JP2001128170A - Encoding device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To prevent a time delay from occurring with a simple configuration. An image capturing apparatus and an image receiving apparatus are provided.
2 for encoding the input signal from
It has a first image encoding unit 12 and a second image encoding unit 17 that perform mutually different encoding on the input signal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an encoding device and an encoding method for encoding an input signal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an encoding device for encoding an image signal has been provided. The encoding device is an image output from an image capturing device that captures an object using, for example, a charge-coupled device (CCD), or an image receiving device that selects and receives an image signal such as a tuner. This is to encode the signal.

[0003] As shown in FIG. 9, in a conventional encoding apparatus, an image encoding section 103 constituting a main part thereof includes:
An image signal is input from an image photographing apparatus 101 using a CCD or the like or an image receiving apparatus 102 such as a tuner.

In the image encoding unit 103, for example, so-called MPEG2 (moving picture coding experts
The input image signal is encoded by an image information compression technique such as up phase 2). Image coding unit 103
Outputs image encoding information compressed by encoding as a bit stream.

[0005] The recording unit 104 records the bit stream output from the image encoding unit 103. Note that the bit stream output from the image encoding unit 103 may be sent to an image display unit or a retransmission unit (not shown).

[0006]

By the way, in the conventional coding apparatus, the image coding section 103 performs image coding on the input image signal by one image coding method.

However, it may be necessary to convert a bit stream coded by one image coding method to another coding method. This is necessary, for example, when the output destination of the bit stream employs another encoding method.

In such a case, as shown in FIG. 10, the bit stream of one image coding system obtained by the image coding unit 103 is
At 11, the bit stream is converted into a bit stream of another image coding system.

[0009] To the image coding system conversion unit 111, a bit stream in the first format according to one image coding system obtained by the image coding unit 103 is input. The bit stream in the first format is directly transmitted from the image encoding unit 103 or temporarily stored in the first recording unit 1.
04 and read out and input.

[0010] The image coding system conversion unit 111 converts the input bit stream in the first format of one image coding system into a bit stream in the second format of another image coding system.

[0011] The bit stream of the second format according to another image coding system output from the image coding system conversion unit 111 is sent to the image display unit 112, the recording unit 113, and the retransmission unit 114. These image display units 112,
The recording unit 113 and the retransmitting unit 14 correspond to a second format according to another image coding method.

As described above, in the conventional encoding apparatus, when the output destination of image display, recording, retransmission, etc., adopts an image encoding method different from the image encoding method of the image encoding unit. Has converted a bit stream according to the first image coding method obtained by the image coding unit into a bit stream according to the second image coding method.

[0013] For this reason, the configuration of the apparatus for converting the image coding system has become complicated. In addition, since the conversion of the image coding system is performed on the bit stream obtained by the image coding, the quality of the image is deteriorated, and the conversion of the image system causes a time delay.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and provides an encoding apparatus and method which have a simple configuration and which can reduce image quality degradation and delay time. The purpose is to:

[0015]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an encoding apparatus according to the present invention encodes an input signal, and performs different encoding on the input signal. It has a plurality of encoding means to be applied.

The encoding method according to the present invention performs encoding on an input signal, and includes a plurality of encoding steps for performing mutually different encodings on the input signal.

Further, an encoding apparatus according to the present invention encodes an input signal, and encodes the input signal into a bit stream and obtains the encoded signal by the encoding means. Clipping means for clipping a part of the obtained bit stream and outputting it as a reproducible bit stream.

A coding method according to the present invention performs coding on an input signal. The coding step includes coding the input signal into a bit stream, and obtaining the bit stream. Cutting out a part of the bit stream and outputting it as a reproducible bit stream.

As described above, the present invention is characterized in that when encoding an input image signal, encoding is performed by a plurality of image encoding methods.

That is, in order to avoid the time delay required for converting the image coding method and the deterioration of image quality, the input image signals are input to different coding devices, and the respective target image coding bit streams are output. .

By performing such encoding, a plurality of target image encoded bit streams can be obtained with a small time delay, and deterioration in image quality due to the image encoding method can be prevented.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a first encoding method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the first embodiment, an image signal input from an image capturing apparatus 101, an image reproducing apparatus, or the like 102 is encoded into a plurality of bit streams according to different encoding schemes, resolutions, frame rates, and / or bit rates. This is an encoding device.

