Patent ID: 7336711

Claim:
An image coding method, in which a frame image is divided into blocks of a predetermined size and image data is coded for each of the blocks, the method comprising: a motion compensation step of performing motion compensation for the image data, in which a motion of an image in the block is detected in comparison of image data thereof with image data in another block in any of the frame image and another frame image, and a coding mode to be applied to the image data is selected among a plurality of coding modes prepared for the motion compensation; and a coding step of generating coded data, in which coding mode information representing the selected coding mode and the image data are binarized by use of a predetermined binarization table to generate a binarization pattern, and the binarization pattern undergoes variable-length coding by arithmetic coding using a predetermined probability table, wherein, in the coding step, the probability table to be applied to each of binarization codes included in the binarization pattern corresponding to the coding mode information is switched with reference to a coding mode selected in a block adjacent to the block and a complexity corresponding to the coding mode selected in the adjacent block, the complexity set for each of the plurality of coding modes.