Patent ID: 7092443

Claim:
Process for the video coding of a sequence of images comprising images of I, P and B type, a group of images of B type being bounded by a previous image of I or P type for the lower bound and a next image of P type for the upper bound when considering the display order, such coding implementing the “skipped macroblock” coding mode which, if the co-located macroblock which is situated in the I or P image most recently coded is skipped, forces the coding of the macroblock belonging to the next B images to be coded in the forward predictive mode (“forward prediction”) with the zero motion vector, characterized in that it comprises: a calculation of a correlation level ( 8 ) allocated to a block or a macroblock of an image of B type defining its correlation with the co-located block or macroblock of either of the images bounding the images of B type, a comparison ( 9 ) of the level with a predetermined threshold, a barring of the “skipped macroblock” mode of coding ( 10 ) of a block or macroblock of an image of P type of the upper bound, if the correlation level ( 8 ) allocated to the co-located block or macroblock of an image of B type is less than the threshold ( 9 ).