JPH07298306A - Stereoscopic moving picture compressing and encoding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the in-use storage capacity of a buffer memory which is required when compressed and encoded data are decoded. CONSTITUTION:Compressing and encoding means 12R and 12L compress and encode respective image data by photography positions obtained by image data input means 11R and 11L inputting image data obtained by multidirectional photography, and a time information storage means 15 stores the time when the data are compressed and encoded by the compressing and encoding means 12R and 12L; and image intra-unit compression and encoding or image inter-unit compression and encoding are decided by the compressing and encoding means 12R and 12L. Then image compressing method control means 13R and 13L indicate compressing methods according to compression forms, and a multiplexing means 16 multiplexes compressed and encoded data by the photography positions obtained by the compressing and encoding means 12R and 12L; and a recording means 17 records the compressed and encoded data obtained by the multiplexing means on a recording medium.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a three-dimensional moving image compression encoding apparatus for compression encoding a three-dimensional moving image by intermixing intra-image unit intra-image compression encoding and inter-image unit compression encoding. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various methods have been provided as methods for forming a stereoscopic moving image. The most common one is a method of alternately displaying left-eye and right-eye images in an image output device such as a television and using shutter glasses such as a liquid crystal shutter. This method applies the binocular parallax of the human eye. In order to obtain a stereoscopic moving image using this method, a method is used in which two cameras are placed at the positions of human eyes and the images are recorded alternately on a recording medium. And as these display methods, the image of an image output device such as a television is interlaced, the left and right fields thereof, and the images are alternately displayed left and right for each field group, in synchronization with the switching timing, It is realized by switching the left and right shutters set at the positions of human eyes. But,
These images require a data amount about twice as large as that of normal image data, so that the recording capacity and the scale of the reproducing device are unnecessarily large. In particular, these image data are digitized. In that case, it is necessary to take into consideration the increase in the amount of data.

On the other hand, a digital moving image encoding system has been remarkably developed in recent years, and in particular, an image data compression encoding technique called MPEG (ISO 11172) system standardized by ISO has been adopted in many fields in recent years. Has been. This is a digital moving image. First, in a unit of image, compression encoding of one image unit from several to ten or more frames, fields, etc. in an image unit is performed, and other images are compressed. Is a method of using two types of compression-encoded data of inter-image compression encoding, which refers to other image data and performs compression encoding by using the difference. Other compression methods using such a method include, for example,
H. 261, H.264. There are video telephone standards such as 221 and the like, and the amount of data can be compression-encoded to be several tenths to several tenths, or several hundredths of the original image data. A high quality image can be obtained.

As a compression technique for stereoscopic moving images to which these techniques are applied, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 64-5290,
In Japanese Patent Publication No. 64-5291 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 64-5292, there are known methods for compressing and reproducing by using the intra-image unit compression encoding and the intra-image unit compression encoding on the right and left sides.

Further, in a stereoscopic moving image reproducing method called a lenticular lens method or an integral photography method, image data is obtained by photographing a subject from a plurality of positions, and the same arrangement as that at the time of photographing is obtained. It is also known to obtain a stereoscopic moving image that is more comfortable than the two-channel system that simulates the human eyes described above by projecting from a configured projector or the like.

When these techniques are used, decoding devices for the number of channels for obtaining image data are required, and the scale of the device is required to be proportional to the number of channels for each image unit. Further, depending on the image data, for example, since the data amount of the compression encoded data differs depending on whether the subject is stationary or moving, in the MPEG system in which the transfer rate of the compression encoded data constantly changes, The buffer memory for storing the compression coded data needs to have a relatively large capacity. In a normal stereoscopic moving image decoding apparatus, as described above, the interlacing of the image display apparatus is used to alternately display and output, and in such a case, the decoding apparatus itself is switched. It is also possible to use. Even in such a case, as a result, the storage capacity of the buffer memory needs a capacity proportional to the number of channels.

Next, a compression coding apparatus for stereoscopic moving images represented by the MPEG system will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a stereoscopic video encoding device for obtaining stereoscopic video using left and right channels.

In FIG. 9, reference numerals 91R and 91L are digital image data input means for the directions of R (image data for the right eye) and L (image data for the left eye), respectively. This includes the input from the camera,
It may be obtained as a digital stream from a magnetic tape, an optical disc, or the like. Reference numerals 92R and 92L denote compression encoding means for compressing and encoding the image data input as the image data for the right eye and the image data for the left eye, respectively. Reference numeral 93 is a multiplexing means for time-divisionally multiplexing compression-encoded data that has been independently compression-encoded as image data for the right eye and image data for the left eye, as a series of compression-encoded data. The recording means records the compression coded data obtained by the multiplexing means 93 on a recording medium or the like.

Next, the overall operation will be described.

Now, a certain subject is photographed by two cameras for the right eye and the left eye, and image data input means 91R and 9R are provided, respectively.
Image data is obtained with 1L, and these image data are independently input by the encoding means 22R and 22L. The compression encoding means 92R and 92L independently perform compression encoding, and the multiplexing means 23 multiplexes the compression encoded data of the right eye image data and the left eye image data to obtain a series of compression encoded data. obtain. In the obtained compression-coded data, the right-eye image data and the left-eye image data are compression-coded data that are not dependent on each other. Then, these compression encoded data are recorded on the recording medium or the like by the recording means 94.

[0012] In this type of technique, when the right or left image data is compression-encoded, the difference data is obtained by first comparing and referencing the compression-encoded image data on the opposite side. A method of performing compression coding using this difference data is also known (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-361499).

Next, FIG. 10 shows the above-mentioned multiplexing means.
Will be described in more detail.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a conventional image data string for compression coding of stereoscopic moving image data.

In FIG. 10, 101 (R) and 101 (R)
(L) is compression coding means 9 for the right image and the left image, respectively.
2 is compression encoded data of the right image and the left image according to 2.
Further, 102 (R + L) indicates multiplexed data in which the compressed coded data 101 (R) of the right image and the compressed coded data 101 (L) of the left image are multiplexed by the multiplexing means 93. Further, A is the compressed data within the image unit.

