JP2000224584A - Image encoding device and animation image transmitting system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable encoding an animation image into an image with high quality highly efficiently on a network where an error easily occurs. SOLUTION: A slice control part 2 is provided with a movement information calculating part 26 for discriminating a mobile area from a still area by the result of a movement detecting part 19, an encoding amount distribution calculating part 28 for measuring an encoding amount distribution on a screen from the measurement result of the encoding amount measuring part of an encoding part 1, a line capacity calculating part 27 for calculating a line capacity from the line capacity detecting part 36 of a packet transmitting part 3 and a slice structure deciding part 23 for updating a slice structure by the results of the movement detecting part 19, the encoding amount measuring part and a line capacity detecting part 36. The part 19 refers to the slice structure and detects the movement. An encoding amount control part refers to the slice structure and controls the encoding amount.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image encoding apparatus and a moving image transmission system for transmitting encoded image data via a network such as the Internet or a mobile communication network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the spread of the Internet, there is an increasing demand for a multi-service for simultaneously transmitting voice data and video data in a network system such as the Internet. As a protocol for such a real-time communication application on the Internet, there is RTP (Real Time Protocol). For real-time applications, TCP (Transmission
n Control Protocol) is not required. For example, in the audio reproduction algorithm, it is considered that it is more advantageous to allow data loss than to cause a long extra delay due to complicated processing of TCP. In other words, TCP
The order control service, redistribution service, delivery guarantee service, flow control, etc. provided by are not necessary.

[0003] Therefore, RTP uses UDP (User Datagr) for transmitting real-time application data.
am Protocol) is generally used.
UDP simplifies TCP processing and performs data transfer in only one direction. Specifically, the transmitting terminal only sends data to the designated port, and UDP does not care about data discarding, order reversal, flow control, etc., and the handling of these is left to the application. In addition, UDP can perform multicast using a special IP address for one-to-many broadcast applications such as audio conferences and video conferences. For these reasons, UDP is suitable for real-time applications. RTP supports only one message type: messages for carrying application data.
This is sufficient to carry simple applications, but many real-time applications require feedback and other response messages. These functions are implemented by another protocol, RTCP (Real Ti
me Control Protocol). RTCP defines five message types: a sender report packet, a receiver report packet, a sender description packet, a leaving message packet, and an application-specific packet. By using this RTCP, it is possible to feed back a delay such as a time stamp, the number of transmitted packets, the number of transmitted bytes, the number of discarded packets, and jitter. This makes it possible to configure a flexible real-time application.

When a moving image is delivered as a real-time application, it is not practical to deliver the moving image as it is because the amount of data is too large. Therefore, as a moving image compression method, H.264 is used from ITU-T. 261 and H.E. 263, ISO, MPEG1, MPEG2, M
PEG4 has been recommended. Among these moving picture coding methods, H.264 describes coding at an extremely low bit rate. 263 and MPEG4. H. 263, MPE
An environment where G4 is considered to be used is a case such as a wireless network such as the Internet or a mobile phone. In the case of the Internet, it is considered that a burst error such as packet loss or the like occurs, and in the case of a wireless network, a burst error such as packet loss or the like occurs, in which bits are inverted.

[0005] In consideration of such a situation in which a burst error or a bit error is likely to occur, more error resilience tools are added as compared with other moving picture coding methods. As one of such error resilience, there is an algorithm that divides an image into small slices and can decode the data only from data included in each slice. H. In the case of H.263, Annex K Slice Structure
emode and Annex R Independent
SegmentDecodingMode, M
In the case of PEG4, Annex E Resyncron
Ization. The former divides an image into slices having a plurality of macroblocks before encoding the image, and each slice is encoded independently of other slices. In the latter, a data size threshold value is determined, encoding is performed for each macroblock, and when the encoded data size exceeds the threshold value, a slice having a plurality of encoded macroblocks up to that point is set. The size of this slice has a significant effect on compression efficiency and error resilience.

When the slice size is large, the coding efficiency is improved because the reference area becomes large when performing motion compensation prediction, but error concealment becomes difficult when a burst error or packet loss occurs on the transmission path. Conversely, when the slice size is small, the coding efficiency is reduced, but the error resistance against packet loss and the like is improved. Therefore, H. When data encoded by H.263 or MPEG4 is transmitted through a transmission path having a high error rate, determination of a slice size is an important problem.

One example of the slice determining means is as follows.
It is described in JP-A-8-242445. In the image coding method described in this publication, the number of macroblocks in a slice of a video sequence is adaptively changed between a motion region and a still region in an image, and a small number of macroblocks are used in a motion region of an image. In the still area of the image, the coded data of the slice layer is configured by a large number of macroblocks, and the slice having the small number of macroblocks is assigned a priority class with a small cell loss rate during ATM transmission, In this method, a slice having a number of macroblocks is transmitted as a non-priority class having a high cell loss rate.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-107096 discloses a method of transmitting data with a high priority and a low priority. In a high cell loss level of an ATM network, information transmitted in a low priority bit stream is used. Is adopted according to the rate of cell loss in the network. In addition, a two-layer video coding technique is used in which compression efficiency and image quality are improved when the load on the network is low, and recoverability of cell loss is improved when the load on the network is high. The encoding device selects a prediction mode used to encode the low priority bit stream in response to the cell loss information signal generated by the remote decoding device, and selects a prediction mode within the low priority bit stream. This is done by changing the arrangement of the slice-start synchronization code.

[0009]

In the conventional image coding apparatus, a fixed-length slice is used in the resynchronization method shown in MPEG4, but since there is no means for controlling the code amount of the slice, the generated code is not used. Since the error tolerance cannot be controlled according to the amount, there is a problem that the influence of transmission errors increases.

[0010] Also, H. The conventional slice method shown in H.263 allows a slice of an arbitrary length.
Depending on the type of the image, the code amount may be concentrated on a specific slice, and when such a slice with the concentrated code amount is discarded, there is a problem that the deterioration of the image becomes severe.

Further, the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-242445 has a problem that the number of macroblocks in a slice is determined from a moving area and a still area of an image. This is because a small number of macroblocks are used in the motion area to lower the coding efficiency and increase the code amount. However, since there is no rate control for this, it is not practical for a line having a small line capacity.

Further, the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-242445 has a problem that the number of macroblocks in a slice is determined only from a moving area and a still area of an image. This is because there is no effect on a change in the circuit network because feedback information from the receiving side is not used.

The method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-107096 is based on the premise of a two-layer video coding technique, but depending on the other terminal, there are cases where such a layer coding technique is not supported. There is a problem that there is.

