JP2010087770A - Image-coding device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To limit the code amount per macroblock, while suppressing deterioration in image quality, as much as possible. <P>SOLUTION: This image-coding device includes: a code amount estimator 14 for calculating a block estimation code amount as an estimated value of code amount, related to a processing object block as a block to be processed in a macroblock, on the basis the quantization coefficients that are entered in a predetermined order from the processing object block; a control section 17 for deciding whether adjustment is executed to replace any of the quantization coefficients into 0 in a predetermined block in the macroblock, on the basis of the block estimation code amount relating to the processing object block in the macroblock and a target code amount as a target value of the code amount for the processing object block; and a coefficient replacing section 11 for replacing any of the quantization coefficients which has been decided to be replaced in the predetermined block by "0". <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image encoding apparatus and method, and more particularly, to an image encoding apparatus and method for performing code amount control such as a video encoder.

  MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) -2 (ISO / IEC 13818-2) or H.264, which is a moving picture compression standard for transmitting moving image data with a small amount of data. In H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC (Advanced Video Coding)), the upper limit of the code amount per macroblock is determined by the standard. In MPEG-2, the number of macroblocks that may exceed the upper limit is defined.

  Here, the macroblock is obtained by dividing a picture, which is one screen data of moving image data, into a predetermined size. H. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the configuration of the macro clock in the H.264 encoding method.

  FIG. This is an example of an H.264 Intra16x16 block. A macroblock obtained by dividing a screen into a luminance of 16x16 and a color difference of 8x8 pixels is divided into 4x4 pixels and subjected to orthogonal transformation. Further, a DC (Direct Current) component of each block The block is composed of a total of 27 blocks.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of the scan order in one block in a macro block having 4 × 4 and color difference DC2 × 2. Each coefficient position in the block is indicated by a number in scan order, and the order from the smallest number to the largest number is from the low frequency component side to the high frequency component side in the frequency band of the data subjected to orthogonal transformation. Corresponds to the order.

  In recent years, with the spread of terrestrial digital broadcasting and digital video recorders, MPEG-2 and H.264 have been developed. There is a need for an image encoding device that supports an encoding method such as H.264. There are the following Patent Documents 1 to 3 as related technologies.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a method for limiting the amount of generated code by a coefficient adjustment circuit that adjusts a quantization coefficient. A method for limiting the amount of generated code according to Patent Document 1 is that a coefficient adjustment circuit is arranged in front of a variable length coding (VLC) circuit, and quantization is performed according to the data amount of the output buffer in the subsequent stage of the VLC circuit. The coefficient data is replaced with 0. In Patent Document 1, the number of coefficients for which the AC (Alternating Current) component of the quantization coefficient is 0 is controlled according to the remaining capacity of the output buffer. At this time, the input to the inverse quantization is data that is not replaced with 0, and a mismatch between the encoder and the decoder occurs, which causes degradation of the decoded image.

  Therefore, Patent Document 2 discloses an image coding apparatus and method for generating data encoded from image data that is included in the same slice and divided into a plurality of macroblocks, by improving Patent Document 1. ing. FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating a partial configuration of an image encoding device according to Patent Document 2. Below, it demonstrates centering on the part relevant to this invention among FIG. 18, The description about the part which is not relevant to this invention is abbreviate | omitted.

  The image encoding device 901 shown in FIG. 18 performs variable length encoding of data based on image data in a predetermined order for each block by the VLC circuit 916. The amount of variable-length encoded data is calculated for each macroblock by the code amount calculation circuit 919, and it is determined by the code amount determination circuit 920 whether or not it exceeds a predetermined value. When the amount of variable-length encoded data exceeds a predetermined value, the VLC setting circuit 915 causes the VLC circuit 916 to store the data to be variable-length encoded for the macroblocks included in the subsequent same slice. The amount is limited.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a code amount control apparatus that controls the code amount for each block to be equal to or less than a target value. FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating a partial configuration of a moving image encoding apparatus according to Patent Document 3. Below, it demonstrates centering on the part relevant to this invention among FIG. 19, The description about the part which is not relevant to this invention is abbreviate | omitted.

A code amount control device 902 shown in FIG. 19 receives a transform coefficient 951 in a quantization circuit 941 and outputs a quantization result. The rounding circuit 942 obtains the code length from the output quantization result by referring to the code length table from the 0 run and the non-zero coefficient level, integrates the code length, and is input from the rate control circuit 943. When the target code amount 952 is exceeded, the quantized value is rounded down.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-23427 JP-A-11-355774 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-243399

  However, Patent Documents 2 and 3 have a problem that quantization coefficients cannot be censored accurately depending on the encoding method, or the influence on image quality degradation is large. In the following, H.C. The problem in the encoding method in which the upper limit of the code amount per macroblock such as H.264 or MPEG-2 is determined will be clarified.

  First, the next generation encoding method, H.264. There are two types of H.264 variable-length coding methods: CAVLC (Context-based Adaptive VLC) and CABAC (Context-based Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding). Here, FIG. 22 is an example of a quantization coefficient of one block. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of variable length coding in H.264 CAVLC. FIG. FIG. 23 shows a case of zig-zag scan in the example of FIG. Note that FIG. 22 is a page of “H.264 / AVC textbook” issued by Impress Corporation. 146 is a part of FIG.

  In CAVLC, the number of non-zero coefficients (TotalCoeff), the number of coefficients with the last absolute value 1 (TrailingOnes), the sign of the last consecutive coefficient with absolute value 1 (Trailing_ones_sign_flag), the value of the coefficient (level), and the last The number of zero coefficients before the non-zero coefficient (TotalZeros) and the consecutive number of zeros before the coefficient value (run_before) are encoded. The order of the coefficients is the reverse scan order. TotalCoeff, TotalZero, etc. are not determined unless quantization of all the coefficients in the block is completed. In addition, there is information that cannot accurately calculate the code amount unless these pieces of information are determined. Furthermore, since the encoding table uses information such as the number of coefficients of adjacent blocks, an accurate code amount cannot be calculated only with the information in the block. In FIG. 23, illustration of encoding of TotalCoeff, TrainingOnes, and TotalZeros is omitted.

  In addition, FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of variable length coding in H.264 CABAC. FIG. FIG. 24 shows the case of zig-zag scan in the example of FIG. In CABAC, a non-zero coefficient flag (significant_coeff_flag), a final non-zero coefficient flag (last_significant_coeff_flag), an absolute value of non-zero coefficient (coeff_abs_level), and a non-zero coefficient code (coeff_sign_flag) are encoded. To do. In CABAC, this code is further arithmetically encoded.

  FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of variable length coding in MPEG-2. MPEG-2 is originally an 8 × 8 block size, but H.264 For comparison with H.264, the 4 × 4 block size is described for convenience. In MPEG-2, the value (level) of a non-zero coefficient, the number of consecutive 0s (run) before the non-zero coefficient, and a code (EOB) indicating the end of the block are encoded.

  Here, in Patent Document 2, control is performed for the next macroblock after VLC (variable length coding) is performed in units of macroblocks, and feedback cannot be reflected on the blocks in the same macroblock. Therefore, the number of macroblocks that may exceed the upper limit of the code amount per macroblock can be controlled, but the upper limit of the code amount per macroblock that is defined cannot be maintained.

  In particular, in Patent Document 2, the generated code amount is calculated based on the actual VLC result, and if the generated code amount of the macroblock exceeds the standard, the code amount of the VLC is not exceeded in the subsequent macroblocks. Later, the coefficient is cut off. The truncation is realized by the VLC setting circuit 915 outputting the block end 933 to the VLC circuit 916 during the VLC scan. Therefore, in the case of the so-called reverse scan order in which the reading order of the pixel data in the block is from the high frequency component side to the low frequency component side, visually important low frequency components are discarded. Therefore, the influence on the image quality is very large, and the deterioration may be conspicuous.

