KR20130097687A - Encoding apparatus and encoding method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An encoding device and an encoding method thereof are provided to suppress a degree of image quality degradation and data quantity after encoding while suppressing the expansion of a circuit size. CONSTITUTION: Encoding units (130,140) sequentially encode a plurality of areas composing encoding target data. An accumulated encoding amount calculating unit (150) calculates an accumulated encoding amount. The accumulated encoding amount is an accumulated value of sizes of encoding data of one or more areas encoded by the encoding unit. When reversible/variable length encoding is performed, the encoding unit performs irreversible/same length encoding to the next area of the encoded areas if the accumulated encoding amount is bigger than a threshold value. [Reference numerals] (110) Difference calculation unit; (120) First selection unit; (131) Quantization unit; (132) Identical length encoding unit; (141) Variable length encoding unit; (150) Accumulated encoding amount calculating unit; (160) Determination unit; (170) Second selection unit; (180) Memory unit

Description

Encoding apparatus and encoding method

The present invention relates to an encoding device and an encoding method, and more particularly, to an encoding device and an encoding method for compressing video data and the like.

As a conventional technique for encoding video, various techniques have been disclosed. For example, reversible coding exists as a coding technique for video. In reversible coding, variable length coding is generally used. However, when variable length coding is used, there is a possibility that the amount of data after encoding is increased than the amount of data before encoding. Thus, various techniques have been disclosed to cope with an increase in the amount of data due to variable length coding.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes reversible coding (also referred to as "lossless coding") and irreversible coding ("lossy coding") so that the compression rate by reversible coding satisfies a target compression rate. Disclosed is a technique for switching a coding scheme among a).

For example, in Patent Literature 2, if the amount of data after encoding by variable length encoding does not exceed the amount of data before encoding, the data after encoding is output. However, the amount of data after encoding by variable length encoding is the data before encoding. In the case where the amount is exceeded, a technique for outputting data before encoding is disclosed.

However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1, it is necessary to determine the encoding method to be applied to the data in accordance with the amount of data after the actual encoding of the data, so that a buffer for holding the data after encoding is needed, and thus the circuit scale. Will grow. In addition, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, since processing is performed in units of blocks, many line memories are required for encoding and decoding. In addition, in the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1, a complicated calculation is required, so that the circuit scale becomes large.

In addition, in the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 2, it is necessary to determine whether data is actually encoded and to output the encoded data with respect to the data according to the amount of data after encoding, so that a buffer for holding the data after encoding is required. The scale grows. In addition, in the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 2, when the data before encoding is output, the amount of data cannot be reduced.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-303690 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-124969

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide an encoding apparatus and an encoding method that can suppress the amount of data and the degree of deterioration in quality after encoding while suppressing the expansion of a circuit scale.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an encoding apparatus including an encoder, an accumulated code amount calculator, and a determiner may be provided.

The encoder sequentially encodes a plurality of regions constituting encoding target data.

The cumulative code amount calculating unit calculates a cumulative code amount which is a cumulative value of the size of encoded data of one or a plurality of regions in which encoding by the encoder is performed.

The determination unit determines the relationship between the cumulative code amount and a threshold value.

Here, the encoder is,

When the encoding unit determines that the cumulative code amount is larger than the threshold value when encoding is being performed by reversible variable length coding, irreversible to the next region of one or a plurality of regions encoded by the encoding unit. Perform encoding by the same length encoding.

According to such a structure, when the cumulative code amount exceeds the threshold, the coding for the next area of the region where the encoding is performed is changed from reversible / variable length coding to irreversible / same length coding. Therefore, since only the encoding scheme for the next region of the region to be encoded is changed, a buffer for holding the data after encoding is not necessary, and appropriate encoding can be performed by a relatively small circuit scale.

Preferably, the encoder,

When it is determined by the determining unit that the cumulative code amount is not larger than the threshold value when encoding is being performed by reversible variable length coding,

Encoding by reversible / variable length encoding is continuously performed on the next region of one or a plurality of regions encoded by the encoder.

Therefore, the image quality can be properly maintained without deterioration while the amount of data after encoding is not larger than the threshold value.

Preferably, the encoder,

When it is determined that the cumulative code amount is smaller than the threshold value when the encoding is being performed by irreversible and equal length encoding,

The encoding unit performs encoding by reversible variable length coding on the next region of one or a plurality of regions encoded by the encoding unit.