In the systems disclosed in JP-A-8-242445 and JP-A-7-107096, it is assumed that channels having different priorities are used, but such a function cannot be provided by a network. There is a problem that sometimes.

An object of the present invention is to provide a moving picture coding apparatus and a moving picture transmission system capable of coding a moving picture into a high-quality picture with high efficiency on a network where errors easily occur.

[0016]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an encoding means for compressing an information amount of an input video signal, and the encoding means is used in the encoding means. Slice control means for controlling a slice structure;
Packet transmitting means for packetizing the bit stream encoded by the encoding means and transmitting the packet to a network, the encoding means having motion detecting means, code amount controlling means and code amount measuring means, A slice information control means for determining a motion area and a still area from the result of the motion detection means; and a code for measuring a code amount distribution in the screen from the result of the code amount measurement means. Volume distribution calculating means, channel capacity calculating means for calculating the channel capacity from the channel capacity detecting means, and slice structure determining means for updating the slice structure from the results of the motion detecting means, the code amount measuring means and the channel capacity detecting means. The motion detection unit performs motion detection with reference to the slice structure, and the code amount control unit performs code amount control with reference to the slice structure.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, there is further provided a packet receiving means for receiving a packet discard rate from the image decoding apparatus, and the slice structure means receives the packet discard rate as a new input. The method is characterized in that the structure is determined.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, further, the packet receiving means or the image transmitting unit for receiving the area of interest of the image observer from the image decoding apparatus. The apparatus further comprises an area detecting means for detecting an area, wherein the slice structure means determines a slice structure by using the gaze area as a new input.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the slice structure determining means determines the slice structure such that the generated code amounts in slice units are substantially equal.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the slice structure determining means determines the slice structure so that the generated code amounts in slice units are substantially equal.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the slice structure determining means allocates a large amount of code to the attention area, and the generated code amount in slice units is substantially equal to the inside of the attention area. The slice structure is determined so as to be uniform.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in a moving image transmission system comprising an image encoding device and an image decoding device capable of decoding an output of the image encoding device,
The image encoding apparatus includes an encoding unit that compresses an information amount of an input video signal, a slice control unit that controls a slice structure used in the encoding unit, and an encoded bit stream of the encoding unit. Packet sending means for packetizing and sending the packet to the network, the encoding means has a motion detecting means, a code amount controlling means and a code amount measuring means, the packet sending means has a line capacity detecting means,
A slice control unit configured to determine a motion area and a stationary area based on a result of the motion detection unit; a code amount distribution calculation unit configured to measure a code amount distribution in a screen based on a result of the code amount measurement unit; A channel capacity calculating unit for calculating a channel capacity from the capacity detecting unit; and a slice structure determining unit for updating a slice structure from a result of the motion detecting unit, the code amount measuring unit, and the channel capacity detecting unit. The motion detection is performed with reference to the structure, and the code amount control means performs the code amount control with reference to the slice structure.

The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to claim 7, further comprising packet receiving means for receiving a packet discard rate from the image decoding apparatus, wherein the slice structure means uses the packet discard rate as a new input to slice the packet. The method is characterized in that the structure is determined.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of one of the seventh and eighth aspects, the gazing of the packet receiving means or the image transmitting unit for receiving the gazing area of the image observer from the image decoding apparatus. The apparatus further comprises an area detecting means for detecting an area, wherein the slice structure means determines a slice structure by using the gaze area as a new input.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the seventh aspect of the present invention, the slice structure determining means determines the slice structure such that the generated code amounts in slice units are substantially equal.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the eighth aspect of the present invention, the slice structure determining means determines the slice structure such that the generated code amounts in slice units are substantially equal.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the ninth aspect of the present invention, the slice structure determining means allocates a large amount of code to the attention area, and the generated code amount of each slice is substantially equal to the inside of the attention area. The slice structure is determined so as to be uniform.

[0028]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the image encoding device according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes an encoding unit 1, a slice control unit 2, and a packet transmission unit 3. The encoding unit 1 includes a video signal input unit 10 and a DC signal input unit 10.
A T (discrete cosine transform) unit 11, a quantization unit 12, a variable length coding unit 13, a buffer unit 14, a rate control unit 15, an inverse quantization unit 16, an inverse DCT unit 17, and a video memory Unit 18, a motion detecting unit 19, and a motion compensating unit 20
And an adder 21 and an adder 22. The slice control unit 2 includes a slice structure determination unit 23, a motion information calculation unit 26, a channel capacity calculation unit 27, and a code amount distribution calculation unit 28. The packet sending unit 3 has a packet generating unit 35 and a line capacity detecting unit 36.

First, the operation of the encoding unit 1 will be described. The DCT unit 11 converts the input video signal into 8
A matrix operation of DCT transformation is performed for each block composed of × 8 pixels, and the transformation coefficient is output to the quantization unit 12. The quantization unit 12 performs a quantization process on the input transform coefficient and outputs a quantized transform coefficient. The characteristics of quantization are
It is controlled by the rate control unit 15. The quantized transform coefficients are passed to the variable-length coding unit 13 and subjected to entropy coding processing such as variable-length coding and run-length coding. On the other hand, the signal decoded by the inverse quantization unit 16 to perform the inverse quantization process and transformed into a transform coefficient is subjected to a matrix operation of DCT inverse transform in the inverse DCT unit 17, and a prediction error signal is obtained for P and B pictures. In the case of an I picture, a signal corresponding to an encoded image signal is decoded. The adder 21 outputs a signal obtained by adding a prediction signal for P and B pictures and a signal as it is for I pictures. The output signal of the adder 21 is stored in the video memory 18. The output signal of the video memory unit 18 (the signal delayed by one frame of the encoded frame) is input to the motion detection unit 19.
The motion detector 19 detects a motion vector signal MV for each macroblock. At this time, motion detection can be performed using the slice information 101 input from the slice control unit 2 so that each slice or a plurality of slices can be independently decoded.

This motion vector signal MV is subjected to a predetermined encoding by a variable length encoding unit 13. The motion compensator 20 performs motion compensation based on the motion vector signal MV input from the motion detector 19, and generates a motion-compensated predicted image. The difference between the prediction signal and the image input by the adding unit 22 is calculated, and the difference information is input to the DCT unit 11 and encoded as described above.

The encoded data signal entropy-encoded by the variable-length encoding unit 13 is input to the buffer unit 14, and the output signal is passed to the packet transmitting unit 3 as encoded data. Further, the rate control unit 15 monitors the buffer and controls the quantization characteristic of the quantization unit 12 according to the state.

