Patent ID: 8027387

Claim:
A moving picture coding apparatus comprising a processor which operates as sections comprising: a dividing section configured to divide each of a plurality of pictures input in chronological order into a plurality of blocks; a calculating section configured to calculate a discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficient by performing a DCT on differential picture data between each of the blocks and a prediction picture obtained by motion compensation prediction; a first determining section configured to determine whether the DCT coefficient is less than or equal to a first threshold; a first measuring section configured to measure, for each of the blocks, a duration of time that the first determining section successively determines that the DCT coefficient is less than or equal to the first threshold; a second determining section configured to determine whether the duration of time has reached a predetermined first determination value; a first coding control section configured to perform intra-coding on a block for which the second determining section has determined that the duration of time has reached the first determination value; a third determining section configured to determine, for each of the blocks, whether the DCT coefficient exceeds a second threshold larger than the first threshold; a second measuring section configured to measure, for each of the blocks, a duration of time that the third determining section determines that the DCT coefficient exceeds the second threshold; a fourth determining section configured to determine whether the duration of time measured by the second measuring section has reached a predetermined second determination value; and a second coding control section configured to perform intra-coding on a block for which the fourth determining section has determined that the duration of time measured by the second measuring section has reached the second determination value.