Abstract: Compared to conventional intra divided-picture encoding, deterioration in the coding efficiency is suppressed and the encoding computational complexity and the decoding computational complexity are reduced. A divided picture generating unit divides an input encoding target picture into blocks of the same size and generates divided pictures having the same size by collecting pixels having the same relative position within each block. An intra divided-picture encoding processing unit performs intra divided-picture encoding on part of the divided pictures. An inter divided-picture encoding processing unit performs inter divided-picture encoding using another encoded divided picture as a reference picture. When there are a plurality of candidates for the reference picture, a correlation direction calculating unit obtains a combination in which a correlation of a pixel on an original picture is high among combinations of encoded divided pictures and their reference pictures.

Abstract: An object is to suppress an instantaneous increase in the computational complexity of an encoder and an information amount of an encoding result without increasing a delay even when input timing of input video is not constant and fluctuates. A frame rate control method for adjusting a frame rate of input video to a frame rate at which an encoder is able to perform encoding includes: a step of determining whether the number of pictures input in the past within a predetermined time from a time when a determination target picture of dropping is input exceeds a predetermined threshold value; and a step of discarding the determination target picture if the number of pictures exceeds the threshold value and designating the determination target picture as an encoding target if the number of pictures does not exceed the threshold value.

Abstract: The encoding computational complexity and the decoding computational complexity are reduced while suppressing deterioration of coding efficiency in comparison with conventional intra divided-picture coding. A divided picture generation unit divides an input encoding target picture into blocks having the same size, and collects pixels having the same relative position in the blocks to generate divided pictures having the same size. An intra divided-picture encoding unit performs intra divided-picture encoding on some divided pictures. A reference picture selection unit selects, as a reference picture, an encoded divided picture in which a pixel position on an original picture is close in order to encode the other encoding target divided pictures. An inter divided-picture predictive encoding unit generates a predicted picture using the selected reference picture and encodes an encoding target divided picture through inter divided-picture prediction in units of divided pictures.

Abstract: A quantization control apparatus provided in a video encoding apparatus which utilizes intra slices. The quantization control apparatus includes a similarity computation device that computes similarity between an intra slice region of an encoding target picture and an intra slice region of each of previously-encoded pictures, where the similarity is an index determined such that the closer the images of the two different intra slices, the higher the similarity; a picture selection device that selects a picture having the highest similarity from among the previously-encoded pictures, based on the similarity computed by the similarity computation device; and a quantization step determination device that determines a quantization step used for encoding the encoding target picture, based on encoding information for the picture selected by the picture selection device.

Abstract: A video encoding device, which uses intra encoding and inter encoding with motion compensation with respect to an input video signal, includes a determination unit which determines whether the input video signal to be encoded corresponds to a stationary region, a region having minute motion, or a region having normal motion, a first encoding unit which performs inter encoding of a motion vector (0, 0) with respect to a region determined as a stationary region by the determination unit, a second encoding unit which performs motion search and inter encoding in a limited search range with respect to a region determined as a region having minute motion by the determination unit, and a third encoding unit which performs motion search and inter encoding in a normal search range with respect to a region determined as a region having normal motion by the determination unit.

Abstract: A video encoding method for encoding video images as a single video image by using parallax compensation which performs prediction by using parallax between the video images, and a corresponding decoding method. The number of parameters as parallax data used for the parallax compensation is selected and set for each reference image. Data of the set number of parameters is encoded, and parallax data in accordance with the number of parameters is encoded. During decoding, parallax-parameter number data, which is included in encoded data and designates the number of parameters as parallax data for each reference image, is decoded, and parallax data in accordance with the number of parameters is decoded, where the parallax data is included in the encoded data.

Abstract: By using parallax compensation which performs prediction by using parallax between video images, the video images are encoded as a single video image. Reference parallax for a target image to be encoded is set, wherein the reference parallax is estimated using a reference image; area division in an image frame is set; parallax displacement for each divided area is set, wherein the parallax displacement is the difference between the reference parallax and parallax for the parallax compensation; data of the area division is encoded; and data for indicating the parallax displacement is encoded. During decoding, reference parallax for a target image to be decoded is set, wherein it is estimated using a reference image; data for indicating area division, which is included in encoded data, is decoded; and data of parallax displacement, which is included in the encoded data, is decoded for each area indicated by the area division data.