  Further, in Patent Document 3, since the code amount is estimated using only the 0 run and the non-zero coefficient level, the code amount cannot be estimated for information that cannot be encoded unless the entire block is quantized. Also, if the quantization coefficient in the block is scanned from a high frequency, it is deleted from the low-frequency quantization coefficient, which is a visually important component in the macroblock, and this has an effect on image quality degradation. large. In addition, when the coefficient is cut off by the cutoff judgment for each coefficient, a visually important low-frequency component may be cut off.

  For this reason, the encoding amount may not be accurately calculated with an encoding method other than MPEG-1 / MPEG-2. Therefore, desired code amount control may not be possible. Alternatively, the image quality may be deteriorated due to inappropriate truncation.

  Regarding the abort control, in Patent Document 2, since the code amount distribution between blocks is not considered and the generated code amount is censored when it exceeds the target, the coefficient of the block behind in the coding order is determined. It becomes easy to be cut off, and the influence on the image quality is great. In Patent Document 3, the code amount of the entire macroblock is allocated to each block in the macroblock at a preset fixed ratio, but adaptively according to the picture type and macroblock type. There is no control. Further, the code amount of the macroblock header is not taken into consideration. Further, the code generation situation for each coefficient in the block is not considered. Therefore, there is a possibility that a target code amount that does not match the transition of the generated code amount may be set. In this case, appropriate control cannot be performed such as excessive truncation or less truncation.

  The image coding apparatus according to the present invention divides a macroblock, which is a predetermined area included in image data, into a plurality of blocks, processes each block, outputs quantized coefficients obtained by quantizing orthogonal transform coefficients, An image encoding device that performs variable length encoding based on a quantized coefficient at a coefficient position that specifies a coefficient in the block, and is input in a predetermined order from a processing target block that is a processing target block in the macroblock Code amount estimating means for calculating a block estimated code amount that is an estimated value of a code amount related to the processing target block based on the quantized coefficient; a block estimated code amount related to the processing target block in the macroblock; Based on a target code amount that is a target value of the code amount for the processing target block, a predetermined block in the macroblock is determined. Control means for determining whether or not to perform adjustment to replace any quantization coefficient with 0, and replace any quantization coefficient in the predetermined block determined to be adjusted by the control means with 0 Coefficient replacement means.

  The image encoding method according to the present invention divides a macroblock, which is a predetermined area included in image data, into a plurality of blocks, processes the blocks, outputs quantized coefficients obtained by quantizing orthogonal transform coefficients, An image encoding method for performing variable length encoding based on a quantized coefficient corresponding to an image coefficient position for specifying a coefficient in the block, wherein a predetermined block from a processing target block that is a processing target block in the macroblock A step of inputting the quantized coefficients read in order; and a code amount estimating step of calculating a block estimated code amount that is an estimated value of a code amount related to the processing target block based on the read quantized coefficients A block estimated code amount related to the processing target block in the macroblock and a target code that is a target value of the code amount for the processing target block. A determination step for determining whether to perform adjustment to replace any quantization coefficient with 0 in a predetermined block in the macroblock based on the amount, and the determination determined to be adjusted by the determination step A coefficient replacement step of replacing any quantized coefficient in a predetermined block with 0.

  According to the above-described image coding apparatus and method according to the present invention, processing is performed on a block-by-block basis in a macroblock, and the quantization coefficient is censored more accurately by performing adjustment to replace the quantization coefficient with 0. It can be carried out. Further, since the block estimation code amount is calculated based on the quantization coefficients input in a predetermined order from the processing target block, the code amount can be estimated using information on the entire processing target block.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image encoding apparatus and method capable of reducing the code amount per macroblock to a predetermined value or less while suppressing image quality deterioration as much as possible.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted as necessary for the sake of clarity.

<Embodiment 1 of the Invention>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an image encoding device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image encoding apparatus 100 divides a picture, which is each screen of moving image data, into a plurality of macro blocks, further divides the macro block into a plurality of blocks, and performs processing for each block (hereinafter, processing target block). Do. The image encoding apparatus 100 is an encoding apparatus that performs orthogonal transform for each block, performs a quantization process for each block on the transform coefficient obtained by the orthogonal transform, and performs variable-length encoding, inverse quantization, and the like. is there. In other words, the image coding apparatus 100 divides a macroblock, which is a predetermined area included in image data, into a plurality of blocks, processes each block, and specifies a quantized coefficient at a coefficient position that specifies a coefficient in the block. Based on the above, variable length coding is performed. Then, the image coding apparatus 100 determines a predetermined code in the macroblock based on the block estimated code amount related to the processing target block in the macroblock and the target code amount that is a target value of the code amount for the processing target block. In the block, it is determined whether or not adjustment for replacing any quantization coefficient with 0 is performed, and any quantization coefficient in a predetermined block determined to be adjusted is replaced with 0. Note that the scanning order of the coefficient positions in the block is an order corresponding to the frequency band in the block.

  The image encoding device 100 includes a quantizer 10, a selector 11, an inverse quantizer 12, a variable length encoder 13, a code amount estimator 14, an MB header code amount estimator 15, a target code amount calculator 16, and a truncation. A controller 17 is provided. In FIG. 1, a part of the image encoding device 100 is displayed.

  The quantizer 10 receives the transform coefficient 20, performs quantization in a predetermined scan order for each block, and outputs a quantized coefficient 21 to the selector 11.

  The selector 11 determines whether or not to replace the quantized coefficient 21 input from the quantizer 10 with 0 based on a replacement position 29 that is a coefficient position for performing an abort from the abort controller 17 described later. If it is determined to be replaced, 0 is output. If it is determined not to be replaced, the quantization coefficient 21 is output as it is as the quantization coefficient 22.

  The inverse quantizer 12 receives the quantization coefficient 22, performs an inverse quantization process, and outputs an inverse quantization coefficient 23. The inverse quantization coefficient 23 is used for generating a locally decoded image. The variable length encoder 13 receives the quantization coefficient 22, performs variable length coding processing, and outputs a variable length code (not shown). The quantizer 10, the inverse quantizer 12, and the variable length coder 13 are well known as publicly known techniques, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  The code amount estimator 14 receives the quantization coefficient 22 and calculates a block estimation code amount 25 that is an estimated value of the code amount related to the processing target block in the macroblock. At that time, the code amount estimator 14 estimates the code amount for each quantization coefficient 22 and updates the generation state information indicating the generation state of the input quantization coefficient 22. The code amount estimator 14 estimates the entire code amount of the processing target block using the generation state information and the adjacent block information 24 after the input of all the quantization coefficients 22 in the processing target block is finished. Then, the block estimation code amount 25 is calculated. Also, the code amount estimator 14 calculates the accumulated value by accumulating the block estimated code amount 25 calculated for each block processed before the processing target block in the macroblock, and the abort controller 17 Output to. At this time, the coefficient generation information is temporarily stored for reference in other blocks.

  The MB header code amount estimator 15 calculates an MB estimated code amount 27 that is an estimated value of the code amount in the macroblock header from the MB information 26 that is information of the macroblock (MB).

  The target code amount calculator 16 calculates a target code amount 28 that is a target value of the code amount for the processing target block for each processing target block in the macroblock.

  The abort controller 17 adjusts to replace any quantization coefficient with 0 in a predetermined block in the macroblock based on the block estimated code amount 25, the MB estimated code amount 27, and the target code amount 28. It is a control means which determines whether to perform. When the abort controller 17 determines that adjustment is to be performed in a predetermined block, the abort controller 17 determines a replacement position 29 that is a coefficient position for replacing the quantization coefficient in the predetermined block with 0, and outputs it to the selector 11. To do. Note that the abort controller 17 does not necessarily require the MB header code amount estimator 15. However, the abort controller 17 can perform more accurate abort control by using the MB estimated code amount 27 calculated by the MB header code amount estimator 15.

  Here, the abort controller 17 accumulates the accumulated value of the block estimated code amount 25 calculated by the code amount estimator 14 and the target code amount 28 for blocks processed before the processing target block in the macroblock. It is determined whether or not to make an adjustment according to the difference from the calculated accumulated value.

  Further, the abort controller 17 can reflect the abort of the quantization coefficient in the same macro block by setting the predetermined block described above as a block to be processed next to the processing target block in the macro block, A process for limiting the amount of generated codes can be performed efficiently.

