Moving image encoding method, moving image decoding method, moving image encoding device, and moving image decoding device

Abstract

The moving image encoding method includes encoding macro-blocks included in a landscape picture frame of a moving image having a larger horizontal width in a horizontal direction than a vertical width in a vertical direction by an encoding device. In macro-block encoding, information of the encoded macro-blocks surrounding a macro-block to be encoded is stored in a built-in information storing memory of the encoding device. Further, in the encoding, first a vertical array of macro-blocks at the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame are encoded sequentially, and the resultant encode information is stored in the information storing memory, and subsequently an adjacent vertical array of the plural macro-blocks located horizontally on the right of the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame are encoded sequentially.

1 . A moving image encoding method for encoding a plurality of macro-blocks included in a landscape picture frame of a moving image having a larger horizontal width in a horizontal direction in comparison to a vertical width in a vertical direction by use of an encoding device, comprising:
 storing information pieces of the plurality of macro-blocks already encoded and surrounding a macro-block to be encoded in an information storing memory built in the encoding device;   first, sequentially encoding an array of a plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks at a left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame to store, in the information storing memory, encode information pieces of the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks at the left end; and   subsequently, encoding an adjacent array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks located horizontally on the right of the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame after having encoded the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks.   
     
     
         2 . The moving image encoding method according to  claim 1 , wherein the sequentially encoding the adjacent array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks located horizontally on the right of the left end involves using the encode information pieces of the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks at the left end, the encode information pieces stored in the information storing memory. 
     
     
         3 . The moving image encoding method according to  claim 2 , wherein the encoding device judges whether or not the encoded macro-block comprises one of last and first macro-blocks located at lower and upper ends of the vertical width after having encoded each macro-block in the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks. 
     
     
         4 . The moving image encoding method according to  claim 3 , wherein the encoding device judges whether or not the encoded array of macro-blocks comprises a last array of macro-blocks located at a right end of the horizontal width after having encoded the adjacent array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks located horizontally on the right of the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame. 
     
     
         5 . The moving image encoding method according to  claim 4 , wherein in case that the encoding device judges the encoded macro-block not to comprise any of the last and first macro-blocks located at the lower and upper ends of the vertical width, a count value of a vertical direction counter showing a position of the macro-block to be encoded next in the vertical direction of the left end is incremented by one. 
     
     
         6 . The moving image encoding method according to  claim 5 , wherein in case that the encoding device judges the encoded array of the plurality of macro-blocks not to comprise the last array of macro-blocks located at the right end of the horizontal width, a count value of a horizontal direction counter showing a position of an array of the plurality of macro-blocks to be encoded next in the horizontal direction of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame is incremented by one. 
     
     
         7 . A moving image decoding method for decoding macro-blocks included in a landscape picture frame of a moving image having a larger horizontal width in a horizontal direction in comparison to a vertical width in a vertical direction by use of a decoding device, comprising:
 storing information pieces of macro-blocks already decoded and surrounding a macro-block to be decoded in an information storing memory built in the decoding device;   first, sequentially decoding an array of a plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks at a left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame to store, in the information storing memory, decode information pieces of the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks at the left end; and   subsequently, decoding an adjacent array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks located horizontally on the right of the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame after having decoded the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks.   
     
     
         8 . The moving image decoding method according to  claim 7 , wherein the sequentially decoding the adjacent array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks located horizontally on the right of the left end involves using the decode information pieces of the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks at the left end, the decode information pieces stored in the information storing memory. 
     
     
         9 . The moving image decoding method according to  claim 8 , wherein the decoding device judges whether or not the decoded macro-block comprises one of last and first macro-blocks located at lower and upper ends of the vertical width after having decoded each macro-block in the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks. 
     
     
         10 . The moving image decoding method according to  claim 9 , wherein the decoding device judges whether or not the decoded array of macro-blocks comprises a last array of macro-blocks located at a right end of the horizontal width after having decoded the adjacent array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks located horizontally on the right of the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame. 
     
     
         11 . The moving image decoding method according to  claim 10 , wherein in case that the decoding device judges the decoded macro-block not to comprise any of the last and first macro-blocks located at the lower and upper ends of the vertical width, a count value of a vertical direction counter showing a position of a macro-block to be decoded next in the vertical direction of the left end is incremented by one. 
     
     
         12 . The moving image decoding method according to  claim 11 , wherein in case that the decoding device judges the decoded array of macro-blocks not to comprise the last array of macro-blocks located at the right end of the horizontal width, a count value of a horizontal direction counter showing a position of an array of macro-blocks to be decoded next in the horizontal direction of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame is incremented by one. 
     