Abstract: A video encoding control method for controlling encoding of an input video signal. The method includes the steps of detecting an underflow of a decoder buffer; if the underflow of the decoder buffer has been detected, suppressing an amount of generated code by skipping an encoding target picture or by encoding the encoding target picture so as to produce a minimum amount of generated code; after suppressing the amount of generated code, comparing a current rate of occupancy in the decoder buffer with a predetermined threshold for the rate of occupancy in the decoder buffer; and performing a control for continuously suppressing the amount of code generated for each encoding target image by using the above step of suppressing the amount of generated code until the rate of occupancy in the decoder buffer exceeds the threshold based on a result of the above comparison.

Abstract: An image encoding method includes determining corresponding points on an encoding target image, which correspond to pixels on a reference image, based on distance from a camera of the reference image to an object, and positional relationship between cameras; computing a parallax vector from each pixel position to the corresponding point in pixel space; computing a target predictive vector having the same start as the parallax vector and components obtained by rounding off components of the parallax vector; computing a target reference vector having the same start as the parallax vector and the same size and direction as a differential vector between the target predictive vector and the parallax vector; and setting a predicted value of a pixel on the encoding target image, which is indicated by the target predictive vector, to a value of a pixel on the reference image, which is indicated by the target reference vector.

Abstract: In a video encoding control method of the present invention, each picture is encoded in units of encoding-order picture groups such as GOPs, and when CPB underflow has occurred, an encoding parameter such as a quantization parameter and filter strength of a pre-filter is changed in such a manner that a generated bit rate is reduced, and an encoding-order picture group that is being encoded is re-encoded from its first picture using the changed encoding parameter.

Abstract: A code amount control method used in a video encoding method for performing code amount control by estimating a generated code amount for an encoding target picture. The control method includes steps of computing a feature value of the encoding target picture and stores the value into a storage device; extracting a feature value of a previously-encoded picture stored in the storage device and used for generated code amount estimation; comparing the feature values of the encoding target picture and the previously-encoded picture; and a step performed according to a result of the comparison. If it is determined that difference between both feature values is larger than a predetermined criterion value, the amount of code generated for the encoding target picture is estimated using no result of encoding of the previously-encoded picture, and otherwise the relevant generated code amount is estimated based on a result of the encoding.

Abstract: Video encoding is realized with small deterioration in image quality while suppressing underflow of a coded picture buffer (CPB) and with a smaller calculation amount than conventional 2-pass encoding.

Abstract: An image encoding method includes determining and encoding global parallax data which is probably correct parallax data in consideration of the Epipolar geometry constraint between a camera of a standard viewpoint, which is selected from the entire multi-viewpoint images, and images obtained by all the other viewpoints; generating base parallax data for each camera as a viewpoint other than the standard viewpoint, where the base parallax data is probably correct parallax data in consideration of the Epipolar geometry constraint between the image of the relevant camera and the images of all the other cameras based on the global parallax data and the camera parameters; determining and encoding correction parallax data used for correcting the base parallax data, so as to indicate parallax data between the image of the relevant camera and an already-encoded reference viewpoint image used for parallax compensation; and encoding the image of the relevant camera by using parallax data obtained by correcting the base

Abstract: In a moving picture encoding apparatus, a primary candidate reference motion vector-setting unit sets N primary candidate reference motion vectors. A degree of reliability calculation unit calculates the reliability of each primary candidate reference motion vector, which represents effectiveness in predicting a motion vector of a block to be decoded, using coded or decoded image information. A reference motion vector determination unit selects secondary candidate reference motion vectors with reliability higher than a predetermined threshold value from the N primary candidate reference motion vectors. A motion vector prediction unit creates a predictive motion vector of a block to be coded using M (M<N) secondary candidate reference motion vectors with high reliability.

