Abstract: An image coding method includes: selecting a first picture from plural pictures; setting a first temporal motion vector prediction flag which is associated with the first picture and is a temporal motion vector prediction flag indicating whether or not temporal motion vector prediction is to be used, to indicate that the temporal motion vector prediction is not to be used, and coding the first temporal motion vector prediction flag; coding the first picture without using the temporal motion vector prediction; and coding a second picture which follows the first picture in coding order, with referring to a motion vector of a picture preceding the first picture in coding order being prohibited.

Abstract: An image encoding method is used for encoding a current picture on a block-by-block basis and includes: generating a reference picture list by (i) assigning a reference picture index to a reference picture referable for encoding the current picture and (ii) including the reference picture assigned the reference picture index into the reference picture list; and encoding a current block included in the current picture with reference to a reference picture that is specified, from the reference picture list, for encoding the current block, wherein, when a reference picture belonging to a reference view different from a current view to which the current picture belongs has a chance of being referenced for encoding the current picture, the reference picture belonging to the reference view is added to the reference picture list in the generating.

Abstract: A moving picture coding includes: coding a first flag indicating whether or not temporal motion vector prediction is used; when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is used: coding a first parameter for calculating the temporal predictive motion vector; wherein when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is not used, the first parameter is not coded.

Abstract: An image coding method in which a chroma component and a luma component of an input image including one or more transform blocks are transformed to code the input image. The luma component has the same size as the current transform block. The chroma component is smaller than the current transform block. In the method, when the current transform block has a first minimum size, the chroma component is transformed on a basis of a block resulting from binding a plurality of the chroma blocks to has the same size as the luma block, and when the current transform block has a size other than the first minimum size, a CBF flag indicating whether or not coefficients of the chroma component include a non-zero coefficient is not coded.

Abstract: A method of encoding a video into a coded video bitstream with temporal motion vector prediction comprises: determining a value of a flag for indicating whether temporal motion vector prediction is used or not used for the inter-picture prediction of a sub-picture unit of a picture; and writing the flag having the value into a header of the sub-picture unit or a header of the picture; wherein if the flag indicates that temporal motion vector prediction is used, the method further comprises: creating a first list of motion vector predictors comprising a plurality of motion vector predictors including at least one temporal motion vector predictor derived from at least one motion vector from a collocated reference picture; selecting a motion vector predictor out of the first list; and writing a first parameter into the coded video bitstream for indicating the selected motion vector predictor out of the first list.

Abstract: An image coding method, comprising: subtracting a prediction signal from the input image signal for each coding unit, thereby generating respective prediction error signals; performing orthogonal transform and quantization on a corresponding one of the prediction error signals for each transform unit, eventually generating quantization coefficients; and coding pieces of management information indicating a structure of the transform units and the quantization coefficients into a tree structure. Each of the transform units corresponds to a corresponding one of leaf nodes in the tree structure. In the coding, for each leaf node, management information and a quantization coefficient are coded, eventually generating a coded signal in which the coded management information and the coded quantization coefficient are arranged in succession for each leaf node.

Abstract: An image coding method includes: writing, into a coded bitstream, buffer description defining information for defining a buffer description; constructing a default reference list; reorder pictures included in the default reference list; writing, into the coded bitstream, reference list reordering information for indicating details of the reordering; and coding an image using the buffer description and a reference list resulting from the reordering, and in the reference list reordering information, among the pictures, a picture to be reordered is specified using an index which is used in other processing in the image coding method.

Abstract: A photographing method in which a terminal device performs photographing is provided. The photographing method includes synchronizing a clock of the terminal device with a reference clock, and acquiring photographing clock time information indicating a photographing clock time which is based on the reference clock through a communication network. The photographing method also includes specifying a photographing delay time until the photographing is performed since photographing start in the terminal device, and photographing a subject at the photographing clock time indicated by the photographing clock time information. The photographing clock time being based on the clock of the terminal device already synchronized with the reference clock.

Abstract: An image decoding method of decoding, on a per-block basis, a coded image included in a bitstream, includes: performing arithmetic decoding on a current block to be decoded; determining whether or not the current block is at the end of a slice; determining, when it is determined that the current block is not at the end of the slice, whether or not the current block is at the end of a sub-stream which is a structural unit of the image that is different from the slice; and performing arithmetic decoding on a sub-last bit and performing arithmetic decoding termination, when it is determined that the current block is at the end of the sub-stream.

Abstract: A method for coding multiple binary data into a bitstream is disclosed. The method splits each of four luma binary data into a luma context-dependent segment and a luma context-independent segment, and splits one chroma binary data into a chroma context-dependent segment and a chroma context-independent segment. The method groups first coded data including four coded luma context-dependent segments, second coded data including four coded luma context-independent segments and third coded data including a coded chroma context-dependent segment and a coded chroma context-independent segment. The method further performs, separately, context adaptive binary arithmetic coding on the first coded data and the chroma context-dependent segment using a variable probability. The method also performs, separately, bypass coding on the second coded data and the chroma context-independent segment using a fixed probability.

Abstract: The image coding method includes: determining a context in a current block in the image, from among a plurality of contexts; and performing arithmetic coding on the control parameter for the current block to generate a bitstream corresponding to the current block, wherein in the determining: the context is determined under a condition that control parameters of neighboring blocks of the current block are used, when the signal type is a first type, the neighboring blocks being a left block and an upper block of the current block; and the context is determined under a condition that the control parameter of the upper block is not used, when the signal type is a second type, and the second type is (i) “merge_flag”, (ii) “ref_idx_l0” or “ref_idx_l1”, (iii) “inter_pred_flag”, (iv) “mvd_l0” or “mvd_l1”, (v) “no_residual_data_flag”, (vi) “intra_chroma_pred_mode”, (vii) “cbf_luma”, and (viii) “cbf_cb” or “cbf_cr”.