Therefore, the image quality can be properly maintained without deterioration while the amount of data after encoding does not exceed the threshold value.

Preferably, the encoder,

When it is determined that the cumulative code amount is not less than the threshold value when the encoding is being performed by irreversible and equal length encoding,

Encoding by irreversible and equal length encoding is continuously performed on the next region of one or a plurality of regions encoded by the encoder.

Therefore, an increase in the amount of data after encoding can be suppressed while the amount of data after encoding is not less than the threshold value.

Preferably, the encoding unit performs reversible variable-length encoding on the head region of the encoding target data when starting encoding of a plurality of regions constituting the encoding target data. According to this configuration, the image quality can be properly maintained without deterioration until the amount of data after encoding is greater than the threshold value after starting the encoding.

Preferably, the determination unit determines the relationship between the cumulative code amount and the threshold value whenever encoding for each region is finished. According to such a structure, since the method of encoding with respect to the next area | region can be judged by the area unit which comprises encoding object data, operation | movement for suppressing the amount of data after encoding, and the grade of image quality deterioration can be performed precisely.

On the other hand, according to another aspect of the present invention,

Sequentially encoding a plurality of regions constituting encoding target data;

Calculating a cumulative code amount which is a cumulative value of the size of encoded data of one or a plurality of regions in which encoding is performed;

Determining a relationship between the cumulative code amount and a threshold value;

When it is determined that the cumulative code amount is larger than the threshold value when encoding is performed by reversible variable length coding,

Encoding by irreversible and equal length encoding is performed on the next region of one or a plurality of regions in which encoding has been performed.

According to this method, when the cumulative code amount exceeds the threshold value, the coding for the next area of the region where the encoding is performed is changed from reversible / variable length coding to irreversible / same length coding. Therefore, since only the encoding scheme for the next region of the region to be encoded is changed, a buffer for holding the data after encoding is not necessary, and appropriate encoding can be performed by a relatively small circuit scale.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the amount of data after encoding and the degree of deterioration in image quality while suppressing the expansion of the circuit scale.

1 is a block diagram showing an encoding apparatus of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
2 to 5 are diagrams for describing an operation of the encoding apparatus of FIG. 1.
6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the encoding apparatus of FIG. 1.

The following description and the annexed drawings are for understanding the operation according to the present invention, and a part that can be easily implemented by those skilled in the art may be omitted.

In addition, the specification and drawings are not provided to limit the invention, the scope of the invention should be defined by the claims. Terms used in the present specification should be interpreted as meanings and concepts corresponding to the technical spirit of the present invention so as to best express the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol about the component which has substantially the same functional structure.

1 shows an encoding device 10 of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the encoding device 10 of the present embodiment includes a difference calculating unit 110, a first selecting unit 120, an irreversible and equal length encoding unit 130, a reversible and variable length encoding unit 140, The cumulative code amount calculation unit 150, the determination unit 160, the second selection unit 170, and the storage unit 180 are included. The encoding apparatus 10 sequentially inputs a plurality of pixel data constituting an image.

The difference calculating unit 110 calculates a difference value between the input pixel data and the adjacent pixel data of the pixel. Pixel data is data (for example, pixel values) that a pixel has. Hereinafter, description will be continued as the pixel data before the adjacent pixel data is one of the input pixel data, but the adjacent pixel data may be pixel data adjacent to the input pixel data in any direction. The difference values calculated by the difference calculator 110 are sequentially output to the first selector 120.

The first selector 120 performs irreversible / same-length encoder 130 or reversible / variable-length encoding on the difference value calculated by the difference calculator 110 based on the determination result output from the determiner 160. Output to the section 140 selectively. In addition, although the first selection unit 120 is provided here to operate the irreversible and equal length encoder 130 and the reversible and variable length encoder 140 exclusively, the irreversible and equal length encoder 130 is provided. And the first selector 120 may not be provided when the reversible and variable lengths are operated in parallel.

The irreversible and equal length encoding unit 130 includes a quantization unit 131 and an equal length encoding unit 132, and performs non-inverse and equal length encoding on each difference value input.

The quantization unit 131 quantizes the difference value into data having a smaller number of bits than the number of bits of the difference value.

The equal length encoding unit 132 encodes the quantized data by assigning equal length codes to the data quantized by the quantization unit 131. The equal length encoder 132 outputs the encoded data to the second selector 170.

