Patent ID: 7460598
Filing Date: 2008-12-02
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. An image information conversion apparatus comprising: an image information converting circuit, including a complexity calculation circuit, converting first image compression information inputted to said image information conversion apparatus into second image compression information to be outputted from said image information conversion apparatus; each of the first image compression information and the second image compression information including at least intra-image coded pictures and inter-image predictive coded pictures; and a scene change detection circuit operable when said image information converting circuit calculates, based on a variable representative of a complexity of a screen for each frame of the inputted first image compression information, a target code amount for each frame of the second image compression information to be outputted for detecting, prior to conversion of an intra-image coded picture of the first image compression information into an inter-image predictive coded picture of the second image compression information, whether or not a scene change is included in a frame of the intra-image coded picture to be converted, wherein, when said scene change detection circuit detects that a scene change is included in the frame to be converted, said scene change detection circuit limits the conversion by said conversion means from the intra-image coded picture of the first image compression information into an inter-image predictive coded picture of the second image compression information, wherein said scene change detection means uses the product of a code amount allocated to each frame and an average quantization scale of the first image compression information as the variable representative of the complexity of the screen for the frame to detect whether or not a scene change is included in the frame, and wherein the code amount allocated to each frame of the inputted first image compression information is an entire code amount allocated to the frame.