  That is, the truncation controller 17 accumulates the estimated code amount in the macroblock from the accumulated value of the MB estimated code amount 27 and the block estimated code amount 25 to the processing target block for which the quantization process has been completed. In accordance with the difference from the accumulated value of the code amount 28, the replacement position 29 in the quantization processing of the block to be processed next is determined as a position number at which, for example, the coefficient on the high frequency side is terminated in the scan order from that position. Thus, the selector 11 can replace the quantization coefficient in the high frequency band with 0 in the scan order from the replacement position 29, and can control the generated code amount to the target code amount while suppressing the image quality deterioration.

The predetermined block in the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the block to be processed next. For example, the next and subsequent blocks may be used like the next processed block.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image encoding process in one macro block according to the embodiment of the present invention. First, the image encoding device 100 initializes a macroblock (S101). Specifically, for example, when the number of the coefficient position at which censoring is started is designated as the replacement position 29, the image encoding device 100 sets the coefficient censoring start position to a predetermined initial value. The target code amount calculator 16 initializes the initial value of the target code amount to a predetermined offset value.

  Next, the MB header code amount estimator 15 estimates the MB estimated code amount 27 from the MB information 26 which is information in the macroblock other than the quantization coefficient (S102). Also, the abort controller 17 sets the MB estimated code amount 27 as the initial value of the accumulated estimated code amount for each macroblock.

  Then, the code amount estimator 14 initializes the coefficient generation state information (S103). That is, the code amount estimator 14 resets the counter and the coefficient position to be counted according to the generation state of the quantization coefficient for each block.

  Thereafter, steps S104 to S108 are executed for each processing target block. First, the quantizer 10 quantizes the transform coefficients 20 input in a predetermined scan order one by one, and outputs a quantized coefficient 21 (S104). Next, the selector 11 performs a coefficient truncation process (S105). Details of step S105 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The code amount estimator 14 receives the quantized coefficient 22 and measures the value of the counter indicating the coefficient generation state and the coefficient generation state information that is information related to the coefficient position number (S106). Thereafter, the code amount estimator 14 calculates a coefficient estimated code amount that is an estimated value of the code amount in the quantization coefficient 22 (S107). Specifically, when the quantization coefficient 22 is non-zero, the code amount estimator 14 calculates a coefficient estimation code amount in the quantization coefficient 22 from the value and the value of 0 run. Further, when the quantization coefficient 22 is 0 coefficient, the code amount estimator 14 sets the coefficient estimation code amount in the quantization coefficient 22 to 0. Then, the code amount estimator 14 accumulates the coefficient estimation code amount for each block.

  Then, the code amount estimator 14 determines whether or not it is the last quantization coefficient 22 in the processing target block (S108). When it is determined that it is not the last coefficient of the processing target block, the process returns to step S104, and when it is determined that it is the last coefficient of the processing target block, the process proceeds to step S109.

  Subsequently, the code amount estimator 14 estimates a block code amount (S109). Specifically, the code amount estimator 14 calculates a total estimated code amount that is an estimated value of the code amount related to the coefficient generation state of the entire block from the generation state information for each quantization coefficient. Further, the code amount estimator 14 adds the accumulated value of the code amount of the coefficient to the overall estimated code amount to calculate the block estimated code amount. Then, the code amount estimator 14 accumulates the block estimated code amount in the macro block, and calculates an accumulated value of the block estimated code amount.

  Then, the target code amount calculator 16 calculates the target code amount 28 in the processing target block (S110). Specifically, the target code amount calculator 16 adds a predetermined code amount increase in the processing target block to the value of the target code amount before the processing target block in the macroblock, Update quantity value.

  Thereafter, the abort controller 17 calculates an abort control parameter (S111). That is, it is determined whether or not to adjust the quantization coefficient of the block to be processed next to the processing target block. When it is determined that the adjustment is to be performed, the replacement position 29 is calculated. The replacement position 29 is, for example, a coefficient position number at which censoring is started.

  Here, the truncation controller 17 compares the value obtained by adding the accumulated value of the block estimated code amount to the macro block header estimated code amount and the target code amount, and adjusts the value when the target code amount exceeds the value. Is determined to be performed. When the adjustment is performed, the abort controller 17 calculates a replacement position.

  The truncation controller 17 compares the accumulated value of the block estimation code amount with the target code amount, and when the difference between the accumulated value and the target code amount is large, more quantization is performed than when the difference is small. The replacement position is determined so that the coefficient is zero. For example, when the quantization coefficient number in the processing target block is assigned from the low frequency side to the high frequency side, when the coefficient on the high frequency band side is cut off from the specified replacement position, the coefficient position indicated by the replacement position is Decrease the number.

  In addition, the abort controller 17 determines the replacement position so that when the difference between the accumulated value and the target code amount is small, the smaller quantization coefficient is set to 0 than when the difference is large. For example, if the quantization coefficient number in the processing target block is assigned from the low frequency side to the high frequency side, and the coefficient on the high frequency band side is cut off from the specified replacement position, the coefficient position number indicated by the replacement position Increase

  Alternatively, the abort controller 17 does not determine the replacement position when the difference between the accumulated value and the target code amount is small. In addition, the abort controller 17 determines a coefficient position corresponding to a high frequency band in a predetermined block as a replacement position.

  Then, the image encoding device 100 determines whether or not it is the last block of the macroblock (S112). If it is not determined to be the last block, the process returns to step S103, and the process is repeated for the next block. If it is determined that the block is the last block, the process of the macroblock is terminated.

  The details of the processing in steps S106 to S109 described above will be described in detail in the description of FIGS. 3 and 4 below.

  Here, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the code amount estimator 14 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The code amount estimator 14 includes a zero run counter 31, a zero coefficient counter 32, a one coefficient counter 33, a non-zero coefficient counter 34, a non-zero coefficient final position 35, a coefficient code amount estimator 36, and a block code amount estimator 37. .

  The 0 run counter 31 holds a run before 41 that is a value of continuous 0 runs. The zero coefficient counter 32 holds TotalZeros 42 that is the number of quantization coefficients having a value of 0 in the processing target block. The 1-coefficient counter 33 holds TrailingOnes 43, which is the number of quantization coefficients whose absolute value is 1 in the processing target block. The non-zero coefficient counter 34 holds TotalCoeff 44, which is the number of quantization coefficients whose values are other than 0 in the processing target block. The non-zero coefficient final position 35 holds CoeffNum 45 which is the coefficient position of the last quantization coefficient whose value is other than 0 in the processing target block.

  The code amount estimator 14 is a generation state information indicating a generation state of the input quantization coefficient 22, a zero run counter 31, a zero coefficient counter 32, a one coefficient counter 33, a nonzero coefficient counter 34, and a nonzero coefficient final position. By updating the value held in 35, the coefficient generation state information is measured.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the coefficient generation state information measurement process according to the embodiment of the present invention. First, the code amount estimator 14 determines whether or not the quantization coefficient 22 is 0 (S201). When the quantized coefficient 22 is 0, the code amount estimator 14 increments the 0 run counter 31 (S202), increments the 0 coefficient counter 32 (S203), and measures the generation state information in the quantized coefficient. Exit.

  If the quantization coefficient 22 is not 0, the code amount estimator 14 resets the 0 run counter 31 (S204) and increments the non-zero coefficient counter 34 (S205). Then, the code amount estimator 14 stores the coefficient position of the quantization coefficient 22 in the non-zero coefficient final position 35 (S206).

  Thereafter, the code amount estimator 14 determines whether or not the absolute value of the quantization coefficient 22 is 1 and the 1-coefficient counter 33 is less than 3 (S207). If it is determined as YES in step S207, the code amount estimator 14 increments the one-coefficient counter 33 (S208), and ends the generation state information measurement process for the quantization coefficient. If it is determined NO in step S207, the code amount estimator 14 ends the generation state information measurement process for the quantization coefficient.

