Abstract: A moving picture signal is coded in the GOP configuration and recorded on a writable disc medium or the like so that a user can edit the signal, selecting a reproduction route, which can be decoded into a seamless picture reproduction. An input moving picture signal is encoded in the GOP configuration of the MPEG as follows. A coding difficulty calculation circuit 209, a bit rate specifier 210, and a rate controller 211 control a coding bit amount of the input moving picture signal, assuming a bit occupation amount of a buffer memory used during decoding. A video encoder 202 encodes the input moving picture signal according to the aforementioned coding bit amount. A multiplexer 204 generates an output bit stream from the input moving picture signal coded and another coded signal. The encoding is carried out in such a way that the total of maximum values the bit rates of the respective signals is smaller than the input bit stream to a buffer memory of a decoder.

Abstract: A method for deriving an output signal from an input video signal generated by an image sensor having an image formed on a part of it. The input video signal includes an image portion generated by the part of the image sensor on which the image is formed, and an external portion generated by the part of the image sensor on which the image is not formed. In the method according to the invention, the input video signal is received, the external portion of the input video signal is identified, and the output signal is generated from the input signal by replacing the external portion with a synthesized portion. The synthesized portion may set the external area to black level, to a predetermined luminance and/or hue, or to a luminance and/or hue adaptively determined in response to the image portion of the input signal. A position-dependent variation may also be imposed on the external area. The external area may also be rearranged to change the displayed location of the image.