Patent ID: 8665966

Claim:
A video coding apparatus comprising: coding means for bringing video into coding processing on a frame basis with a first coding processing method; processing time detecting means for detecting coding actual processing time required for coding processing on said frame; delay calculating means for calculating processing delay time of coding processing on said frame based on predetermined coding predicted processing time given to said coding processing and said coding actual processing time; and coding load controlling means for detecting if an occurrence of an overrun has occurred by use of said processing delay time on said frame and, upon detection of the overrun, for (i) completing coding processing on said frame with the first coding processing method during a second frame period which is subsequent to a first frame period during which the coding processing with the first coding processing method on said frame began, (ii) instructing said coding means to implement coding processing on a subsequent frame during the second frame period with a second coding processing method bearing coding processing load lower than in said first coding processing method, such that during the second frame period both the first coding processing method is utilized on said frame and the second coding processing method is utilized on the subsequent frame, (iii) determining if the second coding processing method provided an acceptable recovery from the overrun, and (iv) upon determining that the second coding processing method has failed to provide said acceptable recovery, instructing said coding means to implement coding processing on a further subsequent frame with a third coding processing method bearing coding processing load lower than in said second coding processing method, such that the coding load controlling means is able to cause a recovery from the overrun within three frame periods of an occurrence of the overrun, wherein the first coding processing and second coding processing comprise prediction coding, and a search range of motion vectors for the second coding processing is narrower than a search range of motion vectors for the first coding processing, wherein the second coding processing includes an inverse transform operation, an inverse quantization operation, and a motion compensation operation, and the third coding processing comprises halting the inverse transform operation, the inverse quantization operation and the motion compensation operation of the second coding processing.