An image signal is input to the encoding device from an image photographing device 101 such as a CCD camera or an image receiving device 102 such as a tuner. The image signal input to the encoding device is sent to a first resolution / frame rate converter 11 and a second resolution / frame rate converter 16.

First resolution / frame rate converter 11
Converts the input image signal to a predetermined frame rate and / or
Or convert to resolution.

Here, the first resolution / frame rate converter 11 does not convert the resolution and / or the frame rate of the image signal unless it is necessary. That is,
The first resolution / frame rate converter 11 can also output an image signal having a resolution and / or a frame rate equal to the resolution and / or the frame rate of the input image signal.

The first image encoder 12 receives the output from the first resolution / frame rate converter 11 and
It is converted into a bit stream of the first format by a pre-designated image coding method.

The first image encoding unit 12 outputs the bit stream created by the encoding to the first recording unit 13, the first image display unit 14, and the first transmission unit 15.

Here, the resolution conversion processing in the first resolution / frame rate conversion section 11 will be described with reference to FIG.

First resolution / frame rate converter 11
Now, up-sampling and down-sampling of the input image 201 are described.
g) to convert the input image to the specified resolution. At this time, an image having the same resolution may be output without performing the image resolution conversion.

For example, the input image 201 is converted into a reduced image 203 by downsampling or an enlarged image 204 by upsampling. Further, it is also possible to output an image 202 of the same size without performing the resolution conversion.

When the resolution of the image is reduced, the whole image is not down-sampled, but only the necessary portion of the image signal, for example, only the central portion or the portion where the person is shifted, is cut out and used as a low-resolution image. May be. For example, the input image 201 may be an image 205 obtained by cutting a hatched portion.

The same processing is performed in the second resolution / frame rate converter 16.

In the first embodiment shown in FIG.
The first image recording unit 13 records the bit stream output from the first image encoding unit 12. The first image recording unit 13 can be composed of, for example, a hard disk, a magneto-optical disk, a magnetic tape, a semiconductor memory, or the like.

The first image display unit 14 decodes the bit stream output from the first image encoding unit 12 and displays the same as an image signal. The first image display unit 14 can be configured by a monitor such as a CRT.

The first transmission unit 15 multiplexes the bit stream output from the first image encoding unit 12 and outputs the result as a transmission signal. The first transmission unit 15 transmits a bit stream to a network according to a predetermined protocol, for example.

Second resolution / frame rate converter 16
Converts the frame rate and / or resolution of the input image signal into a predetermined resolution and / or frame rate, similarly to the first resolution / frame rate conversion unit 11.

Here, the second resolution / frame rate converter 16 is provided with the first resolution / frame rate converter 11.
It is also possible to output at the same resolution and / or frame rate.

Further, it is possible to output an image signal having a resolution and / or a frame rate equal to the resolution and / or the frame rate of the input image signal without converting the resolution and / or the frame rate.

In the second image encoding unit 17, like the first image encoding unit 12, the image signal output from the second resolution / frame rate conversion unit 16 is converted according to a specified encoding method. 2 and output.

The bit stream output from the second image encoding unit 17 is sent to a second image recording unit 18, a second image display unit 19, and a second transmission unit 20.

The second image recording unit 18, the second image display unit 19, and the second transmission unit 20 are each provided with the first recording unit 1
3. The same processing as that of the first image display unit 14 and the first transmission unit 15 is performed.

The encoding method used in the second image encoding unit 17 can be the same as the encoding method used in the first image encoding unit 12.
However, the encoding method used in the second image encoding unit 17 is not limited to the encoding method used in the first image encoding unit 12.

For example, the first resolution / frame rate conversion unit 11 and the second resolution / frame rate conversion unit 16 convert the image signals into image signals having the same resolution and / or frame rate, and the first image encoding unit 12 Second image encoding unit 1
7, the same coding method is adopted, but by changing only the bit rate, it is also possible to create an image coded bit stream using the same coding method and different only in the bit rate.

Next, an encoding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The second embodiment is an encoding device in which motion compensation is added to the first embodiment.

The image photographing apparatus 101 and the image receiving apparatus 102
Has a configuration similar to that of the first embodiment. An image signal is input from the image capturing device 101 or the image receiving device 102 to the encoding device. The image signal input to the encoding device is sent to the image pre-processing filter 21.

The image pre-processing filter 21 performs pre-processing such as noise removal on the image signal. The image pre-processing filter 21 should be installed as needed,
If unnecessary, it can be omitted.

