pop stars and show-stopping performances. Many Houstonians, however, will be keeping an eye on who wins the award for Best Opera Recording. Among the nominated works is "Marc Antonio e Cleopatra" from Ars Lyrica Houston, […] [Read More]


text:
- Attorney General Brad D. Schimel
- Fighting Crime
- Victim Assistance
- Consumer Protection
- Media Center
- About Department of Justice
- Topical Index
This Google™ translation feature is provided for informational purposes only.
The Office of the Attorney General is unable to guarantee the accuracy of this translation and is therefore not liable for any inaccurate information resulting from the translation application tool.
Please consult with a translator for accuracy if you are relying on the translation or are using this site for official business.Contact the Department of Justice
James W. Kumm of Clintonville
SHAWANO – The Wisconsin Department of Justice and the Shawano County Sheriff's Office is confirming that the name of the subject involved in this morning's shooting incident is James W. Kumm, a 55-year-old male from Clintonville.
The investigation remains ongoing. The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave pursuant to the Shawano County Sheriff Office's policy.
On August 23, 2010 at approximately 5:53 a.m. the Shawano County Sheriff's Office received a request for assistance from the Waupaca County Sheriff's Office, which had received a call at 5:02 a.m. for a welfare check.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice at the request of Shawano County Sheriff Randy Wright was called and asked to handle the investigation of the officer involved shooting and to process the scene.
This is a joint press release from the Wisconsin Department of Justice and the Shawano County Sheriff's Office. Please direct any media inquiries to Bill Cosh at (608) 266-1221.


text:
In order to maintain a safe and fun environment, we are currently not accepting new clients for daycare or boarding. We will also not be giving any tours at this time. There is also no waiting list.
Welcome to
of Mt. Pleasant! We are the newest, upscale facility for all sizes and breeds of dogs in the Charleston area. We offer every four legged guest a safe, loving, clean, and healthy environment.
offers many services from doggie daycare, to boarding, and grooming.
We have large indoor/outdoor climate controlled play areas that allow dogs to fully interact from morning to night. Our well-trained staff strives to provide the finest care for your dog.
Staff members are
American Red Cross Pet CPR and First Aid
We are dedicated to making your pet's stay feel like they are at home away from home.
Whether you are at work or away on vacation, you can relax because your dog is receiving the best care, stress free, and happy. A tired dog is a happy dog!
For your convenience, we are open 7 days a week from 6:30am to 7pm.
Our Requirements:
Veterinary records showing up-to-date shots
(rabies, distemper, and bordetella
(kennel cough))
(we can give the bordetella vaccine here to dogs who have had it before)
All dogs over 6 months of age must be spayed or neutered
All dogs must be on heart-worm and flea/tick prevention
All dogs must be in good health -
no coughing, vomiting, or diarrhea please!
All dogs must be non-aggressive - safety is our number one priority!
Quick release collars only!
NO harnesses, gentle leaders, buckle collars please!
Paws in Paradise
is focused on providing high-quality service and customer satisfaction. We will do everything we can to meet and exceed your expectations!
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to .
Come and see what our four-legged guests have been wagging their tails about!!
Be sure to "Like" us on Facebook for updates and contest giveaways!
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text:
Everton's Premier League clash against Crystal Palace was postponed on Wednesday as bad weather led to safety concerns.
The Goodison Park fixture became the second victim of the day's top-flight programme, after Manchester City's clash with Sunderland was called off around an hour before kick-off, as high winds battered the UK.
A statement from Everton confirmed: "Tonight's game against Crystal Palace has been called off due to building damage which has led to safety concerns."
The club later added: "Everton officials will speak to the Premier League on Thursday morning to open discussions on when the rearranged game with Crystal Palace can take place.
"The game was postponed on Wednesday evening due to damage sustained to buildings surrounding the stadium and safety concerns for spectators visiting Goodison Park."
Fans who had braved the elements to travel to the game found out just after 19:00 (local time) that damage to buildings on Goodison Road, adjacent to the stadium, had led to the game being postponed on police advice.
Both clubs had already named their line-ups.
The late call-off was a blow to both managers, with each keen to get back on the park after contrasting results at the weekend.
Roberto Martinez saw his sixth-placed Everton side lose 1-0 to Tottenham in the battle for European places, although the postponement will allow key striker Romelu Lukaku more recovery time, with the nine-goal forward believed to be close to regaining fitness as he battles an ankle injury.
Tony Pulis has seen his Crystal Palace side win three of their last four league games leaving them 15th and two points clear of the relegation zone.