As shown in the multiplexed data 102 (R + L), in the compressed encoded data after multiplexing, the compressed data A in the image unit which is regularly arranged when the left and right are independent is right. When the compression coded data 101 (R) of the image and the compression coded data 101 (L) of the left image are multiplexed, an irregular array is formed. That is, the compression coded data 101 (R) of the right image and the compression coded data 101 of the left image
When (L) is multiplexed, the compression coded data 101 (R) of the right image and the compression coded data 101 (L) of the left image
Is independently encoded, the operation state of compression encoding on the opposite side cannot be determined. Such encoding includes a possibility that the decoding means may malfunction when decoding and reproducing compressed encoded data, and by mixing these intra-image unit compression encoding and inter-image unit compression encoding, In the compression-encoded image compression encoding method, the compression-encoded data after the compression encoding has a property that the data amount is not constant for each image unit. When decoding these compression-encoded data, the amount of data read and the decoding speed are adjusted by adjusting the processing time depending on the size of the data and the buffer memory that temporarily stores the compressed data within the image unit, which is the reference for decoding. It is necessary to plan the timing with.

[0017]

FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram of the compression coded data string 81 and the decoding completed image data string 82, and FIG. 8B is a buffer memory for decoding the compression coded data. FIG. 6 is a characteristic diagram showing a change in the amount of data stored in the memory.

In FIG. 8A, a compression coded data string 81 is image data 81 read from a recording medium or a communication path.
1, 812, ... The decoding completed image data string 82 is the image data 8 obtained by decoding the compression encoded data 81.
21, 822, 823, ...

Here, since the data transfer rate output to the recording medium or the communication path is usually constant, a large buffer memory is required to decode image data having a large amount of compression coded data. In particular, if the image data 821 has a large amount of data, the compressed and encoded data string 81 after the compression and encoding has a much larger amount of data, and as shown in the characteristic diagram of FIG. It can be seen that an even higher peak appears in the amount of data in the buffer memory at that time, and the used capacity of the buffer memory is increasing. In such a case, in order to decode the image data 822 immediately after decoding the image data 821, the image data 821 cannot be input to the buffer memory until the image data 821 is completely decoded. Can occur.

Further, in the method of performing compression by intermixing intra-image unit compression and inter-image unit compression represented by the MPEG system, a large amount of data must be preferentially assigned to the intra-image unit compressed data. That is, since the compressed data in the image unit serves as a reference for all the images, it must be held in the buffer memory for a relatively long time until the next compressed data in the image unit is input. For example, in the MPEG system, generally, the compression encoded data in the image unit requires a data amount about 5 times the average data amount. In the above-described encoding of a stereoscopic image, the appearance frequency of the compression encoded data in the left and right image units is not completely determined. Therefore, the buffer memory for performing the decoding is about 2 times that in the case of decoding the planar image.
Double the storage capacity is required. In particular, as a buffer memory at the time of decoding a stereoscopic image, a buffer memory having a very large storage area is required. If the appearance of the compression-encoded data in the image unit is completely independent on the left and right, double buffer memory is required on the left and right independently at the time of decoding. Further, in the case of multiple channels, a buffer memory having a very large capacity storage area corresponding to the number of channels is required.

In this way, the image data obtained by shooting from a plurality of directions is encoded by intra-image unit compression and inter-image unit compression, and this compression encoded data recorded on a recording medium or the like is decoded. In this case, the required storage capacity of the buffer memory used for decoding increases,
In order to obtain a stereoscopic moving image, the buffer memory needs to have the same number of channels as in the case of a plane image.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a stereoscopic moving picture coding apparatus capable of reducing the required capacity of the buffer memory when the compression coded data is decoded. .

[0023]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a three-dimensional moving image compression coding apparatus for folding each image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions into intra-image compression and inter-image compression. In the three-dimensional moving image compression encoding apparatus that compresses by mixing and using, when the image data obtained by the intra-image compression encoding of the image data obtained at the specific position corresponding to the plurality of positions, after the predetermined time has elapsed, other positions The intra-image compression encoding of the image data obtained at the specific position corresponding to is performed.

A stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention compresses each image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions by using a mixture of intra-image unit compression and inter-image unit compression. In the three-dimensional moving image compression encoding apparatus, the storage unit stores the time when the image data corresponding to the plurality of positions is compressed in the image unit, and the image data obtained at a specific position is compressed in the image unit. When encoded, inter-image compression encoding is performed for a predetermined time.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a three-dimensional moving image compression encoding apparatus compresses each image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions by intermixing intra-image unit compression and inter-image unit compression. In the three-dimensional moving image compression encoding apparatus, the time information storage means for storing the time of intra-image compression of the image data corresponding to the plurality of positions is included, and the image data obtained at the specific position is encoded. In this case, after intra-image-unit compression encoding of all other image data, intra-image-unit compression encoding is performed after a lapse of a predetermined time.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus compresses each image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions by intermixing intra-image unit compression and inter-image unit compression. When the image data obtained at a specific position is encoded, the three-dimensional moving image compression encoding device has a storage unit that stores a time when the image data in the image unit corresponding to the plurality of positions is compressed. ,
After compressing and coding all other image data in the image unit,
Inter-image compression coding is performed until a predetermined time elapses.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus compresses each image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions by intermixing intra-image unit compression and inter-image unit compression. In the three-dimensional moving image compression encoding apparatus, the storage area of the buffer memory used when decoding the compressed data is divided and used corresponding to the areas photographed at a plurality of positions, and the buffer memory use storage area is used. It is given to a predetermined area of compressed data,
The buffer memory use area is recorded in a recording medium or the like together with the compression encoded data.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus compresses image data obtained by shooting at a plurality of positions by intermixing intra-image unit compression and inter-image unit compression. In the three-dimensional moving image compression encoding device that performs compression encoding of image data obtained at specific positions corresponding to the plurality of positions within an image unit,
This is to prevent the timings of compression encoding within image units from matching.

[0029]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the image data obtained at the specific positions corresponding to the plurality of positions is compression-encoded in the image unit, it is obtained at the specific positions corresponding to other positions after a predetermined time has elapsed. The image data is subjected to intra-image compression encoding.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the image data obtained at a specific position is compression-encoded in the image unit by having a storage unit for storing the time when the image data corresponding to a plurality of positions is compressed in the image unit. At this time, compression coding between image units is performed for a predetermined time.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the image data obtained at a specific position is coded, the time information storage means for storing the time when the intra-image compression of the image data corresponding to a plurality of positions is stored. After all other image data are compression-encoded in the image unit, the intra-image compression encoding is performed after a predetermined time has elapsed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided storage means for storing a time at which image data corresponding to a plurality of positions is compressed in an image unit, and when the image data obtained at a specific position is encoded, other After all the image data of (1) are compression-encoded in image units, inter-image-unit compression encoding is performed until a predetermined time elapses.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the storage area of the buffer memory used when decoding the compressed data is
The buffer memory use storage area is assigned to a predetermined area of the compressed data, and the buffer memory use storage area is recorded together with the compression coded data on a recording medium or the like. .