The image signal pre-processed by the image pre-processing filter 21 is sent to a first resolution / frame rate converter 22, a motion compensator 25, and a second resolution / frame rate converter 27.

When the image preprocessing filter 21 is not provided, the image signal input to the encoding device is directly
Resolution / frame rate converter 22, motion compensator 2
5, sent to the second resolution / frame rate converter 27.

The motion compensating unit 25 includes the image pre-processing filter 2
A motion vector is detected for each frame of the image signal input from Step 1. The motion vector detected by the motion compensating unit 25 is calculated by the first motion vector converting unit 23 and the second
Is sent to the motion vector conversion unit 26.

First resolution / frame rate converter 22
Performs a conversion of a frame rate and / or a resolution on the image signal pre-processed by the image pre-processing filter 21 according to a first frame rate and / or a resolution input from the outside.

The first resolution / frame rate converter 22 performs the same processing as the first resolution / frame converter 11 of the first embodiment. The image signal whose resolution and / or frame rate has been converted by the first resolution / frame rate conversion unit 22 is converted into a first image encoding unit 24.
Sent to

The first motion vector converter 23 receives a motion vector from the motion compensator 25 and an image signal of the first frame rate and / or resolution from the first resolution / frame rate converter 22. .

The first motion vector conversion unit 23 converts the input motion vector according to the resolution and / or frame rate of the image signal output from the first resolution / frame rate conversion unit 22, Image encoding unit 24
Output to

At this time, the first resolution / frame rate converter 22 can convert the image to a lower resolution by cutting out the image, similarly to the first resolution / frame rate converter 11 of the first embodiment. It is.

Here, the processing of the first motion vector converter 23 can be simplified by determining the position of the image clipping in the following procedure. This procedure will be described with reference to FIG.

In an encoding method such as MPEG2, a motion vector between frames is detected for each frame. At this time, in so-called MPEG2, a motion vector of an image is detected for each 16 × 16 pixel square called a macroblock.

The macro block is as shown in FIG.
The image is divided into 16 × 16 pixels from the upper left of the image, and each square block is regarded as one macroblock, and a motion vector is detected.

Therefore, the processing in the first motion vector converter 23 can be reduced by setting the cutout position of the image in accordance with the lattice of the macroblock.

FIG. 4B shows an example in which the cut-out position of the image is set in accordance with the square lattice of the macro block used for detecting the motion vector. Here, the clipped portions and the positions of the macroblocks after clipping are indicated by thick lines.

As described above, by setting the macroblock position of motion compensation and the cutout position of the image to be equal,
The positions of the macroblocks after the motion compensation and cutout match. As a result, the motion vector obtained by the motion compensation can be used as it is for the macroblock of the cut-out image.

That is, when clipping is performed in units of macroblocks on which motion compensation has been performed, the position of the macroblock on which motion compensation has been performed matches the position of the macroblock on which encoding is performed, so that processing such as motion vector conversion is reduced. You.

On the other hand, FIG. 4C shows an example in which there is no correlation between the position of the macroblock from which the motion vector is obtained and the cutout position.

As described above, when the macroblock position of the motion compensation and the clipping position of the image are different, the clipped macroblock straddles the four macroblocks used in the motion compensation, and the motion vector after clipping is Since it is determined by a process such as weighted averaging, the process of the first motion vector converter 23 becomes complicated.

That is, when coding is performed on a block different from the macroblock on which motion compensation has been performed, the macroblock on which motion compensation has been performed does not match the macroblock on which coding is performed. May be more.

It should be noted that such setting of the cutout position of the image can be similarly performed in order to simplify the processing in the second motion vector conversion unit 26.

In the second embodiment shown in FIG.
The image signal output from the first resolution / frame rate conversion unit 22 and the motion vector output from the first motion vector conversion unit 23 are input to the first image encoding unit 24.

The first image encoding unit 24 encodes an image according to the designated encoding method and bit rate. The encoded bit stream is output to the multiplexing unit 29.

Second resolution / frame rate converter 27
Performs resolution and / or frame rate conversion based on the image signal output from the image pre-processing filter 21 and the second frame rate and / or resolution input from the outside.

Second resolution frame rate converter 27
Performs the same operation as the first resolution / frame rate converter 22.