|Casillas the spot-kick hero for Porto
|Monk bullish ahead of season opener at champions
|Marseille 2-0 Juventus: Night to forget for Serie A champions
|Swansea end pre-season with yet another draw
|Juventus rocked by Khedira injury scare
|HJK 0 Liverpool 2: Origi and Coutinho on target
|Lens and Pantilimon star as Sunderland beat Hannover
|Pardew hopeful of concluding Wickham deal
|Martinez allays Lukaku fears
|Wasteful Bournemouth held by Hoffenheim
|Stuttgart 4 Manchester City 2: Cause for concern for Pellegrini
|Jerome seals Norwich win
|Souare´s first goal ensures Palace draw
|Sinclair hits hat-trick in Villa draw
|Leicester end pre-season with thrilling Birmingham win
|Wood and Mowatt condemn Everton to friendly defeat
|Coloccini not involved as Newcastle lose to Gladbach
|Borussia Dortmund 2 Real Betis 0: Ramos scores on return from injury
|Stoke lose to Cologne on Afellay debut
|Norwich capture goalkeeper Kean
|Jovetic hits out at Pellegrini following City exit
|Jones backing new boys to spark United revival
|Scottish Premiership Review: Celtic up and running, Dundee hammer Kilmarnock
|Can keen to learn from Milner
|Immobile on the mend following friendly scare
|Sagan Tosu 1 Atletico Madrid 1 (1-4 on penalties): Simeone´s men need spot-kicks
|Cahill: Big-spending rivals will make title race tougher
|Roberto happy to play full-back for Barca
|Gestede eager to make his mark at Villa
|I want to play more and score more - Remy
|Lambert influence important, says Pulis
|Benteke a ´bargain´ buy - Rodgers
|Zola: Qatar would be ideal for Balotelli, Cassano
|Suarez: I´m not among world´s best
|PSG ready despite ´chaotic´ pre-season - Blanc
|Arsenal thumping still hurts - Fournier
|Aubameyang targets Champions League success
|Rooney set for Everton return
|Cech can match Van der Sar - Wenger
|Mourinho ponders Wenger´s losing record against him
|CBF confirm Fred failed a doping test
|Bournemouth beaten by battling Cardiff
|Immobile injury overshadows Sevilla win at Vicarage Road
|Lambert at the double on West Brom bow
|Real sign up Spain starlet Vallejo
|Valencia blow for West Ham
|Elche cleared to play in Segunda Division
|Baker pens a new Villa deal
|Lambert makes Albion switch
|Gillingham and Scally found guilty of ´race victimisation´
|Inter complete Jovetic signing
|Arsenal v Chelsea: Mourinho cools Wenger rivalry ahead of Wembley meeting
|Villa snap up Gestede
|Villa land Veretout
|Mourinho coy on fresh Stones bid
|Aubameyang commits to Dortmund
|Torres on the hunt for trophies with Atletico
|Cazorla and Walcott sign new Arsenal deals
|Quick start vital in Arsenal title bid - Wilshere
|I have received no offers - Guardiola
|Barcelona to monitor Turan injury
|Zorc ´surprised´ by Grosskreutz-Tuchel row
|Phil Neville could be England manager - Moyes
|UEFA to investigate Shakhtar´s Fred selection
|City loan Unal to Genk
|China v South Korea: Stielike looking for new options
|North Korea v Japan: Halilhodzic to unearth new faces
|Drogba: I want to be ready, not a burden
|Hamstrung Clasie in doubt for Southampton league opener
|West Ham goalscorer Zarate bemoans Astra comeback
|Negredo quashes Valencia exit rumours
|´This is not my Sampdoria´ - president Ferrero
|Criscito could join Inter - agent
|CBF endorse Zico´s FIFA presidency campaign
|Hawit to handle CONCACAF´s referee review
|Falcao is a ´top, top player´ - Terry
|Tuchel pleased by Dortmund fighting qualities
|Premier League rules out schedule changes for Champions League clubs
|UEFA Europa League Review: Southampton stroll as Sampdoria are humiliated
|Koeman confident of Southampton progress
|Bilic frustrated with Collins´ red card, Valencia injury
|Bamford hits hat-trick in Bromley friendly
|Southampton 3 Vitesse 0: Play-offs in sight for Koeman's men
|Wolfsberger 0 Borussia Dortmund 1: Tuchel begins tenure with narrow win
|West Ham 2 Astra 2: Collins red allows visitors back in
|Kukesi - Legia match abandoned
|Joining Roma an ´easy decision´ - Szczesny
|Chiriches joins Napoli from Spurs
|Mihajlovic pleased with Milan improvements
|Injured Chiellini to miss Supercoppa
|Newcastle complete Mbemba swoop
|Blackpool protest incurs FA fine
|Scottish Premiership Preview: Dons seek to run Celtic closer
|Paris Saint-Germain v Lyon: Ibrahimovic ready for season opener
|Wolfsburg v Bayern Munich: De Bruyne centre of attention
|Real Madrid 0 Milan 0 (10-9 on pens): Real lift second International Champions Cup
|De Bruyne a doubt for Supercup clash
|Reine-Adelaide needs time to blossom, says Walcott
|Rodgers will not rush Ibe development
|Napoli not interested in selling Higuain - De Laurentiis
|Wilson agrees Bournemouth extension
|Messi makes early Barcelona return
|Ibrahimovic: My next move will be a very big surprise
|Van Aanholt backs Lens to shine
|Besiktas complete loan move for Gomez
|McClaren: No decision on Coloccini future
|Kane, Kaka hail goalkeeper Rimando
|Chung eager to become FIFA president
|Yedlin open to loan move
|Tigres not scared of River trip - Ferretti
|MLS Preview: Wright-Phillips, Lampard set to debut
|´A draw is good for us´ - River´s Gallardo confident of Libertadores success
|Di Maria poised for PSG switch - Blanc
|Franjic: Bring on Bangladesh, Tajikistan
|Van Gaal bemoans De Gea situation
|MLS All-Stars 2 Tottenham 1: Kane stunner can´t spare Spurs
|Manchester United 0 Paris Saint-Germain 2: Van Gaal´s defensive frailties exposed
|Tigres UANL 0 River Plate 0: Visitors lose Gallardo in Copa Libertadores final first leg
|Penedo parts ways with Galaxy
|Benitez backs Mihajlovic, Milan to succeed
|Barnetta joins Union in MLS
|Allegri critical of Morata´s attitude
|Franjic targets more A-League glory with City
|Beto undaunted by Super Cup clash against Barca
|Advocaat upbeat despite another Sunderland flop
|McClaren praises Newcastle recruit Mitrovic
|Payet will improve West Ham - Bilic
|Pulis confirms interest in Lambert
|Deila expects tough test in Baku
|Drogba mobbed by Montreal Impact fans


text:
Clubs On Tour
Offbeat Equipment
We found some clubs and gear on the PGA Tour that go against tradition.