Abstract: In a moving picture encoding apparatus, a primary candidate reference motion vector-setting unit sets N primary candidate reference motion vectors. A degree of reliability calculation unit calculates the reliability of each primary candidate reference motion vector, which represents effectiveness in predicting a motion vector of a block to be decoded, using coded or decoded image information. A reference motion vector determination unit selects M (M<N) secondary candidate reference motion vectors in accordance with degree of reliability from among the N primary candidate reference motion vectors. A motion vector prediction unit creates a predictive motion vector of a block to be coded using M secondary candidate reference motion vectors with high reliability.

Abstract: In motion vector prediction encoding, the efficiency of motion vector prediction is improved and the efficiency of moving picture encoding is improved. A motion search is performed for a block to be encoded in a picture to be encoded using an encoded reference picture to calculate a motion vector. A plurality of blocks which include at least one of encoded blocks in the picture to be encoded and encoded blocks in an encoded picture and in predetermined positions relative to the position of the block to be encoded in the picture to be encoded are set as primary candidate blocks, and N primary candidate reference motion vectors are determined from motion vectors used in encoding the primary candidate blocks. The degrees of reliability of the primary candidate reference motion vectors which quantitatively represent effectiveness in motion vector prediction of the block to be encoded is calculated using encoded picture information for each of the primary candidate reference motion vectors.

Abstract: In motion vector prediction encoding, the efficiency of motion vector prediction is improved and the efficiency of moving picture encoding is improved. A motion search is performed for a block to be encoded in a picture to be encoded using an encoded reference picture to calculate a motion vector. A plurality of blocks which include at least one of encoded blocks in the picture to be encoded and encoded blocks in an encoded picture and in predetermined positions relative to the position of the block to be encoded in the picture to be encoded are set as primary candidate blocks, and N primary candidate reference motion vectors are determined from motion vectors used in encoding the primary candidate blocks. The degrees of reliability of the primary candidate reference motion vectors which quantitatively represent effectiveness in motion vector prediction of the block to be encoded is calculated using encoded picture information for each of the primary candidate reference motion vectors.

Abstract: An image encoding method includes determining a corresponding point on a target image for encoding, which corresponds to each pixel on a reference image, based on the distance from a camera used for obtaining the reference image to an imaged object, and a positional relationship between cameras; computing a parallax vector from the position of the pixel to the corresponding point in the pixel space; computing a target predictive vector having the same starting point as the parallax vector and components obtained by rounding off the components of the parallax vector; computing a target reference vector having the same starting point as the parallax vector and the same size and direction as a differential vector between the target predictive vector and the parallax vector; and setting a predicted pixel value of a pixel on the target encoding image, which is indicated by the target predictive vector, to a value of a pixel on the reference image, which is indicated by the target reference vector.

Abstract: A video encoding method for assigning a plurality of images to a plurality of GOPs and encoding images belonging to the GOPs as a video image. The method includes determining whether each image belonging to each GOP is to be encoded; encoding GOP encoding/non-encoding data for indicating whether encoded data of the image belonging to the relevant GOP is output; and encoding the image belonging to the relevant GOP when the encoded data of the image is output. Typically, it is determined whether an image generated by using one or more other GOPs without decoding the encoded data of the relevant GOP is closer to an original image of the relevant image in comparison with an image obtained by decoding the encoded data, so as to determine whether the image belonging to the relevant GOP is to be encoded.

Abstract: In order to make it possible to obtain the correct decoded image even in the case of not decoding a particular frame of the encoded data and improve the coding efficiency, the predicted image production unit 103 selects the image data from the image data of a plurality of frames in the reference image memory 107 which are encoded in the past, of the i-th (1?i?j) category, for the current frame which is classified as the j-th category by the image classifying unit 102, and produces the predicted image. The difference encoding unit 104 encodes a difference between the image data of the current frame and the predicted image. Also, the current category encoding unit 106 encodes the category number of the current frame, and the reference image specifying data encoding unit 105 encodes the reference image specifying data which specifies the image data selected from the reference image memory 107.