  In this way, the code amount estimator 14 operates as a generation state update unit that updates the generation state information indicating the generation state of the input quantization coefficient.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the coefficient code amount estimator 36 uses the quantized coefficient 22 and the runbefore 41 from the 0-run counter 31 to calculate a coefficient estimated code amount that is an estimated value of the code amount in units of coefficients. Then, the coefficient code amount estimator 36 accumulates the coefficient estimated code amount for each coefficient and outputs the accumulated value to the block code amount estimator 37.

  Here, an embodiment of a code amount estimation method in the coefficient code amount estimator 36 will be described for each encoding method. First, as represented by MPEG-2, a variable length code is defined by a combination of the coefficient coding level (level) and the number of consecutive zero coefficients (run). In the encoding method, a table in which the code length of the code is recorded is prepared, and the code length can be obtained by table lookup from the combination of level and run. When different encoding is performed according to the macroblock type, a plurality of tables are prepared and switched according to the macroblock type. Also, depending on the level and run values, variable length codes are not defined and may be Escape encoded. In this case, the number of bits required for Escape encoding is used as the code length.

  In addition, for intra DC coefficients, the size and difference value are encoded according to the difference value between adjacent blocks, not the combination of level and run, but the number of bits required for each representation is calculated. The total of these is the code length.

  Next, H.I. As in H.264 CAVLC, when coding the value level (level) of non-zero coefficients excluding TrailingOnes and the number of consecutive zero coefficients (run_before), the code length of the code determined by the standard Calculate The level is encoded with two elements, level_prefix and level_suffix, and the respective code lengths are calculated according to the level value.

  However, only the code length of the first coefficient in the block to be processed depends on TotalCoeff and TrailingOnes, and there are two cases. However, it cannot be accurately determined until the block quantization is completed, so the larger possible value is select.

  For run_before, a variable-length code is defined by a combination with the remaining zero number (ZerosLeft) that is not encoded in the block, so a table that records the code length of that code is prepared, and run_before and ZerosLeft The code length is obtained by table lookup from the combination of. Since ZerosLeft is unknown unless the number of zero coefficients of the entire block is determined, it is assumed to be the maximum value that can be taken.

  Subsequently, H.C. In H.264 CABAC, the information to be coded is binarized and then arithmetic coding is performed. Here, the generated code amount is estimated to be the binarized bin code length. In the coding of the quantized coefficient, the last significant coefficient flag (last_significant_coef_flag), the sign of the quantized coefficient (coeff_sign_flag), and the absolute value of the quantized coefficient −1 (coeff_abs_level_minus1) are binarized for each non-zero coefficient. . These bin lengths can be calculated by definition.

  The block code amount estimator 37 in FIG. 3 calculates an overall estimated code amount that is an estimated value of the code amount related to the entire block of the processing target block from the generation state information after all the quantization coefficients in the processing target block are input. The block estimated code amount 25 is calculated by adding the accumulated value of the coefficient estimated code amount to the overall estimated code amount.

  At this time, the block code amount estimator 37 receives the coefficient estimated code amount input from the coefficient code amount estimator 36, TotalZeros 42 from the 0 coefficient counter 32, TrailingOnes 43 from the coefficient counter 33, and TotalCoeff 44 from the non-zero coefficient counter 34. The block estimation code amount 25 is output using the CoeffNum 45 and the adjacent block information 24 from the non-zero coefficient final position 35.

  Here, an embodiment of a method for estimating the code amount in the block code amount estimator 37 will be described for each encoding method. First, as represented by MPEG-2, when an End of Block (EOB) code is added to the end of a block, the bit length is obtained.

  Next, H.I. In the H.264 CAVLC, there are coeff_token, trailing_ones_sign_flag, and total_zeros as elements encoded for each block other than the coefficients, and the number of bits necessary for the encoding is obtained. In Coeff_token, a variable length code is defined by a combination of TotalCoeff and TrailingOnes. A table in which the code length of the code is recorded is prepared, and the table is obtained from the combination of TotalCoeff and TrailingOnes. The table described above is switched according to the coefficient generation state of the adjacent block. When the information of the adjacent block is not used, the maximum value is assumed. trailing_ones_sign_flag can be calculated from the value of TrailingOnes. For total_zeros, a variable length code is defined depending on TotalCoeff. A table in which the code length of the code is recorded is prepared, and the code length is obtained by table lookup based on a combination of TotalZeros and TotalCoeff.

  Subsequently, H.C. In H.264 CABAC, there is a significant coefficient flag (significant_coeff_flag) as an element encoded for each block other than the coefficient. This is to calculate the bin length by obtaining the required number of significant coefficient flags from the final position (CoeffNum) of the non-zero coefficient after the block quantization is completed.

  Note that the last significant coefficient flag (last_significant_coef_flag) and the sign of the quantized coefficient (coeff_sign_flag) are not calculated for each coefficient, but can be calculated from the number of non-zero coefficients after the block quantization is completed. That is, instead of accumulating every coefficient, it is also possible to calculate and accumulate all at the end of the block.

  Thus, the generation state information in the code amount estimator 14 is H.264. In the case of H.264 CAVLC, the values may be held in the 0 run counter, the 0 coefficient counter, the 1 coefficient counter, and the non-zero coefficient counter. H. In the case of H.264 CABAC, the value is preferably held at the zero run counter and the non-zero coefficient final position.

The code amount estimator 14 also associates the values held in the zero run counter 31, the zero coefficient counter 32, the one coefficient counter 33, the non-zero coefficient counter 34, and the non-zero coefficient final position 35 with the quantization coefficient 22. It is preferable to further include generation state information storage means for storing the information. And
The block code amount estimator 37 performs the overall estimation based on occurrence state information in an adjacent block adjacent to the processing target block among blocks processed before the processing target block stored by the generation state information storage unit. The code amount is calculated.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the abort position determination process according to the embodiment of the present invention. For example, the target code amount per macroblock, the margin from the upper limit of the target code amount, and the offset are given in advance, and the remainder is distributed according to the number of coefficients of the block to calculate the target code amount per block Then, the target code amount as shown by the broken line in FIG. 5 is set. During the encoding process, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 5, the estimated accumulated code amount is integrated for each block, and an abort position for the next block is set according to the difference from the target value. For example, the accumulated value of the block estimated code amount in the block i is compared with the target code amount, and the abort position in the next block i + 1 is determined according to the difference from the target code amount. When the predetermined block is a block to be processed next, the control is delayed by one block or more. However, the maximum generated code amount can be controlled by allowing for a delay margin.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of coefficient truncation processing according to the embodiment of the present invention. First, the selector 11 determines whether or not the coefficient position number of the quantization coefficient 21 to be processed is greater than or equal to the replacement position (S301). If YES in step S301, the selector 11 replaces the quantization coefficient 21 with 0 and outputs the quantization coefficient 22 (S302). If NO in step S301, the selector 11 outputs the quantization coefficient 21 as it is as the quantization coefficient 22 (S303).

  When the abort controller 17 determines a plurality of replacement positions, the selector 11 only needs to replace it with 0 only when the coefficient position of the quantization coefficient 21 is included in any of the replacement positions.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of coefficients before and after the coefficient truncation processing according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, in the case of 4 × 4 zig-zag scan and the censoring start position as the replacement position is 10, the quantized coefficients whose coefficient positions are 10 to 15 are replaced with 0.

  H. In a coding scheme such as H.264, the 0 run and the non-zero coefficient level are not sufficient, and the code amount cannot be estimated accurately unless the quantization coefficients of the entire block are known. H. In an encoding scheme such as H.264, information on adjacent blocks is necessary for estimating the amount of codes. Furthermore, it is necessary to consider the code amount of the macroblock header. And H. In the H.264 CAVLC variable length coding, scanning is often performed in the reverse direction, and in this case, it is necessary to scan in the reverse order even in the quantization process.

  Therefore, in Embodiment 1 of the present invention, the quantization coefficient is adjusted for a predetermined block in the macroblock based on the block estimation code amount based on all the quantization coefficients in the processing target block in the macroblock. Is. Therefore, by using information such as TotalCoeff, TotalZero, etc. that cannot be determined until quantization of all the coefficients in the block is completed, In an encoding method that requires all the quantization results in one block such as H.264, there is an effect that the quantization coefficient can be accurately censored. Also, according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, desired code amount control can be performed.

