PIECEWISE CROSS COLOR CHANNEL PREDICTOR

A sequence of visual dynamic range (VDR) images may be encoded using a standard dynamic range (SDR) base layer and one or more enhancement layers. A prediction image is generated by using piecewise cross-color channel prediction (PCCC), wherein a color channel in the SDR input may be segmented into two or more color channel segments and each segment is assigned its own cross-color channel predictor to derive a predicted output VDR image. PCCC prediction models may include first order, second order, or higher order parameters. Using a minimum mean-square error criterion, a closed form solution is presented for the prediction parameters for a second-order PCCC model. Algorithms for segmenting the color channels into multiple color channel segments are also presented.