The reversible variable length coding unit 140 includes a variable length coding unit 141 and performs reversible and variable length coding on each difference value input. The variable length encoder 141 encodes the difference value by assigning a variable length code (for example, a Huffman code) to the difference value. The variable length encoder 141 outputs the encoded data to the second selector 170.

Each of the irreversible and equal length encoder 130 and the reversible and variable length encoder 140 is included in the encoder. Here, the encoding by each of the irreversible and equal length encoding unit 130 and the reversible and variable length encoding unit 140 is performed on the difference value, but the encoding target may be an object different from the difference value with the adjacent data. . Of course, it is preferable in this embodiment to impart biased data to the data distribution.

In addition, encoding by each of the irreversible and equal length encoder 130 and the reversible and variable length encoder 140 is performed in units of a plurality of regions constituting an image. In the following description, a line constituting the image (for example, a horizontal line constituting the image) is used as an example of the region, and the region can be partitioned in various ways, and the size of the region or the position of the region is It is not specifically limited.

The second selector 170 selectively selects the coded data input from the non-invertible / same length encoding unit 130 or the reversible / variable length encoding unit 140 based on the determination result output from the determination unit 160. Will output That is, the second selector 170 selects the irreversible and equal length encoder 130 or the reversible and variable length encoder 140 according to the selection by the first selector 120. The coded data output by the second selection unit 170 is output to the cumulative code amount calculation unit 150 and the storage unit 180.

The cumulative code amount calculating unit 150 is a cumulative code that is a cumulative value of the magnitude of encoded data of one or a plurality of lines in which the encoding is performed by the irreversible and equal length encoding unit 130 or the reversible and variable length encoding unit 140. Calculate the quantity. For example, when the encoded data of the j + 1th line is input from the second selector 170, the cumulative code amount calculating unit 150 determines the size of the encoded data of the j + 1th line in the first line. It is sufficient to add to the cumulative value of the magnitude | size of the coded data from -j to line j. In addition, hereinafter, the size of the encoded data (encoded data) will be named as the code amount.

The determination unit 160 determines the relationship between the cumulative code amount and the threshold value. Here, for example, if the threshold value used for the determination of the code amount of the first line is T1, the threshold value used for the determination of the code amount of the jth line can be made by multiplying T1 by j. . The threshold value used in this case corresponds to the upper limit cumulative code amount. However, for example, the determining unit 160 may use an average code amount that is an average value of the code amounts of one or a plurality of lines instead of the cumulative code amount. The threshold value used in this case corresponds to the upper limit average code amount.

The period in which the determination by the determination unit 160 is made is not particularly limited. For example, a determination may be made every time encoding for one line is performed, and a determination may be made every time encoding for 0.5 line or two lines is performed. The determination result output by the determination unit 160 is output to the first selection unit 120, the second selection unit 170, and the storage unit 180. In the following description, the upper limit cumulative code amount is used as an example of a threshold value.

The storage unit 180 can store the determination result input from the determination unit 160 and the encoded data input from the second selection unit 170 in association with each line. The type of the storage unit 180 is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or another storage medium. The encoded data stored by the storage unit 180 can be decoded by, for example, a decoding device (not shown). In the case of decoding, the encoded data may be decoded for each line by a decoding method according to the determination result.

Hereinafter, the operation of the encoding device 10 will be described in detail. 2 to 5 are diagrams for explaining the function of the encoding apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. In particular, FIG. 2 shows an example of encoding performed on the first line. As shown in FIG. 2, the reversible variable length coding unit 140 performs reversible variable length coding on the first line. The upper limit cumulative code amount may be set as the data amount before encoding, or may be set to a data amount different from the data amount before encoding. For example, if 12 bits of pixel data are applied and one line is composed of 2,048 pixels, 12 × 2,048 = 24,576 bits are the upper limit cumulative code amount for one line. It may be set.

Here, when the encoding is performed by the reversible variable length coding, when it is determined by the determining unit 160 that the cumulative code amount is not greater than the upper limit cumulative code amount, one or a plurality of areas that are encoded by the coding unit The encoding by the reversible / variable length encoding unit 140 is continued for the next area of the field. In the example shown in FIG. 2, since the cumulative code amount after encoding on the first line is not larger than the upper limit cumulative code amount, encoding by the reversible variable length coding unit 140 is performed continuously on the second line. do.