July 2012
Danny Lee's driver
Callaway's uDesign program is supposed to allow players to customize RAZR Fit drivers to their own personal liking. Danny Lee, however, was content to take Fredrik Jacobson's leftovers. Freddie Jac had a blue-colored RAZR Fit built but decided to stay with the gamer he won with in Hartford last year. Lee was more than happy to take Jacobson's club (which has 8.5 degrees of loft, a 2-gram weight in the heel and 12-gram weight in the toe and Fujikura shaft) and put it in play.


text:
DALLAS (AP) — The inspiration for Chanel's "Metiers d'Art" show this year will come from Dallas, the Texas city where Coco Chanel was once given a welcome that included being picked up at the airport in a white Rolls-Royce and being feted at a Western-themed party complete with a fashion show featuring cows.
For more than a decade, designer Karl Lagerfeld has picked a city linked to the house for the theme of the show staged each December to highlight the work of its artisans. On Tuesday evening, it will be Dallas' turn.
Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel visited Dallas in 1957 at the invitation of Stanley Marcus, who lead luxury retailer Neiman Marcus. Her visit came three years after she reopened her Paris fashion house after shuttering it as Europe entered World War II.
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text:
Yeah! Usher?s Gonna Be a Dad
and his fiance (and former stylist) are expecting their first child
together. Expect an adorable, tiny dancing machine in about nine
months. [People]
P*ssed Paris to Sue Lawyer?
She may have told Larry King that her jail stint "happened for a reason," but Paris is raging mad that her lawyer didn't do a better job of keeping her out of the slammer. [MSNBC]
Brit Bails on Secret Show
The starlet's comeback won't be happening at Cyndi Lauper's LA show, because according to a unnamed source, "Britney said she would only dance or lip-sync – and to be on stage with Cyndi, you have to actually perform." Ouch – an anonymous zing! [NY Post]
Nicky Hilton: Sick of Sister?s Drama?
The younger Hilton was p*ssed when her parents forced her to cut her trip to Greece short in order to appear with the family as a united front. She reportedly hates the media circus surrounding her big sis. Finally, a Hilton with some brains! [NY Daily News]
Brangelina?s Babies: Spoiled Rotten
has a $17,000 pacifier, Zahara wears $120 jeans, and each tot has art
from his/her native country hanging above their beds. Just like every
other kid in America, of course! [DListed]


text:
Suppliers of high quality safety equipment, ppe equipment and workwear, for the professional
High quality glassware, barware and catering equipment for the professional chefs and catering establishments
To supply high quality uniforms at affordable prices for the children. Tried and tested garments designed for everyday use. Buy with confidence
Distributors of professional high quality branded cleaning products across the UK and worldwide. Buy the leading brands and affordable prices.
0121 551 7719
Follow us on:
Get in touch for a quote or enquiries


text:
Method and apparatus for encoding a video signal wherein the prediction errors for previously encoded pels are evaluated using motion compensation and frame difference predictions. Each present pel intensity value is then predicted using the technique which produced the smaller prediction error sum. Prediction errors for the present pel are encoded, together with address information, if the error exceeds a threshold value. The motion compensated prediction utilizes a displacement estimate which is recursively updated. A decoder is also described.
1. Apparatus for encoding a video signal including a plurality of samples each representing the intensity of an element of a picture, including:
means (220) for estimating the displacement of objects in said picture which occur between the present frame and a previous frame;
first means (210, 226) for predicting the intensities of a set of previously processed ones of said pels based upon the intensities at displaced locations in said previous frame determined by said estimates;
second means (210, 213) for predicting the intensities of said first set of pels based upon the intensities of the spatially corresponding locations in said previous frame;
means (250) for computing first and second sums of the prediction errors associated with predictions made by said first and second means using displaced frame difference and frame difference techniques, respectively; and
means (240) responsive to said computing means for predicting the intensity value of the present pel using the one of said prediction techniques which has the smaller prediction error sum.
2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said apparatus further includes:
means (202) for forming the prediction error between the intensity value of said present pel and the predicted value thereof; and
means (206, 208) for encoding said prediction error only if it exceeds a threshold value.
3. The invention defined in claim 2 wherein said apparatus further includes means (408) for encoding the locations of pels for which said prediction error exceeds said threshold.
4. The invention defined in claim 3 wherein said displacement estimating means includes:
means (221) for storing a previous estimate of displacement; and
means (223) responsive to said previous estimate for recursively updating said estimate.
5. Apparatus for encoding a series of samples each representing the intensity of an element of a picture, comprising:
means for predicting the intensity values of a set of previously encoded pels using first and second predictors;
means for selecting as the predicted value of the presently processed pel the value derived from the one of said first and second predictors for which the sum of prediction errors for said previously encoded set of pels is smallest; and
means for encoding (a) the prediction error of unpredictable pels for which the prediction error for said presently processed pel exceeds a threshold, and (b) the locations of said unpredictable pels.
