An apparatus and a method for performing mixed motion estimation based on a hierarchical
search are provided. In the method, motion vectors of previous image data are received.
The median value of the motion vectors is obtained. Current image data is received.
Motion of the current image data is compensated for based on the median value of
the motion vectors. SAD values of the previous image data are received and the
maximum value of the SAD values is obtained. The motion compensation result is
compared with the maximum value of the SAD values. Motion estimation of the current
image data is skipped and the motion compensation result is output if the motion
compensation result is smaller than the maximum value of the SAD values. Motion
estimation for the current image data is performed if the motion compensation result
is greater than or equal to the maximum value of the SAD values, and the motion
estimation result is output.