The second motion vector converter 26 receives the motion compensator 25 and a second frame rate and / or resolution input from the outside. The second motion vector conversion unit 26 converts the motion vector according to the second frame rate and / or resolution and outputs the converted motion vector to the second image encoding unit 28. The second motion vector conversion unit 26 performs the same operation as the first motion vector conversion unit 23.

The second image encoding unit 28 operates in the same manner as the first image encoding unit 24, and
, And the image signal obtained by the second resolution / frame rate converter 27 are input, and the image is encoded using the specified image encoding method and bit rate.

The multiplexing unit 29 includes a first image encoding unit 24
And the bit stream obtained by the second image encoding unit 28 are input. The multiplexing unit 29 multiplexes the input bit stream and outputs the multiplexed bit stream to the image recording unit 30 and the transmission unit 31.

The image recording section 30 records multiplexed data in the same manner as the first recording section 13 of the first embodiment.

The transmission section 31 transmits multiplexed data, similarly to the first transmission section 15 of the first embodiment.

Note that in the second embodiment,
An example in which the image signals output from the first image encoding unit 24 and the second image encoding unit 28 are multiplexed by the multiplexing unit 29 and recorded or transmitted is introduced. It is not limited to recording or transmission by one recording device. As shown in the first embodiment, the recording, display, or transmission may be performed without multiplexing the output from each encoding device.

The same is true for the above-described first embodiment. As shown in the second embodiment, the output from the image encoding unit is multiplexed into one recording device. Or you may transmit by a transmission line.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the third embodiment,
The configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 except that a bit stream output unit 40 is arranged at a stage subsequent to the second image encoding unit 17.

In the third embodiment, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

First resolution / frame rate converter 11
The image signals are input to the second resolution / frame rate conversion unit 16 from the image capturing device 101 and the image receiving device 102, respectively.

First resolution / frame rate converter 11
Converts the resolution of the input image signal and / or the frame rate, and outputs the converted signal to the first image encoding unit 12.

Second resolution / frame rate converter 16
Converts the input image signal into a resolution and / or a frame rate, and outputs the converted signal to the second image encoding unit 17.

The first image encoding unit 12 encodes the image signal input from the first resolution / frame rate conversion unit 11 and outputs the encoded image signal.

The bit stream in the first format output from the first image encoding unit 12 is transmitted to the first recording unit 13, the first image display unit 14 or the first transmission unit 15.
Is output to

The second image encoding unit 17 encodes the image signal input from the second resolution / frame rate conversion unit 16 and outputs it to the bit stream output unit 40.

The operation of the bit stream output unit 40 is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

Hereinafter, the operation of the bit stream output unit 40 will be described for convenience in describing the MPFG4 video (video) (ISO / IEC
14496-2), but this does not limit the invention to the use of MPEG4 video.

The bit stream output from the second image encoding unit 17 is input to the bit stream distribution unit 41. The bit stream distribution unit 41 divides the input bit stream into a part located at the head of the bit stream and indicating initialization information of the bit stream, and a part other than the part.

The part located at the head of the bit stream and indicating the initialization information of the bit stream is, for example, Video_Object_Layer_header (hereinafter referred to as VOL header) in the case of MPEG4.

The bit stream distribution unit 41 outputs the VOL header of the divided bit stream to the VOL header buffer 43.

The bit stream other than the VOL header output by the bit stream distribution unit 41 is stored in a GOV (Group of Video Object Plane) buffer 44.
Output to

[0092] Here, the GOV is composed of one or more VOPs (Video Object Planes) representing a frame unit constituting a video. This GOV is a so-called MPEG2 (Moving Pictures Expert Group Phase 2).
) Corresponds to GOP (Group of Pictures).

The VOL header buffer 43 stores the bit stream of the VOL header output from the bit stream distribution unit 41. In addition, the timing adjustment unit 42
When the buffer output flag is input, the information of the VOL header stored in the buffer is output to the bit stream synthesis unit 45.

At this time, the VOL header buffer 43 performs output to the bit stream synthesizing section 45, but retains information on the VOL portion of the bit stream. This information is held until a new VOL header of the bit stream is input from the bit stream distribution unit 41. When a new VOL header of the bit stream is input,
It is overwritten using the newly input VOL header information.

The GOV buffer 44 stores the VOL of the bit stream output from the bit stream
The part other than the header is input and held. At this time, the bit stream is divided and stored for each minimum reproducible unit such as a GOV unit.

Here, GOV is used for convenience in describing the present embodiment, and if reconfigurable,
A smaller unit such as a VOP or two GOVs
There is no problem with a large unit.