6. The invention defined in claim 5 wherein said apparatus further includes means for estimating the displacement of objects in said picture, and wherein:
said first predictor is based upon the intensity of locations in a previous frame of said picture which spatially correspond to the locations of said set of previously encoded pels; and
said second predictor is based upon the intensity of locations in said previous frame displaced from said spatially corresponding locations by an amount determined by said displacement estimating means.
7. The invention defined in claim 6 wherein said prediction error encoding means includes a variable length encoder and said location encoding means includes a run length encoder.
8. The invention defined in claim 6 wherein said displacement estimating means is arranged to recursively update each estimate based upon the value of the prior estimate.
9. Apparatus for encoding a video signal which includes a plurality of samples each representing the intensity of a particular element of a picture comprising:
means (220) for forming an estimate of the displacement of objects in said picture between a present frame and a prior frame;
means (226, 210, 213, 211) for forming first and second predictions of the intensities of a series of pels in said present frame based upon (a) corresponding locations in said prior frame, and (b) displaced locations in said previous frame determined by said displacement estimates:
means (250) for selecting a predicted value for the present pel based upon the relative magnitudes of the prediction errors of said first and second prediction means for comparing the prediction error associated with said selected predicted value to a threshold; and
means (206) for encoding the location and prediction error of pels for which said prediction error exceeds said threshold.
10. The invention defined in claim 9 wherein said encoding means includes a variable length encoder for encoding said prediction error information and a run length encoder for encoding said location information.
11. The invention defined in claim 9 wherein said displacement estimation means includes means for updating the prior displacement estimate in moving areas of said picture.
12. A method of encoding a series of samples each representing the intensity of an element of a picture, comprising the steps of:
predicting the intensity values of a set of previously encoded pels using first and second predictors;
selecting as the predicted value of the presently processed pel the value derived from the one of said first and second predictors for which the sum of prediction errors for said previously encoded set of pels is smaller; and
encoding (a) the prediction error of unpredictable pels for which the prediction error for said presently processed pel exceeds a threshold, and (b) the locations of said unpredictable pels.
13. The method defined in claim 12 wherein said predicting step further includes the steps of:
estimating the displacement of objects in said picture; p1 forming a first prediction based upon the intensity of locations in a previous frame of said picture which spatially correspond to the locations of said set of previously encoded pels; and
forming a second prediction based upon the intensity of locations in said previous frame displaced from said spatially corresponding locations by an amount determined in said displacement estimating step.
14. The method defined in claim 13 wherein said encoding step includes variable length encoding said prediction error values and run length encoding said locations.
15. The method defined in claim 13 wherein said estimating step includes recursively updating each estimate based upon the value of the prior estimate.
16. Apparatus for encoding a video signal including a plurality of samples each representing the intensity of an element of a picture, including:
means (220) for estimating the displacement D of objects in said picture which occur between the present frame at time t and a previous frame at time t-τ;
first means (226) for predicting the intensities I(xA,t), I(xB,t), I(xC,t) . . . of a set A, B, C . . . of said pels at locations xA, xB, xC . . . based upon the intensities I(xA -D,t-τ), I(xB -D,t-τ), I(xC -D,t-τ) . . . at displaced locations xA -D, xB -D, xC -D . . . in said previous frame determined by said estimates;
second means (210, 213) for predicting the intensities of said first set of pels based upon the intensities I(xA,t-τ), I(xB,t-τ), I(xC,t-τ) . . . of the spatially corresponding locations xA, xB, xC . . . in said previous frame;
means (250) for computing first and second sums of the prediction errors associated with predictions made by said first and second means, respectively; and
means (240, 206) responsive to said computing means for encoding the error value ε representing the difference between the present sample of said signal which represents the intensity value I(xZ,t) at location xZ and a predicted version PZ thereof, wherein PZ is predicted based upon the intensity I(xZ,t-τ) of the spatially corresponding location xZ in the previous frame or the intensity I(xZ -D,t-τ) of the displaced location xZ -D in said previous frame, depending upon which of said first and second sums is smaller.
17. The invention defined in claim 16 wherein said displacement estimating means is arranged to recursively update each estimate Di using the prior displacement estimate Di-1, such that
Di -Di-1 =ε∇I(x-Di-1,t-τ)�DFD(x,Di-1)
where ∇I(x-Di-1,t-τ) is the intensity gradient at location x-Di-1 in the previous frame, DFD(x,Di-1) is the intensity difference between location x in the present frame and location x-Di-1 in the previous frame, and ε is a scaling constant.
18. The invention defined in claim 16 wherein said apparatus further includes:
means for variable length encoding each error value only if it exceeds a threshold value, and
means for run length encoding the locations of pels for which said error value is encoded.
This invention relates generally to encoding of video information and, more particularly, to predictive encoding using motion compensation.
In applicants' copending application Ser. No. 21071 filed Mar. 16, 1979, and assigned to the same assignee as the present application, a method and apparatus for encoding a video signal is described wherein the intensity value of each picture element (pel) is predicted by using an estimate of the displacement of objects in the picture to locate the picture element or location in the previous frame which has the same intensity value. Three types of picture segments are identified by first dividing the picture into background and moving areas and then classifying pels in the moving area as compensable or uncompensable, depending upon the magnitude of the prediction error. The video signal is then encoded using (a) address information for both moving area compensable and uncompensable segments, (b) address information for the non-moving or background segment, and (c) the error values for the uncompensable pels.
