Patent ID: 8208542
Filing Date: 2012-06-26
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. An integrated circuit comprising: an audio processing unit operable to process audio data; and an image coding unit for dividing a current picture to be coded into blocks, selecting a reference picture from among reference pictures on a block basis, describing information which identifies the selected reference picture, and performing predictive coding onto the block, wherein the image coding unit includes: a judging device to judge if a common reference picture is to be selected or not when coding a plural-block image unit made up of a plurality of blocks; a selecting device to select, if it is judged by said judging device that a common reference picture is to be selected, one common reference picture to be commonly referred to, from among plural reference pictures, the common reference picture being only one reference picture that is selected from among the plural reference pictures and is assigned commonly to each of the plurality of blocks of the plural-block image unit; a common information describing device to describe common information which identifies the selected common reference picture, in a common information area for the plural-block image unit such that reference picture identification information for the selected common reference picture can be omitted for at least one of the plurality of blocks of the plural-block image unit, instead of describing, per block, reference picture identification information which identifies the selected common reference picture; a predictive image generating device to generate a predictive image of a current block to be coded included in the plural-block image unit, using the selected common reference picture; and a coding device to code the current block using the predictive image.