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the image data obtained at the specific positions corresponding to the plurality of positions are compression-encoded in the image unit, the timings of the compression encoding in the image unit do not coincide with each other.

[0035]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a stereoscopic moving image compression coding apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 11R and 11L are independent image data input means on the right and left sides, which are inputted to the compression coding means 12R or the compression coding means 12L, respectively. The image data input means 11R and the image data input means 11L may be given as input from a camera, or may be given as digital data from a magnetic tape, an optical disk, or the like. Reference numeral 14 denotes an intra-image unit compression interval control means for controlling, when compressing the respective input image data, the right-eye image data and the left-eye image data so that intra-image-unit compression encoding does not overlap at the same time. is there. Reference numerals 13R and 13L are image compression method control means for controlling the compression method of intra-image compression coding or inter-image compression coding under the control of the intra-image compression interval control means 14 for each channel. Reference numeral 15 is a time information storage means for storing the time when compression encoding is performed. Reference numeral 16 denotes a multiplexing unit that time-division-multiplexes two pieces of compression-encoded data that are compression-encoded with the image data for the right eye and the image data for the left eye, respectively, to obtain a series of compression-encoded data. Reference numeral 17 is a recording means for recording the compression encoded data by the multiplexing means 16 on a recording medium or the like.

Next, the operation of the three-dimensional moving image compression encoding apparatus in this embodiment will be described.

First, the timing for performing the intra-image compression coding by the intra-image compression interval control means 14 is input to the image compression technique control means 13R, 13L. Then, each of the image compression method control means 13R and 13L independently determines whether to perform intra-image unit compression encoding or inter-image unit compression encoding, and according to the determination, compression encoding is performed. The means 12R and 12L are instructed respectively. At this time, as an element for the image compression method control means 13R, 13L to determine the compression encoding of the compression encoding means 12R, 12L, for example, in the case of compressing the right side image, the compression encoding of the left side image is performed. Further, when the left side image is compression-encoded, temporal information indicating at which point the intra-image compression encoding is performed is added when the right side image is compression-encoded. Then, the time interval set by the intra-image compression interval control means 14 is input to both the image compression method control means 13R and 13L, and the timing of intra-image compression compression encoding is output. The time information storage means 15 stores the time at this time so that the intra-image compression encoding does not match between the image data for the right eye and the image data for the left eye. At this time, if the intra-image compression encoding is set once for each specific time interval or once for each specific image data, the memory capacity can be efficiently reduced. You can

By changing the output of the intra-image compression image interval control means 14, it becomes possible to control the adjustment of the intra-image compression encoding interval, and the compression encoding means 12R and 12L respectively compress the compression codes. The converted image data is time-division multiplexed by the multiplexing means 16, and is recorded on the recording medium or the like by the recording means 17 as a series of compression-coded data.

Therefore, as a means for reducing the storage area used in the buffer memory at the time of decoding, the timing at which the intra-image compression encoding having the largest data amount in the image data is performed is removed and left-right inversion is performed. You can do this. The image compression method control means 13R, 13L controls the timing of performing the intra-image unit intra-image compression encoding or the inter-image unit inter-image compression encoding on the right and left sides so that the intra-image unit intra-image compression encoding does not overlap at the same time on the left and right. Determine the order of. Therefore, the image compression method control means 13R, 13L
The order of the compression encoded data given by is as shown in FIG. 2, for example. 2A is an explanatory diagram of a compression encoded data string of the stereoscopic video compression encoding device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is a diagram when these compression encoded data are decoded. It is a characteristic view which shows the time change of the amount of data in a buffer memory.

In FIG. 2, the compressed data in the image unit of the compression coded data sequence 21 of the right image and the compression coded data sequence 22 of the left image always appears every eight images, and the image data for the right eye and the left eye. In the image data, the compressed data in the image unit appears every four images and is compression-encoded so that the phase thereof is inverted with respect to time.

In FIG. 2B, the dotted line is the accumulated data of R, the chain line is the accumulated data of L, and the solid line is L + R.
Shows the accumulated data of. Further, 211, 212, 221 and 222 indicate image data that has been compression-encoded within image units, and the others indicate compression-encoded data for each image unit that has been compression-encoded between image units.

According to FIG. 2, by arranging the compression coding in the image unit at a fixed position, their appearances do not overlap each other, and as shown in FIG. 2B, these image data for the right eye are displayed. In the compression-encoded data of the left-eye image data and the intra-image compression-encoding do not exist at the same time, the memory capacity of the buffer memory at the time of decoding can be reduced.

On the other hand, in other cases, for example, when the compression coding form dynamically changes, the same method can be considered. However, with such a method, the interval between compression-encoded images in image units cannot be controlled. In particular, when a scene is changed, the patterns of images to be handled are completely different, so inter-image compression coding that refers to images temporally before and after is not effective. It is required to be used for improving image quality. Therefore, an image sequence in which there are many image changes such as scene changes may not be able to flexibly deal with the changes.

From this, according to the present embodiment, when either one of the image data for the right eye and the image data for the left eye is subjected to the intra-image compression encoding, the time at that time is stored in the time information storage means. 15, the other intra-image-unit compression encoding is performed only when a certain time has elapsed from that time, and both of them continue to perform inter-image-unit compression encoding at other times.

As described above, the three-dimensional moving image compression encoding apparatus according to the present embodiment has the image data input means 11R, which inputs the image data obtained by photographing from a plurality of directions.
11L, and compression encoding means 12R, 1 for compressing and encoding each image data for each photographing position obtained by the input means.
2L, and time information storage means 15 for storing the time when compression encoding is performed by the compression encoding means 12R, 12L.
Then, the compression encoding means 12R and 12L determine whether to perform intra-image unit compression encoding or inter-image unit compression encoding, and perform intra-image unit compression encoding or inter-image unit compression encoding according to the compression mode. Image compression method control means 13R and 13L for instructing, and the compression encoding means 12R and 12L.
It is possible to employ a configuration including a multiplexing unit 16 that multiplexes the compression-encoded data obtained for each imaging position into a series of compression-encoded data.