  In Embodiment 1 of the present invention, the truncation controller 17 determines a replacement position that is a coefficient position for replacing the quantization coefficient with 0, and the selector 11 sets the quantization coefficient at the coefficient position corresponding to the replacement position to 0. By substituting As in the case of H.264 CAVLC, even in the case where the scan order of quantization coefficients per block is read out from the high frequency, that is, the so-called reverse scan order, the quantization coefficient corresponding to the coefficient position before the replacement position Because it is possible to perform replacement, the data compression should be cut off from the high frequency that has relatively little impact on human vision, that is, the impact on human vision is relatively large and more importantly low Since the quantization coefficient of the frequency can be left, there is an effect that image quality deterioration can be suppressed to a small level. In order to secure the above effect, the DC block is controlled not to be replaced with 0.

  Further, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the abort controller 17 uses the accumulated value obtained by accumulating the block estimated code amount related to the block prior to the processing target block in the macro block, thereby accumulating the target code amount. Adjustment determination according to the difference from the value can be performed, and more accurate code amount control can be performed in consideration of the entire processed block.

  In Embodiment 1 of the present invention, the code amount estimator 14 includes the 0 run counter 31, the 0 coefficient counter 32, the 1 coefficient counter 33, the non-zero coefficient counter 34, and the non-zero coefficient final position 35. By measuring the generation state information for each quantization coefficient, In addition to supporting a plurality of encoding schemes such as H.264 and MPEG-2, it is possible to accurately censor quantization coefficients.

  Furthermore, the code amount estimator 14 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes the coefficient code amount estimator 36 and the block code amount estimator 37, so that the coefficient estimated code amount and the overall estimated code amount for each quantization coefficient are reduced. Since the block estimation code amount is calculated based on this, more accurate code amount control can be performed.

  Further, the code amount estimator 14 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention can perform more accurate code amount control by using information of adjacent blocks other than the processing target block. In addition, the information of the adjacent block described above may be a block of an adjacent macroblock adjacent to the macroblock, or when the other macroblock is an adjacent block, the maximum value that can be taken is used as the estimated code amount. Also good.

  Furthermore, in Embodiment 1 of the present invention, the MB header code amount estimator 15 calculates the MB estimated code amount 27, so that the abort controller 17 can perform more accurate termination control.

  Note that Patent Document 2 described above is control in units of macroblocks, and feedback within the macroblocks is not applied. In the present invention, since control is applied to each block in the macroblock, control can be applied so as to be within a predetermined code amount within the macroblock.

  In Patent Document 3 described above, the abort determination is performed for each coefficient quantization, and the abort control is performed. In the present invention, abort determination is performed for each block, and abort control is performed. For example, H.M. In the variable length encoding by H.264 CAVLC, encoding may be performed in the reverse scan order, and the quantization process is often performed in the reverse scan order. Therefore, as in Patent Document 3, in the order of quantization processing, visually important low frequency band components are cut off, and the image quality is significantly impaired.

  In the present invention, therefore, the influence of image quality deterioration can be suppressed because the abort scan position is set for each block and the high frequency band coefficient is aborted from that position.

<Embodiment 2 of the Invention>
The image coding apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention changes the target code amount calculator 16 of the image coding apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and according to the characteristics of the processing target block, A target code amount calculator for calculating the target code amount is provided. Then, the abort controller 17 determines whether or not to perform adjustment using the target code amount calculated by the target code amount calculator. Thereby, the distribution of the code amount can be made to correspond to the actual difference in the generated code amount, and appropriate abort control can be performed. Note that the image coding apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention has the same configuration as that of FIG. 1 except for the target code amount calculator 16, and thus illustration and description thereof are omitted. Below, it demonstrates centering on the difference with Embodiment 1 of this invention.

  The target code amount calculator according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention may vary the offset and inclination of the target code amount in the macro block to be processed according to the picture type or the macro block type. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the target code amount when the target code amount according to the embodiment of the present invention is variable according to the picture type or the macroblock type.

  A target code amount 81 shown in FIG. 8 is a reference for the gradient of the target code amount in the macroblock. The target code amount 82 is an example of the target code amount in a picture or macroblock type with high prediction performance. In a picture or macroblock type with high prediction performance, the MB header information ratio is generally large, and the code amount allocation ratio to the quantization coefficient is small. Therefore, the offset value corresponding to the estimated code amount of the MB header information, which is the initial value of the target code amount, is relatively increased, and the inclination of the target code amount is made smaller than the reference target code amount 81. Therefore, the distribution of the code amount can be made to correspond to the actual difference in the generated code amount, and appropriate censoring control can be performed.

  The target code amount 83 is an example of a picture or macroblock type target code amount with low prediction performance. In a picture or macroblock type with low prediction performance, the ratio of MB header information is small, and the allocation ratio of code amount to coefficients is large. Therefore, by making the offset value relatively small and making the gradient of the target code amount larger than the target code amount 82, the distribution of the code amount can be made to correspond to the difference in the actual generated code amount, Appropriate censoring control can be performed. The inclination of the target code amount 83 may be larger than the target code amount 81.

  In addition, the target code amount calculator according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention may vary the slope of the target code amount in the macro block to be processed according to the DC block and the AC block. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the target code amount when the target code amount according to the embodiment of the present invention is variable according to the DC block and the AC block.

  Since the DC block has more non-zero coefficients in the screen than the AC block, it is desirable to allow a somewhat large estimated code amount. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, it is effective to set the slope of the target code amount to the slope α in the case of the AC block, and to set the slope of the target code amount to the slope β larger than the slope α in the case of the DC block. Can be controlled.

  In addition, the target code amount calculator according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention may vary the slope of the target code amount in the macro block to be processed according to the luminance block and the color difference block. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the target code amount when the target code amount according to the embodiment of the present invention is variable according to the luminance block and the color difference block.

  Since the luminance block is a reference for color information, it is desirable to allow a larger estimated code amount than the color difference block. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, in the case of a luminance block, the inclination of the target code amount is set to the inclination α, and in the case of the chrominance block, the inclination of the target code quantity is set to an inclination β smaller than the inclination α. Can be controlled.

  As described above, the method for setting a target individually for a plurality of types of properties has been described. However, for these properties, a target code amount may be set by appropriately combining them.

  In the related arts of Patent Documents 1 to 3 described above, if censoring is started after a certain amount of code has been exceeded, the coefficient of the block later in the coding order is likely to be censored, which greatly affects the image quality. . Further, simply assigning the entire code amount in a fixed and uniform manner does not accurately reflect the state of occurrence of the coefficient of the block, and the accuracy is not high. Furthermore, the target code amount that is proportionally distributed to each block does not take into account the accumulated code amount so far, and therefore, excessive censoring or censoring is reduced, and appropriate control cannot be performed.

  On the other hand, in Embodiment 2 of the present invention, the target code amount can be calculated according to the characteristics of the processing target block, and more accurate target code amount distribution can be performed.

<Third Embodiment of the Invention>
The image coding apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention changes the image coding apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and sets the quantization coefficient to 0 when adjusting a predetermined block. The replacement position is determined based on the replacement threshold value which is the value of the maximum quantization coefficient in this case. Thereby, the code amount per macroblock can be limited while suppressing image quality degradation as much as possible.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the image coding apparatus 101 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Compared with the image encoding device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the image encoding device 101 is obtained by replacing the abort controller 17 with an abort controller 17a and the selector 11 with a coefficient abort device 11a. In addition, since the other structure of the image coding apparatus 101 concerning Embodiment 3 of this invention is a structure equivalent to FIG. 1, illustration and description are abbreviate | omitted. Below, it demonstrates centering on the difference with Embodiment 1 of this invention. The third embodiment of the present invention can also be realized by modifying the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The truncation controller 17a is based on the block estimation code amount 25, the MB estimation code amount 27, and the target code amount 28, and is a replacement threshold value that is the maximum quantization coefficient value when the replacement position 29 and the quantization coefficient are set to 0. 29a is calculated and output to the coefficient truncator 11a.