When the capacity of the GOV buffer 44 becomes full, the bit stream is erased in chronological order. At this time, the erasure of the bit stream is performed for each minimum reproducible unit, and is used to newly store the bit stream.

[0098] The GOV buffer 44 is
When the buffer output flag is received from the buffer 2, part or all of the bit stream stored in the buffer is output to the bit stream synthesizing unit 45.

The timing adjuster 42 receives an output flag from the outside, delays the output flag for a predetermined delay time as necessary, and outputs a buffer output flag.

For example, if the GOV buffer 44 has a buffer capacity to hold a bit stream for 30 seconds and outputs a buffer output flag 10 seconds after the output flag is input, the GOV buffer 44 As for the output bit stream, the bit stream from 20 seconds before the output flag is input to 10 seconds after the output flag is output is output from the GOV buffer 44 to the bit stream synthesis unit 45.

Similarly, when the delay time of the timing adjustment unit 42 is set to 0 second, the bit stream data stored from 30 seconds before the output flag is input to the time when the output flag is input is output. You.

As described above, by adjusting the magnitude of the delay time in the timing adjustment section 42, it becomes possible to adjust the range of the bit stream output to the subsequent stage.

In the bit stream synthesizing section 45, VOL
The bit stream output from the header buffer 43 and the GOV buffer 44 is input, and the two bit streams are combined and output.

In the bit stream synthesizing section 45, VOL
GOV buffer 44 immediately after the bit stream of the header
To create a playable bitstream.

Here, the processing on the bit stream in the bit stream output unit 40 will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, the relationship between the input bit stream 210 and the output bit stream 220 is shown.

For example, it is assumed that the output flag is input when the GOV ₅ is stored, and that the GOV buffer 44 can be a buffer corresponding to the bit amount of four GOVs.

[0107] At this time, the timing of actually output from the bit stream output unit is performed corresponds to the time T _e, the time is determined from the time T _o for delay time and the output flag of the timing adjusting unit 42 is inputted.

In this example, it is assumed that the GOV buffer 44 holds buffers corresponding to the bit amounts of four GOVs. At time Te, the reconfigurable GOV bit stream stored in the GOV buffer 44 is
GOV ₄ , GOV ₅ , and GOV ₆ .

Therefore, the bit stream output from the GOV buffer 44 is GOV ₄ , GOV ₅ , GOV ₆
By attaching the data stored in the VOL header buffer 43 to the head of this bit stream, a reproducible bit stream can be synthesized.

In the third embodiment shown in FIG.
The bit stream output from the bit stream output unit 40 is output to the second recording unit 18, the second image display unit 19, and the second transmission unit 20.

By using the encoding apparatus of the third embodiment, only a part of the bit stream encoded by the second image encoding unit 17 is cut out, stored, and stored.
Transmission display is possible.

At the same time as this operation, it is possible to store, transmit, and display the image bit stream output from the first encoding device.

In the third embodiment, if there is no problem even if the encoding method of the bit stream for cutting out a part and the bit stream for storing the entire sequence is the same, the second resolution / frame rate conversion unit 16 and The second image encoding unit 17 can be omitted.

Next, a modification of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This modification is similar to the third embodiment described above.
In the embodiment, the second resolution / frame rate conversion unit 16 and the second image encoding unit 17 are omitted, and the first
The output of the image encoding unit 12 of FIG.
It has been input to 0.

The third embodiment is different from the third embodiment in that if there is no problem even if the same encoding method is used for the bit stream that cuts out a part and the bit stream that stores the entire sequence, the second resolution / frame Rate converter 1
6 and the second image encoding unit 17 are omitted.

In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 5 and a modification of the third embodiment shown in FIG.
The output of the first encoding device 12 is the first recording unit 13, the first
The output of the bit stream output unit 40 is sent to the second recording unit 18, the second image display unit 19, and the second transmission unit 20.
However, as in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3, after multiplexing, the data can be output to the single recording unit 30 and the single transmission unit 31.

In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 5, an example has been described in which the entire bit stream and a part of the image sequence are encoded. However, only a part of the image bit stream is required. In such a case, the first resolution / frame rate conversion unit 11, the first image encoding unit 12, the first recording unit 13, the first image display unit 14, and the first transmission unit 1
5 can be omitted.