Further, a recording means 17 for recording the compression coded data obtained by the multiplexing means on a recording medium or the like may be added.

Furthermore, the compression coding means 12R, 1
An image that determines whether the current compression form is intra-image unit compression encoding or inter-image unit compression encoding in the compression-encoded data obtained in 2L and indicates the compression encoding method according to the compression form. Compression method control means 13R, 13L
And the intra-image unit compression encoding is performed at fixed time intervals based on the time information obtained by the time information storage unit 15, and the inter-image unit compression is performed during a predetermined time other than the intra-image unit compression encoding. The intra-image compression compression control means 14 for performing the encoding, the intra-image compression interval control means 14 and the image compression technique control means 13R, 13L perform intra-image compression compression performed by the compression encoding means 12R, 12L. The time is controlled so that it does not match the compression coded data for each shooting position.

In the present embodiment, a case has been described in which a stereoscopic moving image is represented by image data for the right eye and image data for the left eye, but when implementing the present invention, it is generalized to be two or more. A stereoscopic moving image can also be represented by image data.

That is, the three-dimensional moving image compression encoding apparatus of the present embodiment uses each image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions by intermixing the intra-image compression and the inter-image compression. In the three-dimensional moving image compression encoding device for compression, when the image data obtained at the specific position corresponding to the plurality of positions is compression-encoded in the image unit,
After a lapse of a predetermined time, the intra-image compression encoding of the image data obtained at the specific position corresponding to another position is performed, and this can be the embodiment of claim 1.

In addition, in the stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus for compressing each image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions by intermixing intra-image unit compression and inter-image unit compression, When the image data obtained at a specific position is compression-coded within the image unit, the storage unit has a storage unit that stores the time when the image data corresponding to the position is compressed within the image unit. Inter-compression coding is performed, and this can be the embodiment of claim 2.

In particular, in the stereoscopic moving picture compression encoding apparatus for compressing each image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions by intermixing intra-image unit compression and inter-image unit compression, In the example, the case where a stereoscopic moving image is represented by the image data for the right eye and the image data for the left eye is described, and the case where the compression within the image unit of the image data for the right eye and the image data for the left eye is alternately performed has been described. When the present invention is generalized and implemented, each image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions is subjected to intra-image unit compression encoding, and all other image data are subjected to intra-image unit compression encoding. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the self image data is compression-encoded within an image unit after a lapse of a predetermined time. That is, the intra-image compression coding can be performed by the rotation of each image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions.

That is, the three-dimensional moving image compression encoding apparatus of the present embodiment uses the image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions by intermixing the intra-image compression and inter-image compression. The three-dimensional moving image compression encoding apparatus for compressing has time information storage means 17 for storing the time when the intra-image compression of the image data corresponding to the plurality of positions is stored, and the image data obtained at the specific position is stored. At the time of encoding, after performing compression encoding on all other image data in the image unit and then performing compression encoding in the image unit after a predetermined time has passed, this may be referred to as an embodiment of claim 3. it can.

Further, the stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus of the present embodiment uses each image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions by intermixing intra-image unit compression and inter-image unit compression. In a stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus for compressing, a time information storage unit 15 for storing a time at which image data in a unit of image data corresponding to the plurality of positions is stored is provided, and image data obtained at a specific position is stored. When encoding, all other image data are subjected to intra-image unit compression encoding and then inter-image unit compression encoding is performed until a predetermined time elapses. This may be the embodiment of claim 4. it can.

Next, the compression-encoded data string thus obtained will be described.

In FIG. 3A, the image compression technique control means 13R, 13L in the stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus in the first embodiment of the present invention performs intra-image compression encoding at regular intervals to obtain image units. Explanatory drawing of the other example of the compression coding data string which performs compression coding between image units while not performing the inner compression coding, and (b) is used when these compression coding data are decoded. It is a characteristic view which shows the time change of the amount of data in a buffer memory.

In FIG. 3, in the compression coded data string 31R of the right image and the compression coded data string 31L of the left image, the shaded image data 311, 312, 313,
Reference numerals 321 and 322 denote images that are compression-coded in image units, and the other image data are images that are compression-coded between image units. Further, in the characteristic diagram of FIG. 3B, the dotted line shows the accumulated data of R, the chain line shows the accumulated data of L, and the solid line shows the accumulated data of L + R. The intra-image-unit compression interval control means 14 is provided with a time corresponding to two images of the images which have been subjected to inter-image compression coding by the time information storage means 15 as a time difference between the image data 311 and the image data 321. . Similarly, an interval for two images is provided between the image data 321 and the image data 312, and thereafter, the in-image compression interval control unit that determines that the image data sequence to be compression-encoded is an image with a relatively small change. 14 changes the interval to 5 images, and the image data 31
The image interval from 2 to the image data 322 is 5 images,
The image interval from the image data 322 to the image data 313 is still 5 images.

That is, the intra-image compression interval control means 14, which has determined that the image data sequence to be compression-encoded is an image with relatively little change, lengthens the timing of the image to be intra-image compression-encoded, and conversely, The intra-image compression interval control means 14, which has determined that the image data sequence to be compression-encoded is an image with a relatively large change, shortens the timing of the image to be intra-image compression-encoded.

In this way, the order of compression encoding by the intra-image compression interval control means 14 is compressed via the respective image compression method control means 13R, 13L for the image data for the right eye and the image data for the left eye. Encoding means 12R, 12
Control for L. By doing so, the amount of data accumulated in the buffer memory at the time of decoding and reproducing the compression-encoded data is compression-encoded in image units as shown in the time transition of the amount of data in the buffer memory in FIG. It is possible to avoid simultaneous appearance in the left and right image data and reduce the storage area used in the buffer memory during decoding.

When decoding these compression coded data, it is necessary to store the compression coded data while limiting the area of the buffer memory in which the left and right decoding means are used. That is, in the storage capacity of the buffer memory, it is necessary to change the area used by the right side and the area used by the left side according to the amount of data at that time. But,
These area restrictions cannot be recognized by the decoding device only by the compression coded data. Therefore, it is necessary to record the area limit value together with the compression-coded data on a recording medium, or record it in a predetermined area in the data to be transmitted on the transmission path and transmit it.

Such an example will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 shows the compression coded data of this embodiment as shown in FIG.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a data frame when it is recorded on a recording medium or the like by the recording means 17 of FIG.