While the coding strategy of the aforesaid technique is successful in significantly reducing the bit rates needed to represent the video signal as compared to conditional replenishment which does not employ motion compensation, it has been found that use of a single predictor in all areas of a picture is not always advantageous. Furthermore, encoding of addresses for the three types of picture segments is often inefficient. Accordingly, it is the broad object of the present invention to further reduce the amount of data which must be encoded to adequately represent and efficiently encode a video signal.
In accordance with the present invention, each picture element is predicted by either motion compensated or frame difference predictors, based upon the relative magnitude of prediction errors for each of the predictors associated with a preselected set of nearby pels which have already been encoded. Each prediction thus made is then classified as predictable or unpredictable, depending upon the magnitude of the prediction error. This results in dividing the picture into only two types of segments or areas for which address information is encoded, together with the error values associated with unpredictable pels. As in the above-mentioned copending application, the displacement estimates are advantageously computed in a recursive manner, such that each displacement estimate is used in the formation of the succeeding estimate.
The invention will be more readily appreciated by consideration of the following detailed description when read in light of the accompanying drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the locations of picture elements in present and prior frames of a video signal being encoded;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a motion compensated encoder arranged in accordance with the principles of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of predictor selection logic 220 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of formatter 206 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a decoder arranged to receive signals from the encoder of FIG. 2 and to reconstruct the encoded picture;
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of deformatter 501 of FIG. 5; and
FIGS. 7 and 8 are graphs comparing the encoding efficiency of the present invention with prior art encoders for two different television sequences.
Referring first to FIG. 1, boxes 101 and 102 represent the outlines of successive frames of a video signal, the former being the presently processed frame at time t and the latter being the previous frame at time t-τ, where τ is the time interval between frames. In both frames, lines 103 represent a plurality of generally parallel scan lines, each of which contain a plurality of picture element (pel) sites or locations indicated by small circles 104. Dotted lines 105 indicate interlaced scan lines in the field between frames 102 and 101, not shown.
In FIG. 1 and in the following description, it will be assumed that pel Z is the location in the present frame for which the intensity is being predicted and encoded at time t. The location of pel Z is represented by the vector xZ, and the picture intensity at pel Z in the present frame is I(xZ, t). The pels surrounding pel Z and involved in the encoding are designated A-G, and each has a particular spatial relation to pel Z: pel B is immediately above pel Z in the preceeding scan line, and pels A and G are one and two sample times before pel B, respectively. Pel C is also on the previous line, and is l-1 sample times prior to pel Z, where l represents the number of samples in each scan line. Pels D and E are before and after pel Z, respectively, on the same scan line, and pel F is below pel Z on the next scan line. As encoding proceeds, each pel within a frame is processed in a manner similar to that described for pel Z. Special arrangements are made for pels along the edge of the picture, usually by assuming the existence of an extra pel having the same value as the edge pel.
As discussed in the aforesaid copending application, motion compensated prediction is intended to determine the location in the previous frame of the object which has moved to the location of the presently processed pel (pel Z) in the present frame. This is done since, in the ideal case, the intensities at these locations will be the same, and the previous value can thus be used as a prediction of the latter. This desired equality is written I(xZ,t)=I(xZ -D,t-τ), where D is the true displacement (a vector) of the object at pel Z. If D is only approximate, as is most usually the case, the equality does not hold, and a prediction error exists. This error is called the displaced frame difference DFD. For background picture areas, D should be zero, so that I(xZ,t) is ideally equal to I(xZ,t-τ). For D=0, the prediction error is the frame difference FDIF well known in conditional replenishment encoding.
In frame 102 of FIG. 1, vector D represents the present displacement estimate and vector xZ -D represents the location in the previous frame having an intensity which corresponds (ideally) to the intensity of pel Z at location xZ in the present frame. Since xZ -D is generally not located precisely at a pel location (corresponding to a sample point of the video signal), the intensity at the location is determined by interpolation. For this purpose, a three point linear interpolation of the intensity values of the four nearest pels in box 106 can be performed by discarding the furthest pel and combining horizontal and vertical gradients of the remaining three pels in any suitable manner well known to those skilled in the art.
A block diagram of an encoder constructed in accordance with the present invention is shown in FIG. 2. The encoder is structured basically as a predictive encoder, such that the intensity of the present sample I(xZ,t) of the input signal on line 201 is applied to one input of a subtractor 202 and the predicted value PZ of the same sample (on line 203) are differenced to yield an error value ε on line 204. This error value is applied to a formatter 206, described hereinafter, which provides the encoder output on line 207. The error value is also applied to a quantizer 205 and thence to one input of an adder 209 via switch 208. The second input to adder 209 is the predicted value PZ on line 203, so that its output I(xZ,t) is the reconstructed value of the input signal sample being processed. This value is stored in a frame memory 210 and input to a displacement estimator circuit designated generally at 220, all for the purpose of forming the next predicted value to be coupled to line 203.
