Patent ID: 8442333
Filing Date: 2013-05-14
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. An image encoding device which encodes macroblocks of an encoding target image by parallel processing, sequentially from a top of a parallel processing area, the encoding target image arranged as slices based on H.264 protocol and divided into a plurality of parallel processing areas, the image encoding device comprising: a plurality of encoding elements provided for every said parallel processing area, and which generate variable-length codes; and a stream integration unit which integrates the variable-length codes which are output from the plurality of encoding elements in parallel, wherein the encoding element suppresses generation of a skip macroblock in a last macroblock of each parallel processing area, by encoding the last macroblock of a parallel processing area using the same quantization parameter as used in a top macroblock of a succeeding parallel processing area adjoining across a parallel processing area boundary, allowing generation of a skip macroblock in a top macroblock of each parallel processing area, and by adding a non-zero coefficient to a part of the quantized orthogonally-transformed coefficients by changing the part to non-zero when quantized orthogonally-transformed coefficients of the last macroblock of the parallel processing area are all zero.