In FIG. 4, since the buffer memory is limited in the recording area based on the amount of data in image units, the capacity limit of the buffer memory may change after new image data is constantly read or received. become.
The buffer memory use storage area flag f is added to the user area and the like in the compression encoded data header section to record the compression encoded data together with the compression encoded data on the recording medium and the buffer memory use storage area flag f is used for decoding. By limiting the used storage area on the left and right of the memory, it is possible to use the memory efficiently.

The stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus of this embodiment is
Image data input means 1 for inputting each image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions
1R, 11L and the image data input means 11R, 11
The compression coding means 12R, 1 that obtains the compression coded data by intermixing the intra-image compression coding and the inter-image compression coding of each image data obtained at L for each photographing position.
2L, a multiplexing unit 16 that multiplexes the compression-encoded data obtained by the compression encoding units 12R and 12L for each photographing position into one compression-encoded data, and the compression code obtained by the multiplexing unit 16. Recording means 17 for recording the encoded data on a recording medium or the like. In the recording means 17, the storage area of the buffer memory used when decoding the compression encoded data is set to an area corresponding to each photographing position. The divided memory is used, the buffer memory used storage area is given to a predetermined area of the compression encoded data, and the buffer memory used area is recorded together with the compression encoded data on a recording medium or the like. It can be an example.

Therefore, at the time of decoding, the buffer memory use storage area flag f is added to the user area or the like in the compressed coded data header section, and the compressed coded data is recorded together with the compressed coded data on the recording medium or the like, and when decoding. The buffer memory use storage area flag f can limit the use storage areas on the left and right of the buffer memory, so that the memory can be used efficiently.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the timing for compression-encoding each image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions within an image unit is set. It suffices to remove the timing when performing compression encoding. Therefore, when the stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus of the present embodiment performs intra-image unit compression encoding of image data obtained at specific positions corresponding to a plurality of positions, the timings of the intra-image unit compression encoding are mutually different. They do not match, and this can be the embodiment of claim 6. Therefore, when the compressed coded data is decoded, the compressed coded data in the image unit, which has a large amount of data, does not appear at the same time in the photographing position unit, so that it is possible to avoid filling the used storage area of the buffer memory. .

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In this second embodiment, when either one of the image data for the right eye and the image data for the left eye is subjected to intra-image compression coding, the time is stored in the time information storage means 15. In this method, the other intra-image unit compression coding is prohibited near the time, and both inter-image unit compression coding are performed during the prohibition time. Therefore, since the configuration is the same as that of FIG. 1, the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

First, when intra-image compression coding is performed on one image data, the time is stored in the time information storage means 15, and the other image is stored from that time until a certain time elapses. The data is subjected to inter-image compression coding as in the first embodiment.

Further, the image compression method control means 13R, 13
L determines whether to perform intra-image unit compression encoding or inter-image unit compression encoding, and instructs the compression encoding means 12R and 12L in accordance with the determination. At this time, the time at which the compression coding means 12R, 12L performed the intra-image compression coding by the judgment of the image compression method control means 13R, 13L is stored in the time information storage means 15. Then, one intra-image-unit compression interval control means 14 performs inter-image-unit compression encoding until the other intra-image-unit compression encoding can be performed, and the time information storage means 15 is executed. In the vicinity of the time at which the inter-image unit compression encoding obtained from the above is performed, the image compression method control unit 13 controls the inhibition of intra-image unit compression encoding.
Perform with R and 13L. Further, the image compression method control means 13
The factors by which R and 13L determine the compression encoding method of the compression encoding means 12R and 12L are, for example, when the right image is compression encoded, when the left image is compression encoded,
If the left side image is to be compression-encoded, the time information storage means 15 is checked for temporal information at which point the intra-image compression encoding was performed when the right side image was compression-encoded.
Then, the time interval set by the intra-image compression interval control means 14 is set to the both image compression method control means 13R, 13L.
To notify the timing of intra-image compression coding. The time information storage means 15 stores the time at this time,
At this time and in the vicinity of this time, the intra-image-unit compression interval control means 14 controls the respective image compression methods to prohibit the right-eye image data and the left-eye image data from being inconsistent or concentrated in the intra-image compression encoding. Means 13R, 1
Perform on 3L.

In this way, by changing the output of the intra-image compression image interval control means 14, it becomes possible to control the timing of intra-image compression encoding, and the compression encoding means 12R and 12L respectively. The compression-encoded image data is time-division multiplexed by the multiplexing means 16 and recorded as a series of compression-encoded data on the recording medium or the like by the recording means 17.

Next, the compression-coded data string thus obtained will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 5A, the image compression technique control means 13R, 13L in the stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus in the third embodiment of the present invention performs the intra-image compression encoding at regular intervals to obtain the image unit. Explanatory drawing of a compressed coded data string in which inter-image compression coding is performed while the inner compression coding is not performed, and (b) is a buffer memory used when these compressed coded data are decoded. FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram showing a temporal transition of the amount of data, and in particular, FIG. 5 shows that after intra-image compression coding is performed on either the left or right image data of this embodiment, within 2 images within the other image data. The example shows the case where the intra-image compression encoding is prohibited.

In FIG. 5, the compression encoded data string 41R
Shows the right image, and the compression-coded data string 41L shows the data string of the left image. Here, the image data 4 in the shaded area
Reference numerals 11, 412, 413, 421, and 422 indicate images that are compression-encoded in image units, and the other image data are inter-image compression-encoded images. Further, FIG. 5B is a characteristic diagram showing the temporal transition of the amount of accumulated data in the buffer memory used at the time of decoding. The dotted line is the accumulated data of R, the chain line is the accumulated data of L, and the solid line is L + R.
Shows the accumulated data of.

As the time difference between the image data of the image data 411 and the image data 421, the compression interval control means 14 in the image unit provides a time of three images or more. Therefore, there is a space of three images between the intra-image compression coded data 411 and the intra-image compression coded data 421, and the intra-image compression coded data 421 and the intra-image compression coded data 412. , And 4 frames between the image units, and 5 units of the compressed image data within the image unit 422 and the compressed image data within the image unit 413 are separated by 5 images. That is, since there is a space between three or more images, the prohibition restriction is not violated, and compression coding between image units is performed during that time. Such a restriction, that is, when the number of images is less than a certain number, inter-image compression encoding is performed, and by prohibiting intra-image compression encoding, the intra-image compression encoded images are displayed at the same time. It is possible to prevent overlapping on the left and right.