Subsequently, if the cumulative code amount is not greater than the upper limit cumulative code amount at the end of the encoding up to the j-1 (j is an integer) line, the reversible / variable length coding unit 140 performs encoding on the jth line.

3 shows an example of encoding performed on the j-th line.

Here, when it is determined by the determining unit 160 that the cumulative code amount is larger than the upper limit cumulative code amount when the encoding is performed by reversible variable length coding, the next area of one or a plurality of areas that are encoded by the encoding unit. Encoding is performed by the irreversible and equal length encoding unit 130 with respect to. In the example shown in FIG. 3, since the cumulative code amount after the encoding on the j-th line has been exceeded the upper limit cumulative code amount, the encoding by the irreversible / same length encoding unit 130 with respect to the j + 1th line is performed. Is done.

In the encoding by the irreversible and equal length encoding unit 130, since the data before encoding is compressed (for example, since 12 bits of data are compressed into 10 bits of data), The accumulated code amount does not exceed the upper limit accumulated code amount.

4 shows an example of encoding performed on a j + 1th line.

Here, when encoding is performed by irreversible and equal length encoding, when it is determined by the determining unit 160 that the cumulative code amount is not less than the upper limit cumulative code amount, one or a plurality of regions of which encoding is performed by the encoding unit The encoding by the irreversible and equal length encoding unit 130 is continued for the next area. In the example shown in FIG. 4, since the cumulative code amount after the encoding on the j + 1 line is made is not less than the upper limit cumulative code amount, the non-reciprocal and equal length encoding unit 130 encodes the j + 2 line. Is performed.

Then, if the cumulative code amount is not less than the upper limit cumulative code amount at the end of the encoding to k-1 (k is an integer) line, the irreversible and equal length coding unit 130 for the j + 1th line to the kth line is performed. Encoding is performed.

5 shows an example of encoding performed on the k-th line.

Here, when it is determined by the determining unit 160 that the cumulative code amount is less than the upper limit cumulative code amount when the encoding is performed by irreversible and equal length encoding, the next one of the one or more regions where the encoding is performed by the encoding unit The region is encoded by the reversible / variable length encoding unit 140. In the example shown in FIG. 5, since the cumulative code amount after the encoding for the kth line has been performed does not exceed the upper limit cumulative code amount, the encoding by the reversible / variable length coding unit 140 is performed for the k + 1th line. Is done.

In the encoding by the reversible variable length coding unit 140, since the data before encoding may increase, there is a possibility that a certain cumulative code amount exceeds the upper limit cumulative code amount. In that case, as described with reference to FIG. 3, the non-reciprocal and equal length encoding unit 130 may perform encoding on the next region of one or a plurality of regions in which encoding has been performed.

As described above, the encoding device 10 of the present embodiment temporarily allows the cumulative code amount to exceed the upper limit cumulative code amount. However, in the encoding device 10 of the present embodiment, it is possible to lower the cumulative code amount to be less than or equal to the upper limit cumulative code amount by applying irreversible and equal length encoding to the next line when the cumulative code amount exceeds the upper limit cumulative code amount.

6 is a flowchart showing the flow of operation of the encoding apparatus 10. The operation of the encoding device 10 starts with the accumulated code amount initialized and the value set to the upper limit accumulated code amount. First, the first selector 120 outputs pixel data of the first line to the reversible variable length encoder 140. The reversible variable length coding unit 140 performs reversible variable length coding on the pixel data of the input line (step S1), and the cumulative code amount calculating unit 150 performs a code amount of data subjected to reversible variable length coding. Is added to the cumulative code amount (step S2).

If the reversible / variable length coding for the line is not finished (NO in step S3), the reversible / variable length coding unit 140 returns to step S1 and reversible / variable length coding for the line. Is continued (step S1). On the other hand, the reversible / variable length coding unit 140 transfers the operation to step S4 when the reversible / variable length coding for the line is finished (YES in step S3).

Next, the determination unit 160 determines the relationship between the cumulative code amount and the upper limit cumulative code amount (step S4). Here, when it is determined by the determining unit 160 that the cumulative code amount is not greater than the upper limit cumulative code amount (NO in step S4), reversible / variable length coding is continued for the next line (step S1). In the case where it is determined by the determination unit 160 that the cumulative code amount is greater than the upper limit cumulative code amount (YES in step S4), the encoding by the irreversible / same length encoding unit 130 is performed on the next line. (Step S5). The cumulative code amount calculation unit 150 adds the code amount of data subjected to irreversible and equal length encoding to the cumulative code amount (step S6).