  The coefficient truncator 11a determines whether or not to replace the quantization coefficient 21 in a predetermined block input from the quantizer 10 with 0 based on the replacement position 29 and the replacement threshold value 29a from the truncation controller 17a. When it is determined to replace, 0 is output, and when it is determined not to replace, the quantization coefficient 21 is output as it is as the quantization coefficient 22. That is, the coefficient truncator 11a sets the quantization coefficient to 0 when the coefficient position of the quantization coefficient input from a predetermined block is included in the replacement position 29 and the quantization coefficient 21 is equal to or less than the replacement threshold 29a. And

  Note that the abort controller 17a does not necessarily calculate the replacement threshold value 29a, and may input the quantization coefficient 21 from the quantizer 10 and calculate the replacement position 29 based on the replacement threshold value 29a. For example, in the processing target block, only the coefficient position that is a quantization coefficient less than the replacement threshold 29a may be calculated as the replacement position 29 for the corresponding coefficient position of the predetermined block. In that case, the coefficient truncator 11a may replace a part of the quantization coefficient in the predetermined block with 0 based on the replacement position 29.

  The operation of the image encoding process in one macroblock according to the third embodiment of the present invention can be realized by changing a part of FIG. That is, in step S101 in FIG. 2, the image coding apparatus 101 sets the replacement threshold to a predetermined initial value. Further, in step S105 in FIG. 2, the coefficient truncator 11a performs a coefficient truncation process. Details of the coefficient truncation process will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In step S111 of FIG. 2, the abort controller 17a determines whether or not to adjust the quantization coefficient of the block to be processed next to the processing target block, and determines to perform the adjustment. In this case, the replacement position 29 and the replacement threshold 29a are calculated.

  Further, the abort controller 17a compares the accumulated value of the block estimation code amount with the target code amount, and when the difference between the accumulated value and the target code amount is large, more quantization is performed than when the difference is small. The replacement position and the replacement threshold are determined so that the coefficient is 0. Also, the abort controller 17a determines the replacement position and the replacement threshold so that when the difference between the accumulated value and the target code amount is small, the smaller quantization coefficient is set to 0 than when the difference is large. Alternatively, the abort controller 17a does not determine the replacement position and the replacement threshold when the difference between the accumulated value and the target code amount is small. In addition, the abort controller 17a determines a coefficient position corresponding to a high frequency band in a predetermined block as a target to which the replacement position and the replacement threshold are applied.

  FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a coefficient truncator 11a according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The coefficient censor 11a includes a selector 110, a coefficient censor determiner 111, and a coefficient threshold determiner 112.

  The coefficient truncation determination unit 111 compares the coefficient position corresponding to the quantization coefficient 21 with the replacement position 29 and notifies the coefficient threshold determination unit 112 of whether or not this is the case. When the notification from the coefficient truncation determination unit 111 is applicable, the coefficient threshold value determination unit 112 determines whether or not the quantization coefficient 21 is equal to or less than the replacement threshold value 29a and notifies the selector 110 of the result. The selector 110 replaces the quantized coefficient 21 based on the result from the coefficient threshold value determiner 112. That is, the coefficient truncator 11a replaces a part of the quantization coefficient in a predetermined block with 0.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of coefficient censoring processing according to the third embodiment of the present invention. First, the coefficient truncation determining unit 111 determines whether or not the coefficient position number of the quantization coefficient 21 to be processed is greater than or equal to the replacement position (S401). If YES in step S401, the coefficient threshold value determiner 112 determines whether or not the quantization coefficient 21 is equal to or less than the replacement threshold value 29a (S402). If YES in step S402, the selector 110 replaces the quantization coefficient 21 with 0 and outputs the quantization coefficient 22 (S403). If NO in either step S401 or S402, the selector 110 outputs the quantization coefficient 21 as it is as the quantization coefficient 22 (S404).

  When the truncation controller 17a determines a plurality of replacement positions based on the replacement threshold, the coefficient truncator 11a is replaced with 0 only when the coefficient position of the quantization coefficient 21 is included in any of the replacement positions. That's fine.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of coefficients before and after the coefficient censoring process according to the third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 14, in the case of a 4 × 4 zig-zag scan, the discontinuation threshold that is the replacement threshold is 5, and the discontinuation start position that is the replacement position is 10, the coefficient positions are 10, 11, 13, 14, and 15 , And the coefficient position 12 is not replaced because the quantization coefficient is 6.

  In the related arts of Patent Documents 1 to 3 described above, the coefficient at a specific coefficient position is replaced with 0 regardless of the magnitude of the value of the quantization coefficient. The effect on image quality is large.

  However, the image coding apparatus 101 according to the third embodiment of the present invention replaces the quantization coefficient with 0 when the quantization coefficient is less than a predetermined threshold value. If the quantization coefficient is equal to or greater than the replacement threshold, the value is left as it is. A quantization coefficient having a large value indicates that there is important information in the frequency component, so that the image quality can be maintained by leaving the value.

  As described above, in the third embodiment of the present invention, for example, H.264. Even if the amount of code cannot be estimated without knowing all the quantization results in one block as in H.264, the image quality can be reduced by leaving a coefficient having a visually significant value and a low-frequency component. It is possible to perform control that satisfies the restriction on the maximum code amount per macroblock defined in the regulations while suppressing deterioration.

  For example, in Patent Document 2 described above, the quantization coefficient is replaced with 0 by setting the position of the block end 933 earlier than the original from the VLC setting circuit 915 in FIG. ing. Therefore, the magnitude of the coefficient value is not taken into consideration. In the present invention, the replacement threshold value is calculated from the truncation controller 17a in FIG. 11 and is sent to the coefficient truncation unit 11a. As in the coefficient truncation unit 11a in FIG. If the value is smaller than the threshold value, it is determined that the coefficient is replaced with 0.

<Embodiment 4 of the Invention>
The image coding apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention changes the image coding apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and performs coefficient estimation for each quantization coefficient corresponding to the coefficient position of the processing target block. Based on the code amount, a replacement position in a block to be processed next to the processing target block is determined. Thereby, before the accumulated value of the block estimated code amount exceeds the target code amount, it is possible to apply the abort control in the block to be processed next. That is, it may be possible to prevent the target code amount from being exceeded in the block to be processed next. Therefore, more accurate abort control can be performed, and abort control can be stabilized.

  The image encoding apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention is different from the image encoding apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention in that the code amount estimator 14 and the truncation controller 17 are changed. Since it is the same structure as FIG. 1, illustration and description are abbreviate | omitted. Below, it demonstrates centering on the difference with Embodiment 1 of this invention. The fourth embodiment of the present invention can also be realized by modifying the second or third embodiment of the present invention.

  Note that the image coding apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention is not limited to determining a replacement position in a block to be processed next to the processing target block. For example, the image coding apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention determines whether or not to perform adjustment in a predetermined block based on at least the coefficient estimation code amount for each quantization coefficient of the processing target block. Good. Alternatively, the image coding apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention may determine the replacement position in a predetermined block based on the coefficient estimation code amount for each quantization coefficient of the processing target block.

  FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a code amount estimator 14a according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The code amount estimator 14a is obtained by adding an estimated code amount accumulator 38 between the coefficient code amount estimator 36 and the block code amount estimator 37 in the code amount estimator 14 of FIG.

  The estimated code amount accumulator 38 corresponds the accumulated value of the coefficient estimated code amount in the processing target block to the coefficient position of the quantization coefficient to be processed each time the coefficient estimated code amount is calculated by the coefficient code amount estimator 36. In addition, it is output as a code amount distribution 46 which is code amount distribution information, and is stored in a code amount distribution information storage unit (not shown). That is, the estimated code amount accumulator 38 associates the coefficient estimated code amount calculated by the coefficient code amount estimator 36 with the coefficient position corresponding to the quantization coefficient to be processed, and the code amount distribution information as the code amount distribution 46. Store in the storage unit. The code amount distribution information storage unit stores a code amount distribution 46 for each block.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a code amount distribution in a block according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The estimated code amount 161 is a transition of the accumulated value of the coefficient estimated code amount for each coefficient position in the processing target block in the normal scan order. The estimated code amount 162 is a transition of an accumulated value of the coefficient estimated code amount for each coefficient position in the processing target block in the reverse scan order.