Next, the operation of the slice control section 2 will be described. The motion information calculation unit 26 is provided with the motion detection unit 19 of the encoding unit 1.
, And calculates motion information for each slice. The channel capacity calculation unit 27 receives the channel capacity information 104 input from the channel capacity detection unit 36, and calculates an optimum upper limit of the slice size. The code amount distribution calculation unit 28 receives the code amount information 103 from the buffer unit 14 of the coding unit 1 and calculates the code amount for each macroblock or for each predetermined area. The slice structure determination unit 23 includes a motion information calculation unit 26 and a channel capacity calculation unit 27
And the information from the code amount distribution calculation unit 28 to determine the slice structure. The determined slice structure information 101 is sent to the motion detection unit 19 of the encoding unit 1. The slice structure information 101 is also sent to the rate control unit 15. The motion information calculation unit 26 receives the motion information 102 from the motion detection unit 19 of the encoding unit 1, calculates the motion information in each slice as shown in FIG. 13, and reduces the slice area when the motion in the slice is large. However, when the movement in the slice is small, the slice area is increased. As a result, the importance of each packet can be made uniform.

Specifically, the line capacity information 104 used by the line capacity calculation unit 27 to calculate the optimum slice size is the maximum transmission unit of datagrams to be sent on the network, ie, MTU (Maximum Transmission).
on Unit)｝. When the size of a packet to be transmitted to the network exceeds this MTU, the packet is divided and transmitted as a plurality of datagrams on the network. In such a case, a packet created in consideration of error resilience is divided by the MTU size, resulting in a plurality of packets with low error resilience.

Next, a case where a multiplexing method is used to multiplex audio signals, video signals, control signals, and the like will be described. When a video signal is multiplexed, the video signal is divided by a certain data size and multiplexed with other data, so that the divided data size is desirably a unit having a certain meaning. Here, when data divided for multiplexing is set in slice units, error tolerance is enhanced when an error occurs in the multiplexed bit stream. Next, a case of transmission over an ATM network will be described. Also in the case of ATM transmission, error tolerance can be enhanced by limiting the size of one slice within the size of a cell as a transmission unit. As described above, the maximum value of the packet size in the transmission path generated at the time of transmission is very important from the viewpoint of error resistance. Therefore, the maximum value of the packet size is detected by the line capacity detecting unit 36, and the line capacity information 104 is input to the slice control unit 2 to generate a slice with high error tolerance.

The code amount distribution calculator 28 receives the code amount information 103 from the buffer unit 14 of the encoder 1, calculates the code amount for each macroblock as shown in FIG. 14, and calculates the code amount from the start of the slice. Is the line capacity calculation unit 27
1 until the maximum of the obtained slice size is exceeded
Let it be slices. FIG. 13 shows a state in which the maximum slice size is 9, and the slice structure is dynamically changing. Thus, the code amount of one slice can be controlled.

Next, the operation of the packet sending section 3 will be described. The packet generator 35 sends out the bit stream input from the encoder 1 to the network as a packet. The line capacity detector 36 determines the maximum value of the packet size according to the network to which the packet is to be transmitted and the network status by, for example, exchanging information with the network.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the second embodiment of the present invention, the same components as those in the first embodiment of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 2, an image encoding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention includes an encoding unit 1
, A slice control unit 2 and a packet transmission unit 3. The encoding unit 1 includes a video signal input unit 10 and a DCT
(Discrete cosine transform) section 11, quantization section 12, variable length coding section 13, buffer section 14, rate control section 1
5, an inverse quantization unit 16, an inverse DCT unit 17, a video memory unit 18, a motion detection unit 19, a motion compensation unit 20,
It has an adder 21 and an adder 22. The slice control unit 2 includes a slice structure determination unit 24, a motion information calculation unit 26, a channel capacity calculation unit 27, and a code amount distribution calculation unit 28
And a discard rate calculator 29. The packet sending unit 3 has a packet generating unit 35 and a line capacity detecting unit 36.

Next, the operation of the image coding apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. The operation of the encoding unit 1 is the same as the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention. Next, the operation of the slice control unit 2 will be described. The discard rate calculator 29 receives the packet discard rate information 106. From the discard rate calculator 29, the packet discard rate is determined by the slice structure determiner 24.
Is input to When the packet discard rate is high, the slice structure determination unit 24 reduces the maximum value of the slice size, and reduces the size of each packet, thereby enhancing the error resistance against discard errors. However, when the packet size is reduced, the error resistance is strengthened, but the code amount increases, and the load on the line may further increase.
The slice structure information 101 is output to the rate control unit 15 of FIG.
Rate control unit 15 that has received the slice structure information 101
Reduces the code amount adaptively in consideration of a given slice structure. Conversely, if the packet loss rate is small,
The slice size is increased up to the maximum value of the slice size input by the channel capacity calculator 27. By this operation, it is possible to perform encoding adapted to the fluctuation of the network line. The operation of the packet sending unit 3 is the same as the operation of the first embodiment.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the third embodiment of the present invention, the same components as those in the first and second embodiments of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 3, the image encoding device according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes an encoding unit 1, a slice control unit 2, and a packet transmission unit 3. The encoding unit 1 includes a video signal input unit 10, a DCT (discrete cosine transform) unit 11, a quantization unit 12, a variable length encoding unit 13, a buffer unit 14,
Rate control unit 15, inverse quantization unit 16, inverse DCT unit 1
7, a video memory unit 18, a motion detecting unit 19, a motion compensating unit 20, an adding unit 21, and an adding unit 22. The slice control unit 2 includes a slice structure determination unit 25,
It has a motion information calculation unit 26, a channel capacity calculation unit 27, a code amount distribution calculation unit 28, a discard rate calculation unit 29, and a gaze area calculation unit 30. The packet sending unit 3 has a packet generating unit 35 and a line capacity detecting unit 36.

Next, the operation of the image coding apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. The operation of the encoding unit 1 is the same as the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention. Next, the operation of the slice control unit 2 will be described. The gaze area calculation unit 30 divides the image into a gaze area and a non-gaze area using the gaze area information 107 and generates division information. The division information of the gaze area calculation unit 30 is input to the slice structure determination unit 25. In the slice structure determination unit 25, the motion information calculation unit 26, the channel capacity calculation unit 27, the code amount distribution calculation unit 28, and the discard rate calculation unit 29 determine each of the watch area and the non-watch area as shown in FIG. Distribute to different slices. The operation of the packet sending unit 3 is the same as the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention. In the image encoding device according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the discard rate calculator 29 may be deleted.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the same components as those in the first embodiment of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 4, an image encoding device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention includes an encoding unit 1
, A slice control unit 2 and a packet transmission unit 3. The encoding unit 1 includes a video signal input unit 10 and a DCT
(Discrete cosine transform) section 11, quantization section 12, variable length coding section 13, buffer section 14, rate control section 1
5, an inverse quantization unit 16, an inverse DCT unit 17, a video memory unit 18, a motion detection unit 19, a motion compensation unit 20,
It has an adder 21 and an adder 22. The slice control unit 2 includes a slice structure determination unit 23, a motion information calculation unit 26, a channel capacity calculation unit 27, and a code amount distribution calculation unit 28
And The packet sending unit 3 has a packet generating unit 35 and a line capacity detecting unit 36.