In the above-described embodiment, for example, recording is performed on a recording medium such as a magneto-optical disk, a magnetic tape, or a flash memory, and is reproduced and displayed on a display or the like. It is suitable for use when transmitting data from a transmission side to a reception side via a transmission line, such as the Internet or a television broadcasting device, and receiving and displaying the data on the reception side.

In the first embodiment, the bit stream output from the first image encoding unit 12 is transmitted to the first recording unit 13, the first image display unit 14, and the first transmission unit. The bit stream output from the second image encoding unit 17 is input to the second recording unit 18, the second image display unit 19, and the second transmission unit 20. It is not limited to.

For example, the bit stream output from the first image encoding unit 12 is input to the first recording unit 13, and the bit stream output from the second image encoding unit 17 is input to the second recording unit. Output destination can be selected.

In the second embodiment, the third embodiment, and the modification of the third embodiment, it goes without saying that the output destination can be selected in the same manner.

[0122]

According to the present invention, it is possible to create an image-encoded bit stream corresponding to a plurality of encoding methods, bit rates, resolutions, etc., for one input image signal. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress image quality degradation that occurs when a conventionally created bit stream is changed to a target bit stream.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to cut out a part of the bit stream from the entire bit stream and store and transmit the bit stream as a reproducible bit stream.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an encoding device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating resolution conversion in a resolution / frame rate conversion unit.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an encoding device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a cutout position of an image.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an encoding device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a bit stream output unit.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating processing of a bit stream in a bit stream output unit.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a modification of the encoding device according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a conventional encoding device.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating conversion of an image conversion method for a bit stream obtained by a conventional encoding device.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 first resolution / frame rate conversion unit, 12 first image encoding unit, 13 first image recording unit, 14 first image display unit, 15 first transmission unit, 16 second resolution / frame Rate conversion unit, 17 second image encoding unit, 18 second image recording unit, 19 second image display unit, 20 second transmission unit

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Kuniaki Takahashi F-term (reference) 5C059 KK01 KK41 LB05 MA00 NN01 NN28 RB01 RB09 RC19 SS06 SS11 UA02 5J064 within Sony Corporation 6-7-35 Kita Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo AA04 BB10 BC01 BC02 BD01

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An encoding device for encoding an input signal, comprising: a plurality of encoding means for encoding the input signal differently from each other. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the input signal is an image signal, and the image processing apparatus further includes a conversion unit configured to convert a resolution and / or a frame rate of the input signal. 2. The encoding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein encoding is performed on the signal. 3. A plurality of recording means for recording signals encoded by the plurality of encoding means, a plurality of reproducing means for respectively reproducing signals encoded by the plurality of encoding means, and 2. The encoding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of a plurality of transmission units that respectively transmit the signals encoded by the plurality of encoding units. 4. A multiplexing means for multiplexing a plurality of signals encoded by said encoding means, a recording means for recording signals multiplexed by said multiplexing means, 2. The encoding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of a reproducing unit that reproduces the multiplexed signal and a transmission unit that transmits the signal multiplexed by the multiplexing unit. 5. The encoding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of encoding units have a common part. 6. The input signal is an image signal, wherein a motion detecting means for detecting a motion of an object in an image, which is shared by the plurality of encoding means, and a motion vector output by the motion detecting means, 6. The encoding apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: a motion vector conversion unit configured to perform conversion according to a resolution of the input signal, wherein the plurality of encoding units encode input signals having different resolutions. 7. The encoding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a selection unit that selects a part or all of an input signal and inputs the selected signal to the plurality of encoding units. 8. The encoding apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said selection means performs clipping based on a unit constituting the input signal, and diverts data used for motion compensation before clipping. 9. An encoding method for encoding an input signal, the encoding method comprising a plurality of encoding steps for encoding the input signal differently from each other. 10. The input signal is an image signal, further comprising a conversion step of converting a resolution and / or a frame rate of the input signal, wherein the plurality of encoding steps include the step of converting the image converted by the conversion step. The encoding method according to claim 9, wherein encoding is performed on the signal. 11. An encoding device for encoding an input signal, comprising: encoding means for encoding the input signal into a bit stream; and cutting out a part of the bit stream obtained by the encoding means. Encoding means for outputting a reproducible bit stream. 12. An encoding method for encoding an input signal, comprising: an encoding step of encoding the input signal into a bit stream; and cutting out a part of the bit stream obtained by the encoding means. A clipping step of outputting as a reproducible bit stream.