  This paper suggests a new method for determining the search area for a motion
estimation algorithm based on block matching. The search area is adaptively
found in the proposed method for each frame block. This search area is similar
to that of the full search (FS) algorithm but smaller for most blocks of a
frame. Therefore, the proposed algorithm is analogous to FS in terms of
regularity but has much less computational complexity. The temporal and spatial
correlations among the motion vectors of blocks are used to find the search
area. The matched block is chosen from a rectangular area that the prediction
vectors set out. Simulation results indicate that the speed of the proposed
algorithm is at least seven times better than the FS algorithm.