Next, the operation of the image coding apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. The operation of the encoding unit 1 is the same as the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention. The difference between the operation of the slice control unit 2 and the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention is that the generated code amount for each slice is made substantially equal. By making the amount of generated code for each slice almost equal, the slice size becomes smaller in the motion region and the slice size becomes larger in the still region. Therefore, if a packet is lost, the lost code amount is the same in both cases. Therefore, the effect on the image quality can be kept almost constant. The operation of the packet sending unit 3 is the same as the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the fifth embodiment of the present invention, the same components as those of the second embodiment of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 5, an image encoding apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention includes an encoding unit 1
, A slice control unit 2 and a packet transmission unit 3. The encoding unit 1 includes a video signal input unit 10 and a DCT
(Discrete cosine transform) section 11, quantization section 12, variable length coding section 13, buffer section 14, rate control section 1
5, an inverse quantization unit 16, an inverse DCT unit 17, a video memory unit 18, a motion detection unit 19, a motion compensation unit 20,
It has an adder 21 and an adder 22. The slice control unit 2 includes a slice structure determination unit 24, a motion information calculation unit 26, a channel capacity calculation unit 27, and a code amount distribution calculation unit 28
And a discard rate calculator 29. The packet sending unit 3 has a packet generating unit 35 and a line capacity detecting unit 36.

Next, the operation of the image coding apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The operation of the encoding unit 1 is as follows.
The operation is the same as that of the first embodiment of the present invention. The difference between the operation of the slice control unit 2 and the operation of the second embodiment of the present invention is that the generated code amount for each slice is made substantially equal. The operation of the packet sending unit 3 is the same as that of the first embodiment of the present invention.
The operation is the same as that of the embodiment.

Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the sixth embodiment of the present invention, the same components as those in the third embodiment of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 6, an image encoding apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention includes an encoding unit 1
, A slice control unit 2 and a packet transmission unit 3. The encoding unit 1 includes a video signal input unit 10 and a DCT
(Discrete cosine transform) section 11, quantization section 12, variable length coding section 13, buffer section 14, rate control section 1
5, an inverse quantization unit 16, an inverse DCT unit 17, a video memory unit 18, a motion detection unit 19, a motion compensation unit 20,
It has an adder 21 and an adder 22. The slice control unit 2 includes a slice structure determination unit 25, a motion information calculation unit 26, a channel capacity calculation unit 27, and a code amount distribution calculation unit 28
And a discard rate calculator 29 and a gaze area calculator 30. The packet transmission unit 3 includes a packet generation unit 35,
And a line capacity detecting unit 36.

Next, the operation of the image coding apparatus according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The operation of the encoding unit 1 is as follows.
The operation is the same as that of the first embodiment of the present invention. The difference between the operation of the slice control unit 2 and the operation of the third embodiment of the present invention is that a larger amount of code is allocated to the watch area than the non-watch area. The slice control unit 2 determines the slice structure so that the code amount in the slice is constant in both the non-gaze area and the gaze area, and performs code amount control. The operation of the packet sending unit 3 is the same as the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention. In the image encoding device according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention, the discard rate calculator 29 may be deleted.

Next, a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the seventh embodiment of the present invention, the same components as those in the first embodiment of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 7, the moving image transmission system according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention includes an encoding unit 1, a slice control unit 2, a packet transmission unit 3, a packet reception unit 4, and a decoding unit 5. And The encoding unit 1 includes a video signal input unit 10, a DCT (discrete cosine transform) unit 11, a quantization unit 12, and a variable length encoding unit 13
, A buffer unit 14, a rate control unit 15, an inverse quantization unit 16, an inverse DCT unit 17, a video memory unit 18,
A motion detector 19, a motion compensator 20, an adder 21,
And an adder 22. The slice control unit 2 includes a slice structure determination unit 23, a motion information calculation unit 26, a channel capacity calculation unit 27, and a code amount distribution calculation unit 28. The packet sending unit 3 has a packet generating unit 35 and a line capacity detecting unit 36. The packet receiving unit 4
It has a receiving unit 40 and a bit stream generating unit 42. The decoding unit 5 includes a buffer unit 51, a variable length decoding unit 52, an inverse quantization unit 53, an inverse DCT unit 54, a video memory unit 55, a motion compensation prediction unit 56, and an addition unit 57. are doing.

Next, the operation of the moving picture transmission system according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. Encoding unit 1
The operations of the slice control unit 2 and the packet transmission unit 3 are as follows.
The operation is the same as that of the first embodiment of the present invention. The receiving unit 40 of the packet receiving unit 4 receives the packet 201 transmitted from the packet generating unit 35 of the packet transmitting unit 3. The packet 201 received by the receiving unit 40 is passed to the bit stream generating unit 42, and the bit stream generating unit 42 reconstructs the bit stream from the packet. Bit stream 20 reconstructed by bit stream generator 42
2 is stored in the buffer unit 51 of the decoding unit 5. The bit stream extracted from the buffer unit 51 is decoded by the variable length decoding unit 52 and sent to the inverse quantization unit 53. The signal that has been subjected to the inverse quantization process in the inverse quantization unit 53 and decoded into a transform coefficient is subjected to a DCT inverse transform matrix operation in the inverse DCT unit 54, and a signal corresponding to a coded image signal is decoded in the case of an I picture. I do. In the case of P and B pictures, the motion compensation prediction unit 5 uses the image stored in the video memory unit 55.
6, motion compensation is performed, the signal is decoded, and the signal is added by the adder 57 and output as a video signal.