If the irreversible / same-length encoding for the line is not finished (NO in step S7), the irreversible / same-length encoding unit 130 returns to step S5 and irreversible / same-length encoding for the line. Continue (step S5). On the other hand, the irreversible / same length encoding unit 130 transfers the operation to step S8 when the irreversible / same length encoding for the line is completed (YES in step S7).

Next, the determination unit 160 determines the relationship between the cumulative code amount and the upper limit cumulative code amount (step S8). Here, when it is determined by the determining unit 160 that the cumulative code amount is not less than the upper limit cumulative code amount (NO in step S8), irreversible / same length coding is continued for the next line (step S5). In the case where it is determined by the determination unit 160 that the cumulative code amount is less than the upper limit cumulative code amount (YES in step S8), the encoding is performed by the reversible variable length coding unit 140 for the next line. (Step S1).

As described above, the encoding apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes an encoding unit for sequentially encoding a plurality of regions constituting encoding target data, and encoding one or a plurality of regions in which encoding by the encoding unit is performed. A cumulative code amount calculating unit for calculating a cumulative code amount, which is a cumulative value of the size of data, and a judging unit for determining the relationship between the cumulative code amount and a threshold value.

In addition, when the encoding unit determines that the cumulative code amount is larger than the threshold value when the encoding unit is performing encoding by reversible / variable length encoding, the encoding unit may be applied to the next region of one or a plurality of regions encoded by the encoding unit. Coding is performed by irreversible and equal length coding. According to such a structure, since the buffer which hold | maintains the data after encoding is not needed, it is possible to suppress the magnitude | size of the data amount and quality deterioration after encoding, suppressing expansion of a circuit scale.

The technique related to this embodiment is different from the technique described in the prior art document already disclosed. The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-303690 (Patent Document 1) is related to the technique of this embodiment in that the coding scheme is switched between reversible coding and irreversible coding to satisfy a target compression ratio. . However, according to the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1, it is necessary to determine the encoding scheme to be applied to the data according to the amount of data after the actual encoding of the data, so that a buffer for holding the data after the encoding is required. The scale grows.

In addition, according to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, many line memories (7 to 15) are required for encoding and decoding because a discrete cosine transform (DCT) operation is performed on a block basis. In addition, according to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the circuit scale also increases due to the complexity of the DCT operation.

In the technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-124969 (Patent Document 2), it is necessary to judge whether data is actually encoded and whether or not the encoded data is output for the data according to the amount of data after encoding. A buffer is needed to keep the circuit scale large. According to the disclosure, two buffers corresponding to 64 X 64 pixels are required, which correspond to two line memories of 4,096 pixels. In addition, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, when the data before encoding is output, the amount of data cannot be reduced.

According to the technique of this embodiment, a method of switching the coding scheme between reversible coding and irreversible coding so that the amount of data after encoding does not exceed a preset threshold value (for example, a value set to be equal to or less than the amount of data before encoding). It can be realized on a small circuit scale. Therefore, according to the technique according to the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the degree of data amount and quality deterioration after encoding while suppressing the expansion of the circuit scale.

The effect obtained by the technique concerning this Example is as showing below, for example. First, as the first effect, it is possible to suppress the cumulative code amount below the upper limit cumulative code amount while minimizing the influence on subjective picture quality.

In the technique according to the present embodiment, the coding method employed is the reversible / variable length coding method as long as the cumulative code amount does not exceed the upper limit cumulative code amount. Here, the case where the cumulative code amount exceeds the upper limit cumulative code amount is, for example, an image (image with diffusion) in which the difference value is not concentrated near zero when the frequency distribution of the difference value between adjacent pixels is taken. In this case, an image in which a code having a long code length is selected among the variable length codes is encoded.

Such an image is an image having a large area where a pattern is greatly changed or an image containing a lot of noise. Therefore, even if a moderate irreversible and equal length coding is performed on such a video, there is almost no influence on the main picture quality. Therefore, it is reasonable to switch to irreversible and equal length coding to suppress a code amount.