Therefore, in this way, the sequence in which the compression interval control means 14 in the image unit performs the compression coding is controlled to the compression coding means 12R, 12L via the respective image compression method control means 13R, 13L. I do. By doing so, the amount of data accumulated in the buffer memory at the time of decoding and reproducing the compression-encoded data can be reduced by the intra-image compression as shown in the time transition of the data amount in the buffer memory in FIG. It is possible to prevent encoding from appearing in the left and right image data at the same time, and reduce the storage area used in the buffer memory at the time of decoding.

As in the above-described embodiment, when decoding these compression coded data, it is necessary to operate while limiting the storage area used by the buffer memories used by the left and right decoding means. The buffer memory use storage area flag is added to the user area of the header part of the compression coded data to record the compression coded data together with the compression coded data on the recording medium and the buffer memory is used efficiently during decoding, as in the above embodiment. can do.

That is, image data input means 11R and 11L for inputting image data obtained by photographing from a plurality of directions, and image data for each photographing position obtained by the input means are compression-encoded. Compression encoding means 1
2R, 12L, a time information storage means 15 for storing the time when the data is compressed and encoded by the compression encoding means, and the compression encoding means 12R, 12L, the compression mode is intra-image compression encoding or image. Image compression method control means 13R and 13L for judging whether compression is between units and instructing a compression method according to the compression mode, and the compression encoding means 1
Multiplexing means 16 for multiplexing the compression-encoded data for each shooting position obtained in 2R and 12L into a series of compression-encoded data.
And a configuration including

Further, in the three-dimensional moving image compression coding apparatus according to the present embodiment, in the compression coded data obtained by the compression coding means 12R, 12L, the compression mode is intra-image compression coding or inter-image compression coding. Based on the time information obtained by the image compression method control means 13R and 13L that determines the compression and instructs the compression method in accordance with the compression mode, and the time information storage means 16, the compression within the image unit is performed at regular intervals of the number of images. The intra-image-unit compression interval control means 14 performs a control to prohibit the intra-image-unit compression encoding for a predetermined number of images other than the intra-image-unit compression encoding that has been encoded.
By the intra-image compression interval control means 14 and the image compression method control means 13R, 13L, the compression coding means 12R, 1
The embodiment can be controlled so that the time of the intra-image compression encoding in which 2L is performed is not concentrated on each compression encoded data for each shooting position.

Embodiments of this kind are claimed in claims 1 to 4.
It corresponds to the embodiment of.

Next, the recording means 17 for recording one piece of compression coded data obtained in the first to third embodiments will be described.

These compression-coded data are described by ignoring the recording order and the reading order of the left and right image data. That is, it is premised that a plurality of tracks or channels exist on a recording medium for recording compression-encoded data or a transmission line in communication, and the stereoscopic moving image data is recorded, decoded, transmitted, or received simultaneously on the left and right. . Further, in the existing stereoscopic moving image reproduction system, the recording medium alternately records left and right data, and image interlacing is used for image output, and is realized by using a scope synchronized with it. ing. Therefore,
It is necessary to reproduce in consideration of the recording order of the data and the output order of the image.

Here, the recording order when the compression coded data is recorded on the recording medium will be described.

In the existing compression coding method for stereoscopic moving images, either left or right is used except for the case of using a recording medium of a plurality of tracks and in the case of communication using a plurality of channels of a transmission path. Data is recorded or transmitted first. Also, at the time of decoding, the data is read in the recorded order or received in the transmitted order and decoded. At this time, the factor that determines the timing at which the decoded data is sequentially decoded depends on the amount of data stored in the buffer memory.

Therefore, according to the format on the recording medium on which the compression-coded data is recorded, or according to the transmission mode on the communication path, the image unit within the image unit by the compression interval control means of the above-described first embodiment is It is necessary to adjust two restrictions such as the timing of compression encoding, the time at which the intra-image compression encoding is performed by the intra-image compression interval control means of the second embodiment, and the prohibition of the intra-image compression encoding in the vicinity thereof. is there.

Therefore, first, either the left or right image data is recorded up to the area where one image unit can be completed. The compression coded data is read in the buffer memory in units of one image. As a result, after the compression-encoded data in the image unit is read, when the compression-encoded data in the other image unit appears after being separated by several image units, after either the compression-encoded data on the left or right is read out. However, half the time of one image unit is spent while the other compression encoded data is read.

Therefore, as the order of recording the compression-encoded data, if the intra-image compression encoding is performed by separating three image units as shown in FIG. The subsequent image may be a unit of three images ignoring the recording order (transmission order) shown in the figure, but the interval from the image to be compression-encoded later to the image to be compression-encoded earlier is 3.5. When the recording order is disregarded for each image unit, the compression encoding is performed for each image unit for four image units, and the images are sequentially recorded.

This recording operation will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a case where the storage time when the compression-coded data of this embodiment is recorded is different between left and right.

The expression at the bottom of FIG. 6 is a system in which left and right compression-coded data are simultaneously recorded, and a recording medium using a plurality of tracks and a transmission path using a plurality of channels are applicable. In addition, the upper part of FIG. 6 shows that the recording time of the left and right compression encoded data is different, and in the example of the figure, the left compression encoding data is recorded and then the right compression encoding data is recorded. Shows. Here, the image unit time is the time from the output of one image to the output of the next image in the same horizontal direction on either the left or the right. Further, 1L, 2L, ... Show the recording order of the left compression encoded data, 1R, 2R ,.
.. indicates the recording order of the right compression encoded data.

First, when there is no time difference between the recording of the left and right compression-encoded data as shown in the lower part of FIG. 6, there is a difference in the recording time between the recording of the image data 1L and 1R as shown in the figure. do not do. For this reason, when the interval of the intra-image compression coding is set to, for example, 2 image units time,
If the image data 1L is separated from the image data 3R and the image data 1R is separated from the image data 3L in time, the intra-image compression encoding can be performed. On the other hand, as in the representation at the top of FIG. 6, when there is a time difference such that the right compression-coded data is recorded after the left compression-coded data is recorded, the image data 1L and the image data 1L The time between the images of the data 3R is 2.5 image unit time, but the time between the images of the image data 1R and the image data 3L is 1.5 image unit time, which means that the above condition is not satisfied. Therefore, when the intra-image compression encoding is performed on the image data 1R, the left-side image cannot be subjected to the intra-image compression encoding unless it is the image of the image data 4L. Therefore, if the method of dividing the compression-coded data into units sufficiently smaller than the data amount of one image and recording them on the recording medium or transmitting them to the transmission path is adopted, the unit data amount is small as a result. The data can be considered to be recorded simultaneously on the left and right, avoiding the above-mentioned problems expressed in the upper part of FIG.