Next, an eighth embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the eighth embodiment of the present invention, the same components as those of the second embodiment of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 8, the moving image transmission system according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes an encoding unit 1, a slice control unit 2, a packet transmission unit 3, a packet reception unit 4, and a decoding unit 5. And The encoding unit 1 includes a video signal input unit 10, a DCT (discrete cosine transform) unit 11, a quantization unit 12, and a variable length encoding unit 13
, A buffer unit 14, a rate control unit 15, an inverse quantization unit 16, an inverse DCT unit 17, a video memory unit 18,
A motion detector 19, a motion compensator 20, an adder 21,
And an adder 22. The slice control unit 2 includes a slice structure determination unit 24, a motion information calculation unit 26, a channel capacity calculation unit 27, a code amount distribution calculation unit 28, and a discard rate calculation unit 29. The packet sending unit 3 has a packet generating unit 35 and a line capacity detecting unit 36. The packet receiving unit 4 includes a receiving unit 41, a bit stream generating unit 42, and a transmitting unit 43. The decoding unit 5
It includes a buffer unit 51, a variable length decoding unit 52, an inverse quantization unit 53, an inverse DCT unit 54, a video memory unit 55, a motion compensation prediction unit 56, and an addition unit 57.

Next, the operation of the moving picture transmission system according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. Encoding unit 1
The operations of the slice control unit 2 and the packet transmission unit 3 are as follows.
The operation is the same as that of the second embodiment of the present invention. The receiving unit 41 of the packet receiving unit 4 receives the packet 201 transmitted from the packet generating unit 35 of the packet transmitting unit 3.
The packet 201 received by the receiving unit 41 is passed to the bit stream generating unit 42, and the bit stream generating unit 42 reconstructs the bit stream from the packet. Further, the packet loss rate information is transmitted from the receiving unit 41 to the transmitting unit 43. The packet discard rate information 106 is transmitted from the transmission unit 43 to the discard rate calculation unit 29 of the slice control unit 2. Bit stream 20 reconstructed by bit stream generator 42
2 is stored in the buffer unit 51 of the decoding unit 5. Decoding unit 5
Is the same as the operation of the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

Next, a ninth embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the ninth embodiment of the present invention, the same components as those in the third embodiment of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 9, a moving image transmission system according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention includes an encoding unit 1, a slice control unit 2, a packet transmission unit 3, a packet reception unit 4, and a decoding unit 5. And The encoding unit 1 includes a video signal input unit 10, a DCT (discrete cosine transform) unit 11, a quantization unit 12, and a variable length encoding unit 13
, A buffer unit 14, a rate control unit 15, an inverse quantization unit 16, an inverse DCT unit 17, a video memory unit 18,
A motion detector 19, a motion compensator 20, an adder 21,
And an adder 22. The slice control unit 2 includes a slice structure determination unit 25, a motion information calculation unit 26, a channel capacity calculation unit 27, a code amount distribution calculation unit 28, a discard rate calculation unit 29, and a watch area calculation unit 30. are doing. The packet sending unit 3 has a packet generating unit 35 and a line capacity detecting unit 36. The packet receiving unit 4 includes a receiving unit 41
, A bit stream generation unit 42 and a transmission unit 43. The decoding unit 5 includes a buffer unit 51, a variable length decoding unit 52, an inverse quantization unit 53, an inverse DCT unit 54, a video memory unit 55, a motion compensation prediction unit 56,
7 are provided. The moving image transmission system according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention further includes a gaze area input device 71 connected to the gaze area calculation unit 30 and a gaze area input device 61 connected to the transmission unit 43. are doing.

Next, the operation of the moving picture transmission system according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. Encoding unit 1
The operations of the slice control unit 2 and the packet transmission unit 3 are as follows.
The operation is the same as that of the third embodiment of the present invention. The receiving unit 41 of the packet receiving unit 4 receives the packet 201 transmitted from the packet generating unit 35 of the packet transmitting unit 3.
The packet 201 received by the receiving unit 41 is passed to the bit stream generating unit 42, and the bit stream generating unit 42 reconstructs the bit stream from the packet. Also, the packet discard rate information is transmitted from the packet receiving unit 41 to the transmitting unit 43.
Sent to The attention area information 203 of the recipient obtained by the attention area input device 61 is sent to the transmission unit 43. From the packet transmission unit 43, the packet discard rate information 106 is sent to the discard rate calculation unit 29 of the slice control unit 2, and the attention area information 107 is sent to the attention area calculation unit 30 of the slice control unit 2.

The bit stream 202 reconstructed by the bit stream generator 42 is supplied to the buffer 51 of the decoder 5.
Is stored in The operation of the decoding unit 5 is the same as the operation of the seventh embodiment of the present invention. The attention area input device 71 sends attention area information 108 from the sender to the attention area calculation unit 30 of the slice control unit 2. In the moving image transmission system according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention, the discard rate calculator 29 may be deleted.

Next, a tenth embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the tenth embodiment of the present invention, the same components as those of the fourth embodiment of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 10, a moving image transmission system according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention includes an encoding unit 1, a slice control unit 2, a packet transmission unit 3, a packet reception unit 4, and a decoding unit 5. And The encoding unit 1 includes a video signal input unit 10 and a DCT
(Discrete cosine transform) section 11, quantization section 12, variable length coding section 13, buffer section 14, rate control section 1
5, an inverse quantization unit 16, an inverse DCT unit 17, a video memory unit 18, a motion detection unit 19, a motion compensation unit 20,
It has an adder 21 and an adder 22. The slice control unit 2 includes a slice structure determination unit 23, a motion information calculation unit 26, a channel capacity calculation unit 27, and a code amount distribution calculation unit 28
And The packet sending unit 3 has a packet generating unit 35 and a line capacity detecting unit 36. The packet receiving unit 4 includes a receiving unit 40 and a bit stream generating unit 4
And 2. The decoding unit 5 includes a buffer unit 51, a variable length decoding unit 52, an inverse quantization unit 53, and an inverse DCT unit 5.
4, a video memory unit 55, a motion compensation prediction unit 56,
And an adder 57.

Next, the operation of the moving picture transmission system according to the tenth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The operations of the encoding unit 1, the slice control unit 2, and the packet sending unit 3 are the same as the operations of the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The operations of the packet receiving unit 4 and the decoding unit 5 are the same as the operations of the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

Next, an eleventh embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the eleventh embodiment of the present invention, the same components as those in the fifth embodiment of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 11, a moving image transmission system according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention includes an encoding unit 1, a slice control unit 2, a packet transmission unit 3, a packet reception unit 4, and a decoding unit 5 And The encoding unit 1 includes a video signal input unit 10 and a DCT
(Discrete cosine transform) section 11, quantization section 12, variable length coding section 13, buffer section 14, rate control section 1
5, an inverse quantization unit 16, an inverse DCT unit 17, a video memory unit 18, a motion detection unit 19, a motion compensation unit 20,
It has an adder 21 and an adder 22. The slice control unit 2 includes a slice structure determination unit 24, a motion information calculation unit 26, a channel capacity calculation unit 27, and a code amount distribution calculation unit 28
And a discard rate calculator 29. The packet sending unit 3 has a packet generating unit 35 and a line capacity detecting unit 36. The packet receiving unit 4 includes a receiving unit 41, a bit stream generating unit 42, and a transmitting unit 43. The decoding unit 5 includes a buffer unit 51 and a variable length decoding unit 5.
2, an inverse quantization unit 53, an inverse DCT unit 54, a video memory unit 55, a motion compensation prediction unit 56, and an addition unit 57.