     
         13 . A moving image encoding device for encoding a plurality of macro-blocks included in a landscape picture frame of a moving image having a larger horizontal width in a horizontal direction in comparison to a vertical width in a vertical direction, comprising:
 an encoding module, and   an information storing memory,   wherein the plurality of micro-blocks are encoded by use of the encoding module by:   storing information pieces of the plurality of macro-blocks already encoded and surrounding a macro-block to be encoded in the information storing memory;   first, sequentially encoding an array of a plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks at a left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame to store, in the information storing memory, encode information pieces of the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks at the left end; and   subsequently, encoding an adjacent array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks located horizontally on the right of the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame after having encoded the array of plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks.   
     
     
         14 . The moving image encoding device according to  claim 13 , wherein the sequentially encoding the adjacent array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks located horizontally on the right of the left end by use of the encoding module involves using the encode information pieces of the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks at the left end, the encode information pieces stored in the information storing memory. 
     
     
         15 . The moving image encoding device according to  claim 14 , which judges whether or not the encoded macro-block comprises one of last and first macro-blocks located at lower and upper ends of the vertical width after having encoded each macro-block in the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks. 
     
     
         16 . The moving image encoding device according to  claim 15 , which judges whether or not the encoded array of macro-blocks comprises a last array of macro-blocks located at a right end of the horizontal width after having encoded the adjacent array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks located horizontally tally on the right of the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame. 
     
     
         17 . The moving image encoding device according to  claim 16 , further comprising:
 a vertical direction counter showing a position of a macro-block to be encoded next in the vertical direction,   wherein in case that the moving image encoding device judges the encoded macro-block not to comprise any of the last and first macro-blocks located at the lower and upper ends of the vertical width, a count value of the vertical direction counter is incremented by one.   
     
     
         18 . The moving image encoding device according to  claim 17 , further comprising:
 a horizontal direction counter showing a position of an array of a plurality of macro-blocks to be encoded next in the horizontal direction,   wherein in case that the moving image encoding device judges the encoded array of the plurality of macro-blocks not to comprise the last array of the plurality of macro-blocks located at the right end of the horizontal width, a count value of the horizontal direction counter is incremented by one.   
     
     
         19 . The moving image encoding device according to  claim 14 , connectable with an image memory in which the plurality of macro-blocks included in the landscape picture frame of the moving image can be stored,
 wherein after an array of a plurality of horizontally aligned macro-blocks at the upper end of the vertical width of the landscape picture frame have been stored in the image memory, an adjacent array of the plurality of horizontally aligned macro-blocks located vertically below the upper end of the vertical width of the landscape picture frame can be stored in the image memory.   
     
     
         20 . The moving image encoding device according to  claim 19 , further comprising:
 an image-rotation module which reads out the landscape picture frame from the image memory, rotates the image of the picture frame by 90° to produce a rotation image, and writes the rotation image into the image memory,   wherein the rotation image stored in the image memory can be read out and supplied to the encoding module.   
     
     
         21 . The moving image encoding device according to  claim 20 , further comprising:
 an image memory interface connectable with the image memory, the image memory interface for: reading out, from the image memory, the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks located at the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame to supply the read array of macro-blocks to the encoding module; and subsequently reading out an adjacent array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks located horizontally on the right of the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame to supply the read array of macro-blocks to the encoding module.   
     
     
         22 . The moving image encoding device according to  claim 21 , further comprising:
 an image read address generating module for: reading out, from the image memory, the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks at the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame to supply the read array of macro-blocks to the encoding module; and subsequently reading out an adjacent array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks located horizontally on the right of the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame to supply the read array of the plurality of macro-blocks to the encoding module.   
     
     
         23 . The moving image encoding device according to  claim 22 , further comprising:
 an image-rotation module for producing a rotation image by rotating, by about 90°, each macro-block in the array of the plurality of macro-blocks read out from the image memory according to an address generated by the image read address generating module and supplying the rotation image to the encoding module.   
     
     
         24 . The moving image encoding device according to  claim 13 , wherein the encoding module includes operation functions of a variable length encoding module, an orthogonal transforming device/quantizer, and a motion prediction module. 
     