Next, the order in which the compression coded data is read from the storage medium when it is decoded will be described.

When the reading order of reading from the recording medium is different, the left and right images are read by utilizing the interlace of the reproducing device, and the left and right images are alternately switched at high speed and reproduced. The left and right images can be viewed separately by the left and right eyes using a liquid crystal shutter glass or the like synchronized with the operation. At this time, the left and right image read times have a half time difference between the left and right images as compared with the case where the above-mentioned read time difference is not taken into consideration. Therefore, at the time of decoding, the image data is not decoded with a time difference of half the decoding time for one image, unless the image data has a memory for storing the image that can reduce the half time difference. Done. For this purpose, similarly to reading the compression coded data from the recording medium or receiving it from the transmission path for each image unit, the image to be compressed and coded later is compressed and coded first. As an interval to an image, compression encoding is performed in image units with a time interval of four images, which is 3.5 images, ignoring the recording order (transmission order), and sequentially read.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a case in which the output time when the compression encoded data of this embodiment is read and encoded is different between the left and right.

The expression in the lower part of FIG. 7 corresponds to a method in which left and right compression-coded data are simultaneously recorded, for example, a method using a plurality of tracks in a recording medium and a plurality of channels in a transmission path. The expression in the upper part of FIG. 7 shows a case where the recording time of the left and right compression encoded data is different, and in the illustrated example, the left compression data is recorded and then the right compression encoding data is recorded. Here, the image unit time is
This is the time from the output of one image unit on either the left or right side until the output of the next image in the same direction on the left and right sides. The image data 1L, 2L, ... Show the recording order of the left compression encoded data, and the image data 1R, 2R, ... Show the recording order of the right compression encoded data.

As shown in the lower part of FIG. 7, when there is no time difference between the left and right reading, the decoding is performed simultaneously on the left and right, and when reading the image data 1L and 1R, there is a difference in the reading time as shown. Does not exist. Therefore, for example, when the interval of the compression encoding in the image unit is set to 2 image unit time, the image data 3 is set to the image data 1L.
If R and image data 1R are temporally separated up to image data 3L, intra-image compression coding can be performed. On the other hand, as expressed in the upper part of FIG. 7, when the right image compression coded data is read after the left image compression coded data is read, the decoding is also performed with a time difference. There is a need. Therefore, the time between the images of the image data 1L and 3R is 2.5 image unit time, but the time between the images of the image data 1R and 3L is 1.5 image unit time, which does not satisfy the above condition. It will be. For example,
If the intra-image compression encoding is performed on the image data 1R, it is understood that the intra-image compression encoding can be performed only on the left image from the image of the image data 4L. Therefore, as described above, the compressed and encoded data is cut into units sufficiently smaller than the data amount of one image unit and recorded on a recording medium, or by reading when it is transmitted to a transmission path, As a result, since the unit data amount is small, it can be considered that the data is read simultaneously on the left and right, and the problem described in the upper part of FIG. 7 can be avoided.

The compression coding means for coding and the decoding means for decoding basically exist separately for the image data for the right eye and the image data for the left eye, but the read time of the image data is interleaved. As in the case of the two fields of the race image, a plane image is read out with a shift of one image unit. Therefore, the left and right image data input means may be switched to a single image data input means for encoding and decoding. it can.
Also in this case, by applying the same compression coding in the first to third embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the storage area used in the buffer memory at the time of decoding.

In the above embodiment, the case of two channels on the left and right has been described, but the first to third embodiments of the present invention can be easily expanded to the case of a plurality of multiple channels. . As the method, as in the case of the left and right two channels described above, the intra-image compression coding within the image data to be compression-encoded and the intra-image compression encoding within the image data taken from another shooting position are performed. It suffices that the timings of do not overlap at the same time. However, in the case of multi-channel, there are cases where there is no image data that is close to the data value in all directions, such as when shooting from completely opposite directions. For example, when images are taken from 16 directions, adjacent two-direction unit image data can be set as one set. In this method, such a consideration may be made between image data sets that are close in data value, and the control target is not limited to all images. Also, like the lenticular lens system,
When the image data in a plurality of directions are relatively similar in data value, all the image data can be configured in the same decoding form.

Further, in FIG. 1, compression coding means 1
2R and 12L are prepared according to the number of channels of the image data inputting means 11R and 11L, respectively, and compression coding is performed in the left and right simultaneous parallel, and then the multiplexing means 16 multiplexes them. In the case of implementing the present invention, one compression encoding means is provided, and one of the left and right images is compared with the image on the opposite side, or the combined image from the left and the right is compared and referred to to obtain the left and right difference images. When the data is obtained and compression-encoded by inter-image-unit compression encoding, and in the case of intra-image-unit compression encoding, the intra-image-unit compression interval control means 14 controls to output all the left and right image data and perform compression encoding. By having this, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those of the first to third embodiments.

Image data input means 11R, 11L
If the image data input to the image data is already left / right mixed data, it is separated into left and right data via the demultiplexer or the like, and the result is obtained by the respective image data input means 11
Input to R and 11L. Then, these data are independently input to the compression encoding means 12R and 12L, and can be compression encoded by the same operation as in the first and second embodiments.

[0102]

As described above, in the three-dimensional moving image compression coding apparatus according to the first aspect, when the image data obtained at the specific positions corresponding to a plurality of positions is compression-coded in the image unit, the predetermined time is passed. After the lapse of time, since the intra-image compression encoding of the image data obtained at the specific position corresponding to the other position is performed, when the compression encoded data is decoded, the image unit having a large data amount The inner compression coded data does not appear at the same time or continuously for each photographing position, and it is possible to avoid filling the used storage area of the buffer memory.

In the three-dimensional moving image compression coding apparatus according to the second aspect, there is provided storage means for storing the time at which the image data in the image unit corresponding to a plurality of positions is compressed, and the image obtained at the specific position is stored. When the data is intra-image compression encoded, the inter-image compression encoding is performed for a predetermined time. Therefore, when the compression encoded data is decoded, the intra-image compression encoding with a large amount of data is performed. The converted data does not appear simultaneously or consecutively in units of shooting positions, and it is possible to avoid filling the used storage area of the buffer memory.