Next, the operation of the moving picture transmission system according to the eleventh embodiment of the present invention will be described. The operations of the encoding unit 1, the slice control unit 2, and the packet transmission unit 3 are the same as the operations of the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The operation of the packet receiving unit 4 is the same as the operation of the eighth embodiment of the present invention. The operation of the decoding unit 5 is the same as the operation of the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

Next, a twelfth embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the twelfth embodiment of the present invention, the same components as those in the ninth embodiment of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 12, a moving image transmission system according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention includes an encoding unit 1, a slice control unit 2, a packet transmission unit 3, a packet reception unit 4, and a decoding unit 5 And The encoding unit 1 includes a video signal input unit 10 and a DCT
(Discrete cosine transform) section 11, quantization section 12, variable length coding section 13, buffer section 14, rate control section 1
5, an inverse quantization unit 16, an inverse DCT unit 17, a video memory unit 18, a motion detection unit 19, a motion compensation unit 20,
It has an adder 21 and an adder 22. The slice control unit 2 includes a slice structure determination unit 25, a motion information calculation unit 26, a channel capacity calculation unit 27, and a code amount distribution calculation unit 28
And a discard rate calculator 29 and a gaze area calculator 30. The packet transmission unit 3 includes a packet generation unit 35,
And a line capacity detecting unit 36. Packet receiver 4
Has a receiving unit 41, a bit stream generating unit 42, and a transmitting unit 43. The decoding unit 5 includes a buffer unit 51
, A variable length decoding unit 52, an inverse quantization unit 53, and an inverse DC
T unit 54, video memory unit 55, motion compensation prediction unit 5
6 and an adder 57. The moving image transmission system as the twelfth embodiment of the present invention further includes a gaze area input device 71 connected to the gaze area calculation unit 30,
A gaze area input device 61 connected to the transmission unit 43;

Next, the operation of the moving picture transmission system according to the twelfth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The operations of the encoding unit 1, the slice control unit 2, and the packet sending unit 3 are the same as the operations of the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The operation of the packet receiving unit 4 is the same as the operation of the ninth embodiment of the present invention. The operation of the decoding unit 5 is the same as the operation of the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

Next, a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the thirteenth embodiment of the present invention, the same components as those of the twelfth embodiment of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG.
The moving image transmission system according to the thirteenth embodiment of the present invention includes an encoding unit 1, a slice control unit 2, a packet transmission unit 3, a packet reception unit 4, and a decoding unit 5. The encoding unit 1 includes a video signal input unit 10 and a DCT
(Discrete cosine transform) section 11, quantization section 12, variable length coding section 13, buffer section 14, rate control section 1
5, an inverse quantization unit 16, an inverse DCT unit 17, a video memory unit 18, a motion detection unit 19, a motion compensation unit 20,
It has an adder 21 and an adder 22. The slice control unit 2 includes a slice structure determination unit 25, a motion information calculation unit 26, a channel capacity calculation unit 27, and a code amount distribution calculation unit 28
And a discard rate calculator 29 and a gaze area calculator 30. The packet transmission unit 3 includes a packet generation unit 35,
And a line capacity detecting unit 36. Packet receiver 4
Has a receiving unit 41, a bit stream generating unit 42, and a transmitting unit 43. The decoding unit 5 includes a buffer unit 51
, A variable length decoding unit 52, an inverse quantization unit 53, and an inverse DC
T unit 54, video memory unit 55, motion compensation prediction unit 5
6 and an adder 57. The moving image transmission system as the twelfth embodiment of the present invention further includes a gaze area input device 71 connected to the gaze area calculation unit 30,
A gaze area input device 61 connected to the transmission unit 43;

A moving image transmission system according to a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention is on the Internet. As a method of the encoding unit 1 and the decoding unit 5, H.264 is used. 263, MP
EG4 and the like. The packet transmitting unit 3 includes RTP, and the packet receiving unit 4 includes RTCP as the packet transmitting unit 43. The encoding unit 1 receives a slice structure from the slice control unit 2, and encodes an input image based on the slice structure. The motion information calculator 26 receives the vertical and horizontal motion vectors from the motion detector 19 of the encoder 1. The line capacity calculator 27 receives the maximum value of the packet size on the network. The code amount distribution calculator 28 receives the code amount of each macroblock from the buffer unit 14 of the encoder 1. The discard rate calculator 29 receives the discard rate from the RTCP header. The gaze area calculation unit 30 determines whether each macroblock in the image is a gaze area or a non-gaze area.

The slice structure determining unit 25 determines the slice structure based on the respective information inputted and encodes the slice structure.
Is input to the motion detection unit 19. The packet transmission unit 3 packetizes the received bit stream into a packet conforming to the RTP format and transmits the packet to the network. The packet receiving unit 4 receives the packet in the RTP format and sends the packet to the bit stream generating unit 42.

The information required for RTCP is calculated and sent to the transmitting unit 43. The transmitting unit 43 receives the gaze area from the gaze area input device 61. The transmission unit 43 transmits the packet in the RTCP format and the attention area information to the transmission side. The bit stream generation unit 42 converts the packet into a bit stream and sends the packet to the decoding unit 5. The decoding unit 5 decodes the received bit stream and outputs an image.