Abstract: An image decoding method and apparatus derive: a first candidate having a first motion vector; a second candidate having a second motion vector and a first reference picture index value that identifies a first reference picture corresponding to the second motion vector; and a third candidate having a third motion vector and a second reference picture index value that identifies a second reference picture corresponding to the third motion vector. The second and third motion vectors are first and second zero vectors. The first and second reference picture index values are different. A coded index attached to the bitstream is decoded using a maximum number of candidates including the first, second, and third candidates. The coded index indicates one candidate of the candidates. The candidate is selected based on the coded index and is used for decoding a current block.

Abstract: An image coding method for coding an image on a block-by-block basis, includes: selecting, for each of a plurality of sub-blocks included in a coding-target block and each including a plurality of coefficients, a context for performing arithmetic coding on a parameter indicating a coding-target coefficient included in the sub-block from a context set corresponding to the sub-block, based on at least one reference coefficient located around the coding-target coefficient, the coding-target block being a transform unit; and performing arithmetic coding on the parameter indicating the coding-target coefficient using probability information about the selected context, wherein, in the selecting, the context is selected from the context set, the context set corresponding to a sum of (i) a value indicating a position in a horizontal direction of the sub-block in the coding-target block and (ii) a value indicating a position in a vertical direction of the sub-block in the coding-target block.

Abstract: An image coding method includes: writing, into a sequence parameter set, buffer description defining information for defining a plurality of buffer descriptions; writing, into the sequence parameter set, reference list description defining information for defining a plurality of reference list descriptions corresponding to the buffer descriptions; and writing, into a first header of each processing unit which is included in a coded bitstream, buffer description selecting information for specifying a selected buffer description.

Abstract: An image coding method codes an image on a per-region basis. The method includes calculating offset information to be used for applying offset to the current region; determining whether or not the offset information is the same between the current region and a neighboring region of the current region; applying offset using the offset information and a result obtained in the determining, by adding an offset value to a reconstructed signal obtained by coding a pixel signal of the current region and decoding the coded pixel signal; coding the offset information; and storing, into a memory, an offset signal obtained by applying the offset, so that the offset signal is used for coding of a subsequent region.

Abstract: A moving picture coding method includes (i) transforming, for each of one or more second processing units included in the first processing unit, a moving picture signal in a spatial domain into a frequency domain coefficient and quantizing the frequency domain coefficient, and (ii) performing arithmetic coding on a luminance CBF flag indicating whether or not a quantized coefficient is included in the second processing unit in which transform and quantization are performed, wherein, in the arithmetic coding, a probability table for use in arithmetic coding is determined according to whether or not the size of the first processing unit is identical to the size of the second processing unit and whether or not the second processing unit has a predetermined maximum size.

Abstract: An image encoding method according to an aspect of the present invention includes: generating, from a plurality of first sub-bitstreams which are obtained by encoding a plurality of images on a per layer basis according to spatial scalable image encoding, a second sub-bitstream including two or more first sub-bitstreams corresponding to two or more layers, the two or more first sub-bitstreams being included in the plurality of first sub-bitstreams; and generating a descriptor including a first field indicating a minimum value for two or more layer identifiers indicating the two or more layers and a second field indicating a maximum value for the two or more layer identifiers.

Abstract: Obtaining one or more motion vector predictor candidates includes: (a1) generating a motion vector predictor candidate, based on motion vectors of first adjacent blocks adjacent to a block to be processed in a first direction; and (a2) generating a motion vector predictor candidate, based on motion vectors of second adjacent blocks adjacent to the block to be processed in a second direction, and step (a2) includes: determining whether the first adjacent blocks include an inter-predicted block; and searching for a motion vector on which scaling processing can be performed from among the motion vectors of the second adjacent blocks when it is determined that the first adjacent blocks do not include an inter-predicted block, and executing, when the motion vector on which scaling processing can be performed is obtained in the search, scaling processing on the motion vector obtained in the search.

Abstract: An image coding method bitstream includes: determining a maximum number of a merging candidate which is a combination of a prediction direction, a motion vector, and a reference picture index for use in coding of a current block; deriving a first merging candidate; determining whether or not a total number of the first merging candidate is smaller than the maximum number; deriving a second merging candidate when it is determined that the total number of the first merging candidate is smaller than the maximum number; selecting a merging candidate for use in the coding of the current block from the first merging candidate and the second merging candidate; and coding, using the maximum number, an index for identifying the selected merging candidate, and attaching the coded index to the bitstream.

Abstract: The image decoding method includes determining a context for use in a current block to be processed, from among a plurality of contexts, wherein in the determining: the context is determined under a condition that control parameters of a left block and an upper block are used, when the signal type is a first type; and the context is determined under a third condition that the control parameter of the upper block is not used and a hierarchical depth of a data unit to which the control parameter of the current block belongs is used, when the signal type is a third type, and the third type is one or more of (i) “merge_flag”, (ii) “ref_idx_l0” or “ref_idx_l1”, (iii) “inter_pred_flag”, (iv) “mvd_l0” or “mvd_l1”, (v) “intra_chroma_pred_mode”, (vi) “cbf_luma”, and (vii) “cbf_cb” or “cbf_cr”.