  Also, the abort controller (not shown) according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention uses the coefficient estimation code amount corresponding to the coefficient position of the block to be processed as the coefficient estimation code corresponding to the coefficient position of the block to be processed next. The replacement position is determined by specifying the coefficient position in the block to be processed next in which the accumulated value of the coefficient estimation code quantity exceeds the target code quantity. Thereby, more accurate code amount prediction can be performed according to the tendency of the estimated code amount of consecutive blocks.

  Furthermore, the truncation controller according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention is based on the code amount distribution 46 in the processing target block stored in the code amount distribution information storage unit described above, and the replacement position in the block to be processed next. It is good to decide. Thereby, more accurate code amount prediction can be performed using the code amount distribution 46 in a plurality of blocks or a plurality of macroblocks comprehensively. Further, in the case of reverse scan order, in order to determine the replacement position, it is preferable to reverse the transition of the accumulated value of the code amount and convert it into the normal scan order for use.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of the abort position determination process according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the case of FIG. 17, the truncation controller according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention acquires the code amount distribution 46 in the block i from the code amount distribution information storage unit, and uses the code amount distribution 46 as the block estimated code amount in the block i + 1. And adding to the estimated code amount in the macroblock. If there is a coefficient position exceeding the target code amount in the block i + 1, the coefficient position is determined as a replacement position. That is, in the fourth embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to make a prediction as to whether or not the estimated code amount of the next block exceeds the target code amount by the code amount distribution 46 in the immediately preceding process target block. As a result, unnecessary termination control can be reduced, the target code amount can be prevented from being exceeded, and appropriate control can be performed.

<Other embodiments of the invention>
Here, the structure of the macroblock applicable to the present invention will be exemplified below. However, it is not limited to these. First, the macroblock structure in the 4: 2: 0 format will be described. The luminance of the 4: 2: 0 format macroblock is 16 × 16 pixels. Further, there are two color differences, Cb and Cr, each having a size of 8 × 8 pixels. There are several types of internal block division patterns depending on the macroblock type.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining block division in the case of Intra16 × 16. The luminance is divided into 16 blocks of 4 × 4 size, and further, only DC components are separated and collected to form a 4 × 4 size DC block. The remaining AC component block is composed of 15 coefficients. Similarly, the color difference is divided into four blocks each having a 4 × 4 size, and further, only the DC component is separated and collected to form a 2 × 2 size DC block.

  FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a macroblock in the case of performing orthogonal transform of 4 × 4 size other than Intra16 × 16. In this case, the luminance is divided into 16 blocks of 4 × 4 size, and the DC component is not separated. The color difference is the same as in FIG.

  FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a macroblock in the case of performing 8 × 8 size orthogonal transform other than Intra16 × 16. The luminance is divided into 4 blocks of 8x8 size, and the DC component is not separated. The color difference is the same as in FIG.

  FIG. 28 is a diagram for explaining block division of the macroblock structure in the MPEG-2 4: 2: 0 format. The luminance is divided into 4 blocks of 8x8 size. In addition, the color difference is 8 × 8 size and constitutes one block.

  FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating an example of the scan order in the case of 8 × 8 size. As in the case of the 4 × 4 size in FIG. 21, the scan order is defined as shown in FIG. H. H.264 and MPEG-2 zig-zag scans are the same. H. In the case of H.264 CAVLC, encoding processing is performed by dividing 64 coefficient data into four 16 coefficient sequences, and therefore the quantization processing itself regards one sequence as one block, and the case of 4 × 4 size. Treat as well.

  Also, in the case of an image format other than 4: 2: 0, the system of the present invention can be applied in the same manner, except that the number of color difference blocks is different. For example, there are no color difference blocks (Cb, Cr) in a monochrome image.

  The structure of the color difference block in other formats is shown in FIG. In the following, since there is no difference with respect to the luminance block, illustration and description are omitted. Also, only one of the two color difference blocks is shown and described. In the 4: 2: 2 format and the 4: 4: 4 format, the size of the color difference macroblock increases, and the number of blocks increases. FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a color difference block depending on a format.

  Also, macroblock structures other than the 4: 2: 0 format in the case of MPEG-2 are shown in FIGS. FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a macroblock in the MPEG-2 4: 2: 2 format. FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a macroblock in the MPEG-2 4: 4: 4 format.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention described above.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the image coding apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement of the image coding process concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the code amount estimator concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement of the measurement process of the generation | occurrence | production state information of the coefficient concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the censoring position determination process concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement of the coefficient truncation process concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the coefficient before and behind in the coefficient truncation process concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the target code amount concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the target code amount concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the target code amount concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the image coding apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the coefficient truncation device concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement of the coefficient truncation process concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the coefficient before and behind in the coefficient truncation process concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the code amount estimator concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the code amount distribution in the block concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the censoring position determination process concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a part of image coding apparatus concerning patent document 2. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a part of moving image encoding apparatus concerning patent document 3. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the macroblock in the case of Intra16x16. It is a figure which shows the example of the scanning order in the case of 4x4 and color difference 2x2. It is a figure which shows the example of the quantization coefficient of 1 block. H. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of variable length coding in H.264 CAVLC. FIG. H. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of variable length coding in H.264 CABAC. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the variable-length encoding in MPEG-2. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the macroblock in the case of performing orthogonal transformation of 4x4 size except Intra16x16. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the macroblock in the case of performing orthogonal transformation of 8x8 size except Intra16x16. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the macroblock in 4: 2: 0 format of MPEG-2. It is a figure which shows the example of the scanning order in the case of 8x8 size. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the color difference block by the difference in a format. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the macroblock in 4: 2: 2 format of MPEG-2. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the macroblock in 4: 4: 4 format of MPEG-2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image encoder 101 Image encoder 10 Quantizer 11 Selector 11a Coefficient truncator 110 Selector 111 Coefficient truncation determiner 112 Coefficient threshold determinator 12 Inverse quantizer 13 Variable length encoder 14 Code amount estimator 14a Code Quantity estimator 15 MB header code quantity estimator 16 Target code quantity calculator 17 Abort controller 17a Abort controller 20 Transform coefficient 21 Quantize coefficient 22 Quantize coefficient 23 Inverse quantized coefficient 24 Adjacent block information 25 Block estimated code quantity 26 MB information 27 MB estimated code amount 28 target code amount 29 replacement position 29a replacement threshold 31 0 run counter 32 0 coefficient counter 33 1 coefficient counter 34 non-zero coefficient counter 35 non-zero coefficient final position 36 coefficient code amount estimator 37 block code amount Estimator 38 Estimated code amount accumulator 4 1 runbefore
42 TotalZeros
43 TrailingOnes
44 TotalCoeff
45 CoeffNum
46 Code amount distribution 81 Target code amount 82 Target code amount 83 Target code amount 161 Estimated code amount 162 Estimated code amount 901 Image encoding device 911 Coding mode selection circuit 912 DCT circuit 913 Quantization circuit 914 Scan order rearrangement circuit 915 VLC Setting circuit 916 VLC circuit 917 Inverse quantization circuit 918 Inverse DCT circuit 919 Code amount calculation circuit 920 Code amount determination circuit 921 Control data position information storage circuit 922 Overlapping region determination circuit 931 Predicted data position information 932 Encoding output 933 Block end 934 Control Data position information 902 Code amount control device 941 Quantization circuit 942 Rounding circuit 943 Rate control circuit 944 Code amount table 945 Variable length encoding circuit 946 Inverse quantization circuit 951 Conversion coefficient 952 Target code amount 953 Inverse quantization conversion The number α slope β slope