Next, a fourteenth embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the fourteenth embodiment of the present invention, the same components as those of the twelfth embodiment of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG.
The moving image transmission system according to the fourteenth embodiment of the present invention includes an encoding unit 1, a slice control unit 2, a packet transmission unit 3, a packet reception unit 4, and a decoding unit 5. The encoding unit 1 includes a video signal input unit 10 and a DCT
(Discrete cosine transform) section 11, quantization section 12, variable length coding section 13, buffer section 14, rate control section 1
5, an inverse quantization unit 16, an inverse DCT unit 17, a video memory unit 18, a motion detection unit 19, a motion compensation unit 20,
It has an adder 21 and an adder 22. The slice control unit 2 includes a slice structure determination unit 25, a motion information calculation unit 26, a channel capacity calculation unit 27, and a code amount distribution calculation unit 28
And a discard rate calculator 29 and a gaze area calculator 30. The packet transmission unit 3 includes a packet generation unit 35,
And a line capacity detecting unit 36. Packet receiver 4
Has a receiving unit 41, a bit stream generating unit 42, and a transmitting unit 43. The decoding unit 5 includes a buffer unit 51
, A variable length decoding unit 52, an inverse quantization unit 53, and an inverse DC
T unit 54, video memory unit 55, motion compensation prediction unit 5
6 and an adder 57. The moving image transmission system as the twelfth embodiment of the present invention further includes a gaze area input device 71 connected to the gaze area calculation unit 30,
A gaze area input device 61 connected to the transmission unit 43;

A moving image transmission system as a fourteenth embodiment of the present invention is on a mobile communication network. As a method of the encoding unit 1 and the decoding unit 5, H.264 is used. 263, MPE
G4 and the like. As the transmitting unit 43 of the packet transmitting unit 3 and the packet receiving unit 4, the H.264 standard of ITU is used. 223, and H.R.
H.223 transmitted on H.223 245. Here, H. 2
H.23 is a multiplexing system. 245 is a signaling method.

The encoding unit 1 receives a slice structure from the slice control unit 2 and encodes an input image based on the slice structure. The motion information calculator 26 receives the vertical and horizontal motion vectors from the motion detector 19 of the encoder 1. The line capacity calculation unit 27 determines the maximum value of the packet size on the line, for example, in H.264. 245 f
orward Maximum SDU Size,
backward Maximum SDU Size
Received by command. The code amount distribution calculator 28 receives the code amount of each macroblock from the buffer unit 14 of the encoder 1.

In the discard rate calculation unit 29, the H.264 H22 of 245
3Multiplex Reconfiguratio
The discard rate information is received by the n command or the like, and the discard rate is calculated. Here, H. 223 Multiplex R
The E.configuration command is based on the frequency of error occurrence on the line. Since the error tolerance mode of the H.223 itself is strengthened or weakened, a value substantially equivalent to the discard rate can be calculated by this command. In addition, H. 263 Annex N
Reference Picture Selecti
In the on mode, error information in an image can be notified from the receiving side to the transmitting side. The discard rate can also be calculated based on this notification information.

The gaze area calculation unit 30 determines whether each macroblock in the image is a gaze area or a non-gaze area. Alternatively, the above Annex N Refer
rence Picture Selection M
Using the mode, the receiver can intentionally increase the code amount allocation by making the attention area look like a discard area. The slice structure determination unit 25 determines a slice structure based on the input information, and inputs the slice structure to the motion detection unit 19 of the encoding unit 1. The packet transmitting unit 3 converts the received bit stream into an H.264 packet. H.223 is formed into a packet conforming to the data defined in H.223. 223 to the multiplexer.

The packet receiving unit 4 receives a packet from the multiplexed data, and
Send the packet to In the transmitting unit 43, the gaze area input device 6
A gaze area is received from 1. The transmitting unit 43 provides the transmitting side with, for example, H.264. H223 Multiplex Rec of H.245
Send the configuration command and the attention area information. The bit stream generation unit 42 converts the packet into a bit stream and sends the packet to the decoding unit 5. The decoding unit 5 decodes the received bit stream and outputs an image.

In the embodiment of the present invention, since the section for controlling the code amount of the slice is provided, the error tolerance can be controlled according to the generated code amount, and the influence of the transmission error can be controlled. . Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, since the maximum value of one slice size can be set to a size suitable for each network, it is possible to avoid packet division in a layer below the image encoding device.
Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, since the encoding device performs encoding using the discard rate as feedback information from the receiving side, encoding can be performed in response to network line fluctuations. Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, by using the attention area information which is feedback information from the reception side and the attention area information on the transmission side, the important parts for the transmitter and the receiver are separated from the parts which are not important. The encoding device can perform the encoding.

[0071]

According to the present invention, the effect of an error can be minimized by controlling the error resilience in accordance with the generated code amount, so that a moving image can be efficiently displayed on a network where errors are likely to occur. It can be encoded into high quality images.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an image encoding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an image encoding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an image encoding device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an image encoding device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an image encoding device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an image encoding device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a moving image transmission system as a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a moving image transmission system as an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a moving image transmission system as a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a moving image transmission system as a tenth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a moving image transmission system as an eleventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a moving image transmission system according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the slice control unit in FIGS. 1 to 12;

FIG. 14 is another diagram for operating the slice control unit in FIGS.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a gaze area in FIGS. 3, 6, 9 and 12;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Encoding part 2 Slice control part 3 Packet sending part 4 Packet receiving part 5 Decoding part 10 Video signal input part 11 DCT part 12 Quantization part 13 Variable length coding part 14 Buffer part 15 Rate control part 16 Dequantization part 17 Inverse DCT unit 18 Video memory unit 19 Motion detection unit 20 Motion compensation unit 21, 22 Addition unit 23-25 Slice structure determination unit 26 Motion information calculation unit 27 Line capacity calculation unit 28 Code amount distribution calculation unit 29 Discard rate calculation unit 30 Watching Area calculation unit 35 Packet generation unit 36 Line capacity detection unit 40, 41 Reception unit 42 Bit stream generation unit 43 Transmission unit 51 Buffer unit 52 Variable length decoding unit 53 Dequantization unit 54 Inverse DCT unit 55 Video memory unit 56 Motion compensation Prediction unit 57 Addition unit 61, 71 Gaze area input device

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] December 20, 1999 (1999.12.
20)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Claims]

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0002

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the spread of the Internet, there is an increasing demand for a multi-service for simultaneously transmitting voice data and video data in a network system such as the Internet. As a protocol for such a real-time communication application on the Internet, there is RTP (Real Time Protocol). For real-time applications, TCP (Transmission
n Contoro l Protocol) does not require a complex protocol like provides. For example, in the audio reproduction algorithm, it is considered that it is more advantageous to allow data loss than to cause a long extra delay due to complicated processing of TCP. That is, the order control service, redistribution service, delivery guarantee service, flow control, and the like provided by TCP are not required.