The arrangement and operation of displacement estimator circuit 220 is explained generally in the aforesaid copending application and in detail in applicants' yet another application Ser. No. 21063 filed Mar. 16, 1979, and assigned to the same assignee. For convenience, the operation of this circuit will be summarized. The displacement estimates provided by estimator 220 are recursively updated, on a pel-by-pel basis, with each estimate being used in the computation of the succeeding estimate. For this purpose, the present estimate is stored in a one pel delay circuit 221, the output of which is coupled to one input of an adder 222. The second adder input is a displacement update term, generated in a displacement error update circuit 223, described below. The update from circuit 223 is used only in moving areas of the picture, as determined by moving area selector 225, which controls the position of switch 224 interposed between circuit 223 and adder 222.
The displacement estimate stored in delay circuit 221 is applied to the address input of frame memory 210 via a quantizer 212 which extracts the integral portion [D] of the estimate from the full (integral and fractional) value D. The integral estimate locates the block of pels in the previous frame which is closest to the location indicated by the displacement estimate. Memory 210 then applies the values of the pels within the selected block to an interpolator 226 via lines 227; the interpolator also receives the fractional portion D-[D] of the displacement estimate from the output of subtractor 241 which forms the difference between the output of delay circuit 221 and the output of quantizer 212.
Interpolator 226 is arranged to compute two values based upon the fractional portion of the displacement estimate and the intensity values input thereto: first, a three point linear interpolation is made to determine the intensity value at the desired location in the previous frame, and this value is coupled to one input of a subtractor 229 via line 228. Second, interpolator 228 calculates the intensity gradient at the displaced location, and supplies this value to displacement error update circuit 223 via line 230. The second input to subtractor 229 is the intensity value then being processed, as output from a delay circuit 211 which receives its input from adder circuit 209. The output of subtractor 229 on line 231 is the displaced frame difference (DFD) defined previously. The timing relationship between displacement estimator 220 and the remainder of the encoder of FIG. 2 will be described more completely below.
Displacement error update circuit 223 is arranged to form the product of the displaced frame difference and the intensity gradient, as scaled by a scaling factor ε generally in the range between 10-5 <ε<10-2. As mentioned previously, the update term is then added to the last estimate by adder 222.
The input I(xZ,t) to displacement estimator 220 received from adder 209 is passed through delay circuit 211, which has a delay time of one line interval l minus one pel sample time. Thus, when the intensity of pel Z is being processed in the predictive encoder loop, the output of circuit 211 is I(xC,t) and the displacement estimator is computing the update for the displacement estimate DC associated with pel C of FIG. 1. At this time, the previous displacement estimate DB associated with the previous pel (pel B) is output from delay element 221, and the intensity value calculated by interpolator 226 is given by I(xC -DB,t-τ), indicating that the intensity values are taken from the previous frame (t-τ) at a location displaced from the location of pel C (xC) by an amount (DB) indicated by the immediately preceeding displacement estimate. The output of subtractor 229 is denominated DFD(xC,DB), which is defined as the difference between the intensity I(xC -DB,t-τ) and the intensity I(xC,t). The update term generated by circuit 223 as stated previously is given by
ε∇I(xC -DB)˜DFD(xC,DB) (1)
Selector logic 225 determines moving areas in the picture by comparing the frame difference (FDIF) value to a first threshold T1. In background areas, the difference is low, and switch 224 is kept open, while the switch is closed if FDIF>T1. One input to logic 225 is I(xC,t), the intensity of pel C in the present frame, derived from the output of delay element 211. The second input to logic 225 is I(xC,t-τ), the intensity of pel C in the previous frame. This value is obtained by delaying I(xZ,t) by one frame interval τ in frame memory 210 to derive the intensity value I(xZ,t-τ) on line 214, and by further delaying this output in a delay circuit 213 by an additional line interval less one sample interval to obtain I(xC,t-τ).
The integral displacement value [DB ] input to memory 210 from quantizer 212 is also used to recall the stored intensity values which are needed to form the displacement compensated prediction I(xZ -DB,t-τ) of the intensity value of pel Z. These intensity values are, for example, the values for the pels in box 106 of FIG. 1, which are applied to a second interpolator 215 via lines 216. It is to be noted here that the intensity values applied to interpolator 226 are different, they being the values in the neighborhood of location xC -DB not xZ -DB. Interpolator 215 also receives the fractional portion DB -[DB] of the displacement estimate from subtractor 241, and performs a three point interpolation in the same manner as interpolator 226.
The output of interpolator 215 is selected as the prediction for I(xZ,t) only when switch 240 is in the position shown in FIG. 2. In its second position, switch 240 selects the output of frame memory 210 as the predicted value. It will thus be appreciated that the present invention differs from the disclosure of the copending application Ser. No. 21071 in that a predictor selection logic circuit 250 is provided to make the selection between the two predictions.
In accordance with one arrangement of the present invention, the predictor selection is based upon the relative magnitude of prediction errors for each predictor, as determined for a set of previously processed pels A, B and C of FIG. 1 which are in the previous line. These pels are used, rather than pel Z, since the value of pel Z is not "known" at the receiver. This arrangement assumes that the error parameters for the previous pels which neighbor pel Z are similar to the error parameters for pel Z itself, which is generally the case. However, the invention is not limited to the use of three pels A, B and C, and any desired set of previous pels can be used, as long as appropriate delay elements are also employed in the circuit.
