Patent ID: 8983217
Filing Date: 2015-03-17
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. An image encoding apparatus comprising: an input unit configured to input a first image data corresponding to one of a left eye image and a right eye image and a second image data corresponding to another of the left eye image and the right eye image; a detection unit configured to detect a parallax vector of an encoding-subject block of the second image, wherein the detection unit detects the parallax vector of the encoding-subject block of the second image data by using image data of a search range in a reference picture of the first image data; an encoding unit configured to obtain prediction image data from the reference picture of the first image data in accordance with the parallax vector detected by the detection unit and encode the encoding-subject block of the second image data by using the prediction image data; a controlling unit configured to detect a difference value between the image data of the encoding-subject block of the second image data and the image data at a position corresponding to that of the encoding-subject block in the reference picture of the first image data and set the search range in the reference picture of the first image data for detecting the parallax vector by the detection unit in accordance with the detected difference value; wherein the controlling unit changes a size of the search range in accordance with the difference value, and wherein the detection unit detects the parallax vector of the encoding-subject block of the second image data by using the image data of the search range, which is set by the controlling unit, in the reference picture of the first image data.