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0016

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0016]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an encoding means for compressing an information amount of an input video signal, and the encoding means is used in the encoding means. Slice control means for controlling a slice structure;
Packet transmitting means for packetizing the bit stream encoded by the encoding means and transmitting the packet to a network, the encoding means having motion detecting means, code amount controlling means and code amount measuring means, A slice information control means for determining a motion area and a still area from the result of the motion detection means; and a code for measuring a code amount distribution in the screen from the result of the code amount measurement means. Volume distribution calculating means, channel capacity calculating means for calculating the channel capacity from the channel capacity detecting means, and slice structure determining means for updating the slice structure from the results of the motion detecting means, the code amount measuring means and the channel capacity detecting means. and, especially that the movement detector performs motion detection with reference to the slice structure, the code amount control means for performing code amount control of each slice with reference to the slice structure To.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0017

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, there is further provided a packet receiving means for receiving a packet loss rate from the image decoding apparatus, and the slice structure determining means determines the packet loss rate. The slice structure is determined as a new input.

[Procedure amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0018

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, further, the packet receiving means or the image transmitting unit for receiving the area of interest of the image observer from the image decoding apparatus. The apparatus further comprises an area detecting means for detecting an area, wherein the slice structure determining means determines a slice structure by using the gaze area as a new input.

[Procedure amendment 6]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0022

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in a moving image transmission system comprising an image encoding device and an image decoding device capable of decoding an output of the image encoding device,
The image encoding apparatus includes an encoding unit that compresses an information amount of an input video signal, a slice control unit that controls a slice structure used in the encoding unit, and an encoded bit stream of the encoding unit. Packet sending means for packetizing and sending the packet to the network, the encoding means has a motion detecting means, a code amount controlling means and a code amount measuring means, the packet sending means has a line capacity detecting means,
A slice control unit configured to determine a motion area and a stationary area based on a result of the motion detection unit; a code amount distribution calculation unit configured to measure a code amount distribution in a screen based on a result of the code amount measurement unit; A line capacity calculating unit for calculating a line capacity from the capacity detecting unit, a slice structure determining unit for updating a slice structure from a result of the motion detecting unit, the code amount measuring unit, and the line capacity detecting unit; The motion detection is performed with reference to the slice structure, and the code amount control means performs the code amount control for each slice with reference to the slice structure.

[Procedure amendment 7]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0023

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the seventh aspect of the present invention, the image encoding device further comprises a packet receiving unit for receiving a packet discard rate from the image decoding device, and the slice structure determining unit includes a packet discarding unit. The slice structure is determined using the rate as a new input.

[Procedure amendment 8]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0024

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the image encoding apparatus according to one of the seventh and eighth aspects,
Further includes a packet receiving unit that receives the gaze region of the image observer from the image decoding device or a region detection unit that detects the gaze region of the image transmission unit, and the slice structure determination unit sets the slice structure as a new input of the gaze region It is characterized in that it is determined.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5C059 KK01 LC04 MA05 MA23 MC11 ME01 NN01 NN24 NN28 PP05 PP06 PP07 RB02 SS08 TA12 TA46 TA62 TA76 TB06 TB08 TC13 TC15 TC18 TC21 TC22 TC45 TC48 TD07 TD12 UA02 UA05 UA32 UA33

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An encoding means for compressing an information amount of an input video signal, a slice control means for controlling a slice structure used in the encoding means, and an encoded bit stream of the encoding means Packet transmission means for packetizing and transmitting the packet to a network, wherein the encoding means has a motion detection means, a code amount control means and a code amount measurement means, and the packet transmission means has a line capacity detection means, The slice control unit, a motion information calculation unit that determines a motion region and a still region from the result of the motion detection unit,
A code amount distribution calculating means for measuring a code amount distribution in a screen from a result of the code amount measuring means, a line capacity calculating means for calculating a line capacity from the line capacity detecting means, the motion detecting means and the code amount measuring Means and a slice structure determining means for updating a slice structure from a result of the channel capacity detecting means, wherein the motion detecting means performs motion detection with reference to the slice structure, and wherein the code amount controlling means comprises the slice structure. An image coding apparatus characterized by performing code amount control by referring to FIG. 2. The image encoding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising packet receiving means for receiving a packet discard rate from an image decoding apparatus, wherein said slice structure means receives the packet discard rate as a new input and generates a slice structure. An image encoding apparatus characterized in that: 3. The image encoding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: detecting a gazing area of a packet receiving unit or an image transmitting unit for receiving a gazing area of an image observer from the image decoding apparatus. An image encoding apparatus, comprising: an area detection unit that performs slice determination; and the slice structure unit determines a slice structure using the attention area as a new input. 4. The image coding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said slice structure determination means determines a slice structure such that generated code amounts in slice units are substantially equal. apparatus. 5. The image coding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said slice structure determining means determines a slice structure such that a generated code amount per slice is substantially equal. apparatus. 6. The image encoding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the slice structure determining unit allocates a large amount of code to the attention area, and a generated code amount of a slice unit in the attention area. An image coding apparatus, wherein a slice structure is determined so as to be substantially equal. 7. In a moving image transmission system including an image encoding device and an image decoding device capable of decoding an output of the image encoding device, the image encoding device includes:
Encoding means for compressing the amount of information with respect to an input video signal; slice control means for controlling a slice structure used in the encoding means; and a network for packetizing the encoded bit stream of the encoding means. The encoding means has a motion detection means, a code amount control means and a code amount measurement means, the packet transmission means has a line capacity detection means, and the slice control means has Motion information calculation means for determining a motion area and a still area from the result of the motion detection means,
A code amount distribution calculating means for measuring a code amount distribution in a screen from a result of the code amount measuring means, a line capacity calculating means for calculating a line capacity from the line capacity detecting means, the motion detecting means and the code amount measuring Means and a slice structure determining means for updating a slice structure from a result of the channel capacity detecting means, wherein the motion detecting means performs motion detection with reference to the slice structure, and wherein the code amount controlling means comprises the slice structure. A video transmission system characterized by performing code amount control with reference to FIG. 8. The moving picture transmission system according to claim 7, further comprising packet receiving means for receiving a packet discard rate from an image decoding device, wherein said slice structure means receives the packet discard rate as a new input and generates a slice structure. A moving image transmission system characterized in that: 9. The moving picture transmission system according to claim 7, further comprising: detecting a gazing area of a packet receiving unit or an image transmitting unit for receiving a gazing area of an image observer from the image decoding apparatus. A moving image transmission system, wherein the slice structure means determines a slice structure with the attention area as a new input. 10. The video transmission system according to claim 7, wherein said slice structure determination means determines a slice structure such that generated code amounts in slice units are substantially equal. system. 11. The moving image transmission system according to claim 8, wherein said slice structure determining means determines a slice structure such that generated code amounts in slice units are substantially equal. system. 12. The moving image transmission system according to claim 9, wherein the slice structure determining means allocates a large amount of code to the attention area, and a generated code amount of a slice unit in the attention area. A moving image transmission system characterized in that a slice structure is determined so as to be substantially equal.