Therefore, in the technique according to the present embodiment, reversible / variable length coding is maintained as much as possible when encoding is performed on a video that is prone to deterioration. On the other hand, in the technique according to the present embodiment, when encoding is performed on an image in which deterioration will not be visualized, the cumulative code amount is obtained by switching the encoding method from the reversible / variable length coding method to the irreversible and equal length coding method. The cumulative code amount is suppressed below the upper limit accumulated code amount. As a result, maintenance of subjective picture quality and code amount control can be simultaneously realized.

The second effect is that the upper limit cumulative code amount (or the upper limit average code amount) can be freely set. For example, to set the condition that "the amount of code after encoding does not exceed the amount of data before encoding", the multiplication result is multiplied by the number of data bits of a unit pixel, and the multiplication result is the upper limit of the amount of code. Can be set. Further, for example, in the case where the number of data bits of the unit pixel is 12 bits, the condition "compresses the code amount after encoding to 11 bits or less on average" may be set. In this case, the upper limit average code amount may be set as bits.

When the upper limit average code amount is set to 11 bits, the probability that the code amount after reversible variable length coding exceeds the upper limit average code amount is higher than that when the upper limit average code amount is set to 12 bits. The probability that an irreversible and equal length coding method is selected as a coding method becomes high. Therefore, the user may set the upper limit average code amount after considering the balance between the image quality and the code amount.

Of course, in setting the upper average code amount, not only an integer but also a value including decimal, for example, "10.5 bits" may be set. More specifically, for example, when one line is 2,048 pixels, if the upper limit cumulative code amount of one line is set to 10.5 X 2,048, that is, 21,504 bits, the upper average code amount per pixel is 10.5. It can be set in bits.

Moreover, as a 3rd effect, it is possible to implement | achieve on a small circuit scale, without requiring a line memory and a buffer. For example, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the processing is performed on a block basis, several to tens of line memories are required for each of encoding and decoding, but in the technique according to the present embodiment, for example, every one line No line memory is needed because the processing takes place.

For example, in the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1 and the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 2, the data to be encoded is once encoded, and it is determined whether the code amount after encoding has exceeded the target value, and according to the determination result, The output is switching. For this reason, a local buffer for storing the encoded data is required.

On the other hand, the technique according to the present embodiment adopts a method in which the result of encoding the corresponding line is reflected in the coding method of the next line, so that a local buffer for storing the encoded data is also unnecessary. For example, in the technique according to the present embodiment, a code amount counter for measuring the code amount after encoding may be prepared. For example, in the case of encoding image data of 3 mega-pixels (Mpixel) per frame, one line may be used. Since a 15-bit code amount counter is required, a 26-bit code amount counter is sufficient for the entire frame screen. That is, a relatively small scale circuit is used.

The technique according to the present embodiment allows a slight deterioration in image quality compared to reversible / variable length coding for any video, but can provide an advantage of controlling the amount of code after coding instead. In addition, the technique related to this embodiment can provide the advantage that it can be mounted on a small circuit scale.

According to a preliminary experiment by the inventors of the present invention, even in reversible variable length coding for one line, a 12-bit signal can be compressed into an approximately 8-bit signal, and texture can be obtained. In the reversible / variable length coding for an image including a P-bit, 12-bit signals can be averaged and compressed into a 10-bit signal. Therefore, when encoding a natural video that does not include texture, it is sufficient that, for example, the upper limit average code amount is set to 12 bits.

In the case where the technique according to the present embodiment is actually applied, reversible / variable length coding is basically performed as compared with the case where reversible / variable length coding and irreversible / same length coding are frequently switched. Will be done.

In other words, in the technique of the present embodiment, in reversible / variable length encoding, for example, the amount of code after encoding does not exceed the original amount of data. In addition, the technique concerning this embodiment makes it possible to determine the upper limit of the code amount after encoding, for example. As a result, it is possible to obtain an advantage of facilitating the estimation of the memory size at design time. In this sense, the control of the code amount not exceeding the upper limit serves as a safety net in a sense.

In order to implement the technique according to the present embodiment more effectively, irreversible and equal length encoding that compresses the data amount of the number of bits smaller than the upper limit value of the code amount after encoding is preferable. For example, consider a case where the data amount of each pixel before encoding is 12 bits, and the upper limit average code amount of the encoded amount after encoding is set to 10 bits.