Details of predictor selection logic 250 are shown in FIG. 3. The intensity value I(xC,t) for pel C is received on line 301 from the output of delay circuit 211, and applied to first inputs of subtractors 304 and 305. Subtractor 304 also receives the intensity value I(xC,t-τ) for the same pel in the previous frame from delay element 213, so that its output is the frame difference FDIF(xC) for pel C. Subtractor 305 receives a second input I(xC -DB,t-τ) from interpolator 226, which is the intensity at the displaced location in the previous frame specified by displacement estimate DB. Accordingly, the output of subtractor 305 is the displaced frame difference DFD(xC,DB). Each of the outputs of the subtractors 304 and 305 are applied to a serial pair of one pel delay elements 306, 307 and 308, 309, respectively. The outputs of delay elements 306 and 307 represent the frame differences FD(xB) and FD(xA) for the previous pels B and A, respectively. Similarly, the outputs of delay elements 308 and 309, respectively, represent the displaced frame differences DFD(xB,DA) and DFD(xA,DG) for the same two previous pels. The magnitude portions of the frame differences for all three pels are summed by adders 310 and 311 (which ignore sign information) and applied to one input of a comparator 314. The magnitude portions of the displaced frame differences are similarly combined in adders 312 and 313 and applied to the second input of comparator 314. If
|DFD(xC,DB)|+|DFD(xB,DA).vertline.+|DFD(xA,DG)|≦|FDIF(x.sub.C)|+|FDIF(xB)|+|FDIF(xA).vertline., (2)
the output of comparator 314 maintains switch 240 of FIG. 2 in the position shown. This indicates that the motion compensated intensity value I(xZ -DB,t-τ) for pel Z is expected to be a better predictor than the frame difference value I(xZ,t-τ). On the other hand, if the combined frame difference for pels C, B and A are smaller, switch 240 is transferred and the prediction is made with frame difference techniques rather than with displacement compensation.
The quantized prediction error values ε output from quantizer 205 of FIG. 2 are derived, as explained above, from motion compensated or frame difference prediction, whichever is "best". These error values are encoded and transmitted to a receiver only when the magnitude exceeds a second preselected threshold value T2. As shown in FIG. 4, the unquantized error values ε from subtractor 202 are applied to a comparator 401 and compared with the value of T2. When the threshold is exceeded, switch 208 is closed with a control signal on line 402, thereby coupling the quantized error value ε to the formatter on line 403. This error value is advantageously applied to a variable length encoder 404, the output of which is stored in a first in-first out (FIFO) buffer 405 before transmission to a remote location. Encoder 404 may be a conventional Huffman encoder arranged to use shorter code words for more frequently occurring input values, so as to again effect bandwidth compression.
The output of comparator 401 is applied to an exclusive OR gate 406 directly and via a flip-flop 407 which acts as a one sample delay element, in order to detect transitions in the output of comparator 401. Each transition is used to start a counter within a run length coder 408, and to transfer the length of the preceeding run or segment to a pair of read-only memories 409 and 410, each of which store code dictionaries for the run length codes. If the output of comparator 401 is low, indicating a "predictable" segment or run, switch 411 is maintained in the position shown, thereby coupling a code word from ROM 409 back to encoder 408. Alternatively, if the comparator 401 output is high, indicating an unpredictable segment or run, switch 411 is repositioned, coupling a code word from ROM 410 to encoder 408. Separate code dictionaries are advantageously used for predictable and unpredictable segments since different statistical properties are expected for each group, with predictable runs being longer, in general. The code words returned to encoder 408 from switch 411 are appropriately timed and coupled to a second FIFO buffer 412.
The formatter of FIG. 4 also includes a logic circuit 415 which selectively couples the outputs of FIFO buffers 405 and 412 to an output buffer 417 depending upon the position of switch 416. The logic is arranged so that each code word for a run of predictable pels is followed by the error values for those pels. Error values for predictable pels are not transmitted with the address information, since the intensities of these pels are adequately reconstructed in the receiver without error data.
Encoded signals from the apparatus of FIG. 2 may be reconstructed in the decoder of FIG. 5, which includes a deformatter 501 which is shown in detail in FIG. 6. The deformatter stores coded incoming data in a buffer 601 which supplies variable length codes for predictable error values to a variable length decoder 602 and run length codes for address information to a run length decoder 603, depending upon the position of a switch 604. Logic 605 alternates the switch position such that error values for unpredictable segments follow the length codes for those segments, and so that length codes for predictable and unpredictable segments alternate. Each decoder 602 or 603 performs the inverse function as compared to encoders 404 and 408, respectively, of FIG. 4. The error values ε output from decoder 602 are assembled in register 605 via line 607 when switch 606 is closed. This occurs for predictable pels.
The received run length code words applied to decoder 603 are converted to bit strings of the decoded run length by ROM's 608 and 609, which perform the inverse function of ROM's 409 and 410 of FIG. 4. At the start of each run, decoder 603 provides a start pulse on line 610 to toggle flip-flop 611. With a high toggle output, the length of the run is extracted from ROM 608, since switch 612 maintains the position shown in FIG. 6. Simultaneously, switch 606 connects the error values for each pel to line 607. At the start of the next run or segment, flip-flop 611 is toggled; for this segment, measured by the string of bits output from ROM 609, switch 606 remains open, since error values for predictable pels were not encoded. The outputs of ROM's 608 and 609 are fed back to decoder 603 to enable generation of the start pulse on line 610.
The sum of the error values output from deformatter 501 on line 607 and the predicted value PZ generated by the remaining circuitry of FIG. 5 is formed in adder 502 and made available on output line 503. This output can be displayed or stored for further processing or future use. The remaining circuitry in the predictive decoder used to generate the prediction is the same as that used in the encoder of FIG. 2. For completeness, its operation is briefly summarized.
