Patent ID: 8514935

Claim:
An image coding apparatus which compression-codes moving picture data including a current image to be coded, said image coding apparatus comprising: an accumulating unit configured to accumulate a reference image; a predicted image generating unit configured to generate a predicted image of the current image to be coded, based on the reference image accumulated in said accumulating unit, the predicted image being generated by performing motion compensation with weighted prediction or motion compensation without the weighted prediction, the weighted prediction being a process of adding a predetermined offset value to a pixel value of the reference image; a coding unit configured to code a difference between the predicted image generated by said predicted image generating unit and the current image to be coded; and a determining unit configured to determine whether or not the current image to be coded is included in, among the moving picture data, a picture group which (i) is a group of successive pictures and (ii) indicates motion equal to or larger than a predetermined amount of motion, wherein said predicted image generating unit is configured (i) to generate the predicted image by performing the motion compensation without the weighted prediction when a result of the determination by said determining unit indicates that the current image to be coded is included in, among the moving picture data, the picture group indicating the motion equal to or larger than the predetermined amount of motion, and (ii) to generate the predicted image by performing the motion compensation with the weighted prediction when the result of the determination by said determining unit indicates that the current image to be coded is not included in the picture group.