MOVING PICTURE ENCODING APPARATUS AND MOVING PICTURE DECODING APPARATUS

• US 20100080291A1
• Filed: 12/04/2007
• Published: 04/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Tomoyuki, Aono, Tomoko, Takahashi, Maki
• Granted Patent: US 8,306,126 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/240.120
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/105 Selection of the reference unit for prediction within a chosen coding or prediction mode, e.g. adaptive choice of position and number of pixels used for prediction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/14 Coding unit complexity, e.g. amount of activity or edge presence estimation H04N19/146 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/176 the region being a block, e.g. a macroblock
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/18 the unit being a set of transform coefficients
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/187 the unit being a scalable video layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/33 in the spatial domain
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/46 Embedding additional information in the video signal during the compression process H04N19/517, H04N19/68, H04N19/70 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/59 involving spatial sub-sampling or interpolation, e.g. alteration of picture size or resolution

Abstract

A prediction control unit determines whether to use intra-prediction method or a method of prediction based on reduced image in which a predicted image is generated using a locally decoded image of a block as an object of coding that has been coded and reduced, according to the amount of high-frequency component contained in the block as the object of coding. When use of intra-prediction method is determined, locally decoded images of previously-encoded neighboring blocks stored in a frame memory are down-sampled by a down-sampling unit and subjected to intra-prediction by an intra-prediction unit, and coding is done using the prediction data. When use of prediction method based of reduced image is determined, inter-layer prediction is done using neighboring images obtained by reading locally decoded images resulting from a process of a lower layer from the frame memory, and coding is done using the prediction data.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A moving picture encoding apparatus, comprising:

a prediction unit capable of executing prediction, for a block as an object of coding, in accordance with both intra-prediction method in which a predicted image is generated using a locally decoded image of a previously-coded neighboring block and a prediction method based on a reduced image in which a predicted image is generated using a locally decoded image of said block as the object of coding that has been coded and reduced;

an encoding unit for encoding, using the predicted image provided by the prediction unit;

a prediction control unit for determining, for each of prescribed blocks, as a method of prediction for said block as the object of coding, whether said intra-prediction method or the prediction method based on reduced image is to be used, and causing said prediction unit to execute prediction in accordance with the determined prediction method; and

a prediction information generating unit for coding prediction method information for identifying the prediction method determined for each of the prescribed blocks by said prediction control unit, so that the prediction method used for generating the encoded data can be identified when encoded data encoded by said encoding unit is decoded, wherein

said prediction unit includes an up-sampling unit for enlarging encoded reduced image of the block and generating a predicted image of the block, and

said encoded and reduced image is subjected to intra-prediction using an intra-prediction unit and then encoded.

12. The moving picture encoding apparatus according to claim 11, wherein

said prediction unit further includes said intra-prediction unit for generating, for a block as an object of coding, a predicted image using a locally decoded image of a previously-encoded neighboring block, and

said encoding unit uses the predicted image provided by said intra-prediction image when said prediction control unit determines to use said intra-prediction method.

13. The moving picture encoding apparatus according to claim 11, wherein

said prediction information generating unit outputs, as said prediction method information, information as to whether prediction method for said prescribed block matches an estimated prediction method derived based on the prediction method used for encoding said previously-encoded block neighboring said prescribed block.

14. The moving picture encoding apparatus according to claim 11, wherein

said encoding unit does not encode a difference image between the predicted image provided by said prediction unit and the image of said block as the object of coding, when said prediction control unit selects the prediction method based on reduced image.

15. A moving picture decoding apparatus for decoding encoded data in each of blocks forming an image, comprising:

a prediction unit capable of executing prediction, for a block as an object of decoding, in accordance with both intra-prediction method in which a predicted image is generated using a locally decoded image of a previously-decoded neighboring block and a prediction method based on reduced image in which a predicted image is generated using said block as the object of decoding that has been decoded and reduced;

a decoding unit for using the predicted image provided by the prediction unit for decoding; and

a prediction method identifying unit for identifying prediction method from prediction method information identifying the prediction method used for said block as the object of decoding;

wherein

said prediction unit executes prediction in accordance with the prediction method identified by said prediction method identifying unit,

said prediction unit includes an up-sampling unit for enlarging decoded reduced image of the block and generating a predicted image of the block,

said decoding unit uses the predicted image provided by said up-sampling unit for decoding when said prediction method identifying unit identifies, as the prediction method used for said block as the object of decoding, said prediction method based on reduced image, and

said decoded reduced image is subjected to intra-prediction using an intra-prediction unit and then encoded.

16. The moving picture decoding apparatus according to claim 15, wherein

said decoding unit uses, when said prediction control unit selects said prediction method based on reduced image, the predicted image provided by said prediction unit as the decoded image of the block as the object of decoding.