     
         25 . A moving image decoding device for decoding macro-blocks included in a landscape picture frame of a moving image having a larger horizontal width in a horizontal direction in comparison to a vertical width in a vertical direction, comprising:
 a decoding module, and   an information storing memory,   wherein a plurality of macro-blocks are decoded by use of the decoding module by:   storing information pieces of macro-blocks already decoded and surrounding a macro-block to be decoded in the information storing memory;   first, sequentially decoding an array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks at a left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame to store, in the information storing memory, decode information pieces of the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks at the left end; and   sequentially decoding an adjacent array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks located horizontally on the right of the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame after having decoded the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks of the landscape picture frame.   
     
     
         26 . The moving image decoding device according to  claim 25 , wherein the step of sequentially decoding the adjacent array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks located horizontally on the right of the left end by use of the decoding module involves using the decode information pieces of the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks at the left end, the decode information pieces stored in the information storing memory. 
     
     
         27 . The moving image decoding device according to  claim 26 , which judges whether or not the decoded macro-block comprises one of last and first macro-blocks located at lower and upper ends of the vertical width after having decoded each macro-block in the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks. 
     
     
         28 . The moving image decoding device according to  claim 27 , which judges whether or not the decoded array of the plurality of macro-blocks comprises a last array of the plurality of macro-blocks located at a right end of the horizontal width after having decoded the adjacent array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks located horizontally on the right of the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame. 
     
     
         29 . The moving image decoding device according to  claim 28 , further comprising:
 a vertical direction counter showing a position of a macro-block to be decoded next in the vertical direction,   wherein in case that the moving image decoding device judges the decoded macro-block not to be any of the last and first macro-blocks located at the lower and upper ends of the vertical width, a count value of the vertical direction counter is incremented by one.   
     
     
         30 . The moving image decoding device according to  claim 29 , further comprising:
 a horizontal direction counter showing a position of an array of macro-blocks to be decoded next in the horizontal direction,   wherein in case that the moving image decoding device judges the decoded array of the plurality of macro-blocks not to be the last array of macro-blocks located at the right end of the horizontal width, a count value of the horizontal direction counter is incremented by one.   
     
     
         31 . The moving image decoding device according to  claim 26 , connectable with an image memory in which the array of macro-blocks can be stored. 
     
     
         32 . The moving image decoding device according to  claim 31 , further comprising:
 an image-rotation module which reads out the landscape picture frame from the image memory, rotates the image of the picture frame by 90° to produce an rotation image, and writes the rotation image into the image memory.   
     
     
         33 . The moving image decoding device according to  claim 26 , further comprising:
 an external interface for supplying moving image encode signals, the external interface operable to supply the decoding module with the array of macro-blocks included in the moving image encode signals and vertically aligned at the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame, and subsequently to supply the decoding module with an adjacent array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks horizontally on the right of the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame included in the moving image encode signals,   the moving image decoding device operable to decode the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks at the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame included in the moving image encode signal supplied from the external interface, and subsequently to decode an adjacent array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks horizontally on the right of the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame included in moving image encode signals supplied from the external interface,   the moving image decoding device connectable with an image memory in which information of a decoded moving image having a larger horizontal width in a horizontal direction in comparison to a vertical width in a vertical direction can be stored,   wherein after decode processing information pieces of the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks at the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame are stored in a first memory region of the image memory, decode processing information pieces of the adjacent array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks horizontally on the right of the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame included in the moving image encode signals are stored in a second memory region of the image memory, and   the first and second memory regions of the image memory are assigned: information of an array of the plurality of vertically aligned images at a left end of the display horizontal width of a landscape moving image display picture frame having a larger display horizontal width in a horizontal direction in comparison to a display vertical width in a vertical direction; and information of the plurality of vertically aligned adjacent images horizontally on the right of the left end of the display horizontal width, respectively.   
     
     
         34 . The moving image decoding device according to  claim 33 , further comprising:
 an image write address generating module for storing decode processing information pieces of the array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks at the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame in the first memory region of the image memory, and   subsequently, to store, in the second memory region of the image memory, decode processing information pieces of the adjacent array of the plurality of vertically aligned macro-blocks located horizontally on the right of the left end of the horizontal width of the landscape picture frame, the decode processing information pieces included in the moving image encode signals.   
     
     
         35 . The moving image decoding device according to  claim 34 , wherein the external interface is operable to rotate the array of the plurality of macro-blocks included in the moving image encode signals by about 90° to produce a rotation image, and supply the rotation image to the decoding module. 
     
     
         36 . The moving image decoding device according to  claim 25 , wherein the decoding module includes operation functions of a variable length decoding module, an inverse quantizer/inverse orthogonal transforming device, and a motion compensation module.