ENCODING METHOD, DECODING METHOD, ENCODING DEVICE, DECODING DEVICE, PROGRAM, AND INTEGRATED CIRCUIT

摘要

An encoding method including an access unit defining step (S502 to S508) for defining access units, and an encoding step (S526) for encoding, per access unit, the images that constitute said access unit.  The access unit defining step (S502 to S508) includes an encoding unit determining step (S502) for determining whether to uniformly encode the images included in an access unit in field units or frame units, and a field type determining step (S504 to S508) for determining whether to uniformly encode the images in the top field or bottom field when it has been determined to encode the images included in the access unit in field units.  Further, the encoding step (S526) encodes, per access unit, images in the formats that have been determined in the encoding unit determining step (S526) and the field type determining step (S502 to S508).