Patent ID: 6765965
Filing Date: 2004-07-20
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
An apparatus for detecting a motion vector according to a block matching method, comprising:a plurality of motion vector detecting units each receiving pixel data of a template block included in a current picture and pixel data of a search area included in a reference picture for performing a prescribed operational process according to said block matching method to detect a motion vector of said template block based on a result of the process, said plurality of motion vector detecting units including motion vector detecting units differing in size of at least one of said template block and said search area from each other, the size of said template block representing a number of pixels to be used for motion vector estimation among pixels in a macroblock serving as a unit in said block matching method, and the size of said search area representing a size of a range for searching the motion vector; control circuitry for setting the search areas of said plurality of motion vector detecting units so as to allow a motion vector search range for a whole of said plurality of motion vector detecting units in the reference picture to be varied in accordance with a characteristic of the current picture including said template block; and motion vector determining circuitry receiving motion vector information from said plurality of motion vector detecting units to determine a final motion vector for said template block.