Microsoft patents video compression tweaks for high-color-depth footage

1. A computer system comprising one or more processing units and memory, wherein the computer system implements a video encoder configured to perform operations comprising: encoding pictures of a video sequence, thereby producing encoded data in a bitstream, wherein the encoding the pictures of the video sequence includes: determining a chroma bit depth, wherein the chroma bit depth is greater than 8; determining a chroma quantization parameter (QP) range offset, wherein the chroma QP range offset is greater than 0; encoding a given picture, among the pictures of the video sequence, for which values of QP vary according to a relationship between a luma component and chroma components, wherein the encoding the given picture includes: quantizing transform coefficients for one or more portions of a slice of the given picture for a given chroma component among the chroma components; reconstructing the one or more portions of the slice, including: inverse quantizing the transform coefficients for the one or more portions of the slice for the given chroma component based at least in part on a chroma QP for the given chroma component; and performing deblock filtering on at least part of the slice, including: determining a filter strength parameter for chroma deblock filtering for the given chroma component, wherein an intermediate value of the filter strength parameter is scaled by a factor that depends on the chroma bit depth; and performing deblock filtering across an edge for the given chroma component based at least in part the filter strength parameter; and outputting the encoded data as part of a bitstream, wherein the encoded data includes results of the encoding the given picture, a syntax element that indicates the chroma bit depth, and a syntax element that indicates the picture-level chroma QP offset.