In the three-dimensional moving image compression encoding apparatus according to the third aspect, there is provided time information storage means for storing the time at which the image data in the image unit corresponding to a plurality of positions is compressed.
When encoding the image data obtained at a specific position, all other image data are compression-encoded within the image unit, and then the intra-image compression encoding is performed after a predetermined time has elapsed. By the internal compression interval control means and the image compression method control means, the compression of the image unit internal pressure at each photographing position does not concentrate at the time of the image unit internal compression encoding performed by the compression encoding means and in the vicinity thereof. When coded data is decoded, compressed coded data in image units with a large amount of data do not appear intensively at the same time or continuously in shooting position units, avoiding filling the storage area of the buffer memory. it can.

In the three-dimensional moving image compression coding apparatus according to the fourth aspect, there is provided storage means for storing the time when the image data in the image unit corresponding to a plurality of positions is compressed, and the image obtained at the specific position is stored. When encoding the data, after compression encoding all other image data within the image unit, the image unit compression encoding is performed until a predetermined time elapses.
By the intra-image compression interval control means and the image compression method control means, the intra-image compression compression at each imaging position is not concentrated at or near the time of intra-image compression encoding performed by the compression encoding means. When the compressed coded data is decoded, the compressed coded data in the image unit, which has a large amount of data, does not appear intensively at the same time or continuously in the shooting position unit, and the storage area of the buffer memory is full. Can be avoided.

In the three-dimensional moving image compression encoding apparatus according to the fifth aspect, the storage area of the buffer memory used when decoding the compressed data is divided and used corresponding to the areas photographed at a plurality of positions, Since the buffer memory use storage area is given to a predetermined area of the compressed data and the buffer memory use area is recorded on the recording medium together with the compression encoded data, the buffer is used when the compression encoded data is decoded. The storage area used in the memory can be divided and used for each photographing position, and the storage efficiency is improved.

In the three-dimensional moving image compression coding apparatus according to the sixth aspect, when the image data obtained at specific positions corresponding to a plurality of positions are intra-image compression-coded, the intra-image compression compression coding is performed on each other. Since the timings are not matched, when the compressed coded data is decoded, the compressed coded data in the image unit, which has a large amount of data, does not appear at the same time in the photographing position unit. It is possible to avoid filling the used storage area.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of a stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus that is a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 (a) is an explanatory diagram of a compression-encoded data string of a stereoscopic video compression encoding device in the first embodiment of the present invention,
(B) is a characteristic diagram showing a temporal transition of the data amount in the buffer memory when these compression-coded data are decoded.

FIG. 3 (a) is an image-unit intra-unit compression code obtained by the image-compression technique control means of the stereoscopic moving-image compression encoding device in the first embodiment of the present invention performing image-unit intra-unit compression encoding. 13B is an explanatory diagram of another example of a compression-encoded data string in which inter-image compression compression is performed while not performing encoding, and (b) is data in a buffer memory used when these compression-encoded data are decoded. It is a characteristic view which shows the time transition of quantity.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a data frame when the compression-encoded data of the first embodiment of the present invention is recorded on a recording medium or the like by the recording means of FIG.

FIG. 5 (a) is an image-unit intra-image compression code obtained by the image-compression technique control means of the stereoscopic video image compression-encoding device according to the third embodiment of the present invention performing image-unit intra-image compression encoding at regular intervals. FIG. 9B is an explanatory diagram of a compression-encoded data string that is compression-encoded between image units while encoding is not performed, and FIG. It is a characteristic view showing a transition.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a case where the storage time when the compression encoded data of the stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus according to each embodiment of the present invention is recorded is different between left and right.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a case in which the output time when reading and encoding the compression encoded data of the stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus in each embodiment of the present invention is different between left and right.

FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram of a conventional compression coded data string and a decoding completed image data string, and FIG. 8B shows a data amount accumulated in a buffer memory when decoding the compression coded data. It is a characteristic view showing a change.

FIG. 9 is a block configuration diagram showing a configuration of a conventional stereoscopic moving image encoding apparatus that obtains a stereoscopic moving image by using left and right two channels.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a conventional image data string for compression encoding of stereoscopic moving image data.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11R Right image data input means 11L Left image data input means 12R Right compression coding means 12L Left compression coding means 13R Right image compression method control means 13L Left image compression method control means 14 Image unit compression interval control means 15 Time information storage Means 16 Multiplexing means 17 Recording means A In-image compression coded data f Buffer memory used storage area flag

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A stereoscopic video compression encoding apparatus for compressing image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions by intermixing intra-image unit compression and inter-image unit compression, wherein When the image data obtained at the specific position corresponding to the position is compressed within the image unit, the image data obtained at the specific position corresponding to another position is compressed after the predetermined time elapses. A three-dimensional moving image compression encoding apparatus characterized by performing. 2. A stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus for compressing each image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions by intermixing intra-image unit compression and inter-image unit compression, wherein When the image data obtained at a specific position is compression-coded within the image unit, the storage unit has a storage unit that stores the time when the image data corresponding to the position is compressed within the image unit. A stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus characterized by performing inter-compression encoding. 3. A stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus for compressing each image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions by intermixing intra-image unit compression and inter-image unit compression, wherein: When the image data obtained at a specific position is coded, all other image data are recorded in image units. A stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus, which performs intra-image compression encoding after a predetermined time has elapsed after the inner compression encoding. 4. A stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus for compressing each image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions by intermixing intra-image unit compression and inter-image unit compression, wherein: When the image data obtained at a specific position is coded, all other image data are compressed within the image unit by having a storage unit that stores the time when the image data corresponding to the position is compressed within the image unit. A stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus, characterized in that after encoding, inter-image compression encoding is performed until a predetermined time has elapsed. 5. A stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus for compressing each image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions by using a mixture of intra-image unit compression and inter-image unit compression, The storage area of the buffer memory used when decoding the data is divided and used corresponding to the areas photographed at a plurality of positions, and the buffer memory use storage area is given to a predetermined area of the compressed data, A stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus, characterized in that a buffer memory use area is recorded on a recording medium together with compression encoded data. 6. A stereoscopic moving image compression encoding apparatus for compressing each image data obtained by photographing at a plurality of positions by intermixing intra-image unit compression and inter-image unit compression, wherein When the image data obtained at a specific position corresponding to the position of the image is intra-image compression-encoded, the timings of the intra-image-unit compression encoding do not coincide with each other. apparatus.