The recovered intensity value I(xZ,t) on line 503 is input to a frame memory 510 which provides a delay of one frame interval between its input and its output on line 514. The memory is also addressable on line 550, and provides the stored intensity values for pels in the neighborhoods of the addressed location.
The address applied to memory 510 is a displacement estimate which is updated on a pel-by-pel basis. By virtue of the one line less one pel delay provided by delay element 511, the displacement estimate for pel C is processed by displacement estimator circuit 520 at the same time that pel Z is being processed in the predictive decoder. The previous displacement estimate, DB, for pel B, is stored in one pel delay element 521, and the integral value of this estimate is applied to the address input of memory 510 via a quantizer 512, which separates the integral portion from the full estimate value.
The displacement update is made by an update computation circuit 523 which forms the product given by Equation (1) above and adds the update term to the previous estimate in adder 522. The first term in the product, ε, is a scaling constant generally in the range between 10-2 and 10-5. The second term, ∇ I(xC -DB), is the intensity gradient at the displaced location xC -DB, and this value is computed in interpolator 526 which receives the stored intensity values in the neighborhood of the displaced location from memory 510 on lines 527. Interpolator 526 also receives the fractional portion of the displacement value DB -[DB ] from subtractor 541, and computes the intensity value I(xC -DB,t-τ) for the object in the previous frame expected to be at pel C in the present frame. This value (on line 528) is subtracted from the intensity value I(xC,t) of pel C in a subtractor 529, and the displaced frame difference DFD(xC,DB) is input to displacement error update circuit 523 as the third term in Equation (1).
The displacement estimate is updated only in the moving areas of the picture, when the frame difference exceeds a threshold value T1. For this purpose, update circuit 525 receives the frame delayed value I(xC,t-τ) of pel C from a delay circuit 513 and the intensity value I(xC,t) for the same location in the present frame from the output of delay circuit 511. If the threshold is exceeded, switch 524 is closed.
The decoder also includes a predictor selection circuit 550 which is arranged as shown in FIG. 3. This circuit receives I(xC,t-τ) from delay element 513, I(xC,t) from delay element 511, and I(xC -DB,t-τ) from interpolator 526. Circuit 550 controls the position of switch 540 in accordance with the relative values in inequality (2). Thus, the same predictor (either frame difference or displaced frame difference) used in the encoder is used in the apparatus of FIG. 5. As in FIG. 2, the motion compensated prediction is obtained from interpolator 515, which computes the desired intensity value from the neighborhood values input on line 516, using standard interpolation techniques.
The encoding technique described above was simulated on a computer using two television sequences each consisting of 64 frames (2:1 interlaced fields) of 256�256 samples each, obtained at 30 times a second and sampled at Nyquist rate from a video signal of 1 MHz bandwidth. Four frames of these two sequences, called "Judy" and "Mike and Nadine", respectively, are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 of "Motion Compensated Television Coding Part-I", Bell System Technical Journal, March 1979, pp. 629-668, by A. N. Netravali and J. D. Robbins. The moving portion of the frame which varied from 15-51 percent in "Judy" and 92-96 percent in "Mike and Nadine" was determined using a conventional segmentor (for update circuit 225) as is found in conditional replenishment schemes.
Results of simulation are shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, where the entropy of the prediction error (and the run lengths specifying segmenting information) is plotted as a function of field number (or time) for three different encoding techniques for each sequence. The three techniques are: (a) conventional conditional replenishment; (b) motion compensated coding (as described in application Ser. No. 21071) which divides the picture into three regions; and (c) motion compensated coding in accordance with the present invention, which uses switched prediction and only two segment types. It is seen from these FIGS. 7 and 8 that motion compensation in accordance with the previous application reduces the entropy by 36 percent for "Judy" and 18 percent for "Mike and Nadine", compared to conditional replenishment; motion compensation in accordance with the present invention still further reduces the entropy by 39 percent for "Judy" and 11 percent for "Mike and Nadine". This significant bit-rate reduction by motion compensation in accordance with this invention as compared to motion compensation with the technique of application Ser. No. 21071, appears to be a result of two factors: (1) elimination of three types of segment addressing and (2) more effective use of frame difference and displaced frame difference predictors.
Various modifications and adaptations of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, the above-described technique determines which error values to transmit by comparison to a fixed threshold value. This tends to result in many isolated predictable and unpredictable pels, and oftens requires transmission of an excessive amount of addressing information. Instead, the intensity value of a pel may be determined to be unpredictable based not only on the magnitude of its own prediction error but also on the size of prediction errors of already transmitted surrounding pels. In this way, isolated unpredictable pels are removed, creating longer runs of both predictable and unpredictable pels. This modification, when simulated, was found to reduce the entropy by about 10-15 percent, without changing the picture quality.
If it is desired to increase the accuracy of the predictor selection logic, displacement estimates for the pel being processed in the displacement estimator (pel B) could be used in evaluating the motion compensated prediction errors at pels A, B and C, instead of using the displacement estimates for the pel preceeding the pel where the prediction error is computed. Thus, Equation (2) would be modified to read:
|DFD (xC,DB)|+|DFD (xB,DB |+|DFD xA,DB |≦|FDIF(xC)|+|FDIF(xB)|+|FDIF(xA)|.
This modification was found to improve compression by 5-10 percent. However, circuit complexity was substantially increased.
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