When the degree of compression by irreversible and equal length coding compresses the amount of data from 12 bits to 10 bits, the average enlarged to 10 bits or more by reversible variable length coding. It is less likely that the amount of code will fall below 10 bits. In other words, the cumulative code amount after encoding is less likely to be smaller than the upper limit cumulative code amount. Therefore, for example, in the degree of compression by irreversible and equal length coding, it is preferable to make the data amount from 12 bits to 9 bits or less.

On the contrary, if the upper limit value is set very low due to greedyness and high compression ratio irreversible / equal length coding is used, the difference in image quality with the reversible / variable length coding part is visualized, or the probability that irreversible / same length coding is selected is increased. Thus, the overall picture quality may deteriorate. One of the purposes of this embodiment is to "keep the overall picture quality" as can be seen from the point of reversible variable length coding, and to use the technique of this embodiment so as not to lose this advantage. It is necessary.

In the above example, a signal of 12 bits per pixel is input, but the size of the signal per pixel is applied to 8 bits, 10 bits, and 14 bits. Of course it can. In the above example, the relationship between the code amount and the upper limit value is determined for each line. However, even if the determination period is 0.5 lines or 2 lines, there is no problem. In addition, although the system with no line memory is mentioned as the pattern with the smallest circuit scale in the above, the coding method which takes the difference with the prediction value using the signal of 3 lines, and encodes it can also be applied to the technique of this embodiment, for example. Do.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the degree of data amount and quality deterioration after encoding while suppressing the expansion of the circuit scale.

The present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in various other forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof.

Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be considered in a descriptive sense rather than a restrictive sense. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and the inventions claimed by the claims and the inventions equivalent to the claimed invention are to be construed as being included in the present invention.

It is likely to be used in the real-time control field.

10: encoding apparatus, 110: difference calculating unit,
120: first selection unit, 130: equal length encoding unit,
131: quantization unit, 132: equal length encoder,
140: reversible variable length coding unit, 141: variable length coding unit,
150: cumulative code amount calculation unit, 160: determination unit,
170: second selection unit, 180: storage unit.

Claims (7)

An encoder which sequentially encodes a plurality of regions constituting encoding target data;
A cumulative code amount calculating unit that calculates a cumulative code amount which is a cumulative value of the size of encoded data of one or a plurality of regions in which the encoding unit is encoded; And
And a determining unit that determines a relationship between the cumulative code amount and a threshold value.
Wherein the encoding unit comprises:
When the encoding unit determines that the cumulative code amount is larger than the threshold value when encoding is being performed by reversible variable length coding, irreversible to the next region of one or a plurality of regions encoded by the encoding unit. The encoding device which performs encoding by the same length encoding. The method of claim 1, wherein the encoding unit,
If the cumulative code amount is not greater than the threshold value when the encoding unit is performing encoding by reversible variable length coding, the next region of one or a plurality of regions encoded by the encoding unit is determined. An encoding device that performs encoding by reversible variable length coding. The method of claim 1, wherein the encoding unit,
When the encoding unit determines that the cumulative code amount is less than the threshold value when encoding is performed by irreversible and equal length encoding, the next region of one or a plurality of regions encoded by the encoding unit is determined. An encoding device for performing encoding by reversible variable length coding. The method of claim 3, wherein the encoding unit,
If the cumulative code amount is not less than the threshold value when the encoding unit is performing encoding by irreversible and equal length encoding, the next region of one or a plurality of regions encoded by the encoding unit is determined. An encoding device that continues encoding by irreversible and equal length encoding. The method of claim 1, wherein the encoding unit,
An encoding device that performs reversible variable-length coding on a head region of the encoding target data in starting encoding of a plurality of regions constituting the encoding target data. The method of claim 1, wherein the determination unit,
The encoding apparatus determines the relationship between the cumulative code amount and the threshold value whenever encoding for each region is finished. Sequentially encoding a plurality of regions constituting encoding target data;
Calculating a cumulative code amount which is a cumulative value of the size of encoded data of one or a plurality of regions in which encoding is performed; And
Determining a relationship between the cumulative code amount and a threshold value;
When it is determined that the cumulative code amount is larger than the threshold value when encoding is being performed by reversible variable length coding, encoding is performed by irreversible and equal length coding on the next region of one or a plurality of regions where encoding is performed. The encoding method characterized by the above-mentioned.

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