This paper proposes a fast mode decision algorithm for 3D High Efficiency Video Coding (3D-HEVC) depth intra coding. In the current 3D-HEVC design, it is observed that for most of the cases, full Rate-Distortion (RD) cost search of Bi-partition mode could be skipped since most coding units (CUs) of depth map are very flat or smooth while Bipartition modes are designed for CUs with edge or sharp transition. Using the rough RD cost value calculated by HEVC Rough Mode Decision as a selection threshold, we propose a fast Bi-partition modes selection algorithm to speed up the encoding process. The test result for the proposed fast algorithm reports 34.4% encoding time saving with 0.3% bitrate increasing on synthesized view for AllIntra test case. Moreover, by simply varying the selection threshold, we can make a tradeoff between encoding time saving and bitrate loss based on the requirement of different applications.
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