Claims (24)

Coefficient position that divides a macroblock that is a predetermined area included in image data into multiple blocks, processes each block, outputs quantized coefficients obtained by quantizing orthogonal transform coefficients, and identifies the coefficients in the block An image encoding device that performs variable length encoding based on a quantization coefficient in
Code amount for calculating a block estimated code amount that is an estimated value of a code amount related to the processing target block based on quantization coefficients input in a predetermined order from the processing target block that is a processing target block in the macroblock An estimation means;
Based on a block estimated code amount related to the processing target block in the macroblock and a target code amount that is a target value of the code amount for the processing target block, any quantum in the predetermined block in the macroblock is determined. Control means for determining whether or not to perform adjustment to replace the quantization coefficient with 0;
An image coding apparatus comprising: coefficient replacement means for replacing any quantization coefficient in the predetermined block determined to be adjusted by the control means with 0. When the control unit determines to perform the adjustment in the predetermined block, the control unit further determines a replacement position that is a coefficient position for replacing the quantization coefficient in the predetermined block with 0,
The image coding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coefficient replacement unit replaces the quantization coefficient at the replacement position determined by the control unit with 0.   The image encoding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined block is a block to be processed next to the processing target block in the macroblock. The code amount estimation means calculates an accumulated value by accumulating a block estimation code amount calculated for each block processed before the processing target block in the macroblock,
The control means is responsive to a difference between the accumulated value calculated by the code amount estimating means and an accumulated value obtained by accumulating a target code amount for blocks processed before the processing target block in the macroblock. 4. The image encoding device according to claim 1, wherein whether or not to perform the adjustment is determined. A target code amount calculating means for calculating the target code amount according to the characteristics of the processing target block;
5. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines whether to perform the adjustment using the target code amount calculated by the target code amount calculation unit. Image encoding device.   The target code amount calculation means calculates the target code amount according to any of a picture type, a macroblock type, a DC (Direct Current) block and an AC (Alternating Current) block, and a luminance block and a color difference block. The image coding apparatus according to claim 5, wherein: The code amount estimation means includes:
Generation state update means for updating generation state information indicating a generation state of the input quantization coefficient;
Coefficient code amount estimating means for calculating a coefficient estimated code amount that is an estimated value of a code amount corresponding to the quantized coefficient based on the occurrence state information in the quantized coefficient;
After all the quantization coefficients in the processing target block are input, an overall estimated code amount that is an estimated value of the code amount for the entire block of the processing target block is calculated from the occurrence state information, and the total estimated code amount is calculated. A block code amount estimating means for calculating the block estimated code amount by adding an accumulated value of the coefficient estimated code amount;
The image coding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: Code amount distribution information for storing a coefficient estimated code amount that is an estimated value of a code amount related to a quantized coefficient corresponding to the coefficient position of the processing target block and code amount distribution information associated with the coefficient position corresponding to the quantized coefficient A storage means,
2. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines whether or not to perform the adjustment in the predetermined block based on the code amount distribution information in the processing target block stored by the code amount distribution information storage unit. The image encoding device described.   9. The image coding according to claim 8, wherein the control unit determines a replacement position that is a coefficient position for replacing the quantization coefficient in the predetermined block with 0 based on the code amount distribution information. apparatus.   The image according to claim 9, wherein the control unit determines the replacement position in a block to be processed next to the processing target block in the macroblock based on the code amount distribution information. Encoding device.   The control means assumes that the coefficient estimation code amount corresponding to the coefficient position of the block to be processed is a coefficient estimation code amount corresponding to the coefficient position of the block to be processed next, and the block to be processed next The image coding apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the replacement position is determined by specifying a coefficient position where an accumulated value of the coefficient estimated code quantity exceeds the target code quantity. A generation state information storage unit for storing the input quantization coefficient and the generation state information updated by the generation state update unit in association with each other;
The block code amount estimation unit is configured to perform the overall estimation based on the generation state information in an adjacent block adjacent to the processing target block among blocks processed before the processing target block stored by the generation state information storage unit. The image coding apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a code amount is calculated. Macro header estimated code amount calculating means for calculating a macro header estimated code amount that is an estimated value of the code amount in the header of the macroblock,
The image encoding device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the control unit determines the truncation position based on the macro header estimated code amount.   8. The image encoding apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the occurrence state information is a zero run counter, a zero coefficient counter, a one coefficient counter and a non-zero coefficient counter, or a zero run counter and a non-zero coefficient final coordinate position. . A macroblock, which is a predetermined area included in image data, is divided into a plurality of blocks and processed for each block, and variable length coding is performed based on a quantized coefficient corresponding to a coefficient position for specifying a coefficient in the block. An image encoding method comprising:
Inputting quantization coefficients read out in a predetermined order from a processing target block that is a processing target block in the macroblock;
A code amount estimating step of calculating a block estimated code amount that is an estimated value of a code amount related to the processing target block based on the read quantization coefficient;
Based on a block estimated code amount related to the processing target block in the macroblock and a target code amount that is a target value of the code amount for the processing target block, any quantum in the predetermined block in the macroblock is determined. A decision step for deciding whether or not to make an adjustment to replace the quantization factor with 0;
An image coding method comprising: a coefficient replacement step of replacing any quantization coefficient in the predetermined block determined to be adjusted by the determination step with 0. The determining step further determines a replacement position that is a coefficient position for replacing the quantization coefficient in the predetermined block with 0 when it is determined that the adjustment is performed in the predetermined block;
The image coding method according to claim 15, wherein the coefficient replacement step replaces the quantized coefficient at the replacement position determined by the determination step with 0.   16. The image encoding method according to claim 14, wherein the predetermined block is a block to be processed next to the processing target block in the macro block. The code amount estimation step calculates an accumulated value by accumulating the block estimated code amount calculated for each block processed before the processing target block in the macroblock,
The determining step includes a difference between the accumulated value calculated by the code amount estimating step and an accumulated value obtained by accumulating a target code amount corresponding to a block processed before the processing target block in the macroblock. The image coding method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein whether or not to perform the adjustment is determined according to the method. A target code amount calculating step of calculating the target code amount according to the characteristics of the processing target block;
19. The determination according to claim 15, wherein the determining step determines whether or not to perform the adjustment using the target code amount calculated by the target code amount calculating step. Image coding method.   The target code amount calculation step calculates the target code amount according to any of a picture type, a macroblock type, a DC block and a BC block, and a luminance block and a color difference block. The image encoding method described in 1. The code amount estimation step includes:
A generation state update step of updating generation state information indicating a generation state of the input quantization coefficient;
A coefficient code amount estimating step of calculating a coefficient estimated code amount that is an estimated value of a code amount corresponding to the quantized coefficient based on the occurrence state information in the quantized coefficient;
After all the quantization coefficients in the processing target block are input, an overall estimated code amount that is an estimated value of the code amount for the entire block of the processing target block is calculated from the occurrence state information, and the total estimated code amount is calculated. A block code amount estimation step of calculating the block estimated code amount by adding an accumulated value of the coefficient estimated code amount;
21. The image encoding method according to claim 15, further comprising: The code amount estimation step calculates a coefficient estimation code amount that is an estimated value of a code amount related to a quantization coefficient corresponding to a coefficient position of the processing target block,
The image coding method according to claim 17, wherein the determining step determines the replacement position in the block to be processed next based on the coefficient estimation code amount.   The determining step assumes that the coefficient estimation code amount corresponding to the coefficient position of the processing target block is a coefficient estimation code amount corresponding to the coefficient position of the block to be processed next, and accumulates the coefficient estimation code amount. 23. The image encoding method according to claim 22, wherein the replacement position is determined by specifying a coefficient position in the next processed block whose calculated value exceeds the target code amount. A code amount distribution information storing step of storing in the storage unit code amount distribution information associated with the coefficient estimated code amount calculated by the coefficient code amount estimating step and the coefficient position corresponding to the quantized coefficient;
The determination step determines the replacement position in the block to be processed next based on the code amount distribution information in the processing target block stored in the storage unit. The image encoding method described in 1.

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