SCALABLE VIDEO ENCODING METHOD, SCALABLE VIDEO ENCODING APPARATUS, SCALABLE VIDEO ENCODING PROGRAM, AND COMPUTER READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM STORING THE PROGRAM

摘要

In a process of encoding scalable moving images, rates of occurrences of combinations of optimum prediction modes that are selected for blocks spatially corresponding to each other between upper and lower layers are determined based on optimum prediction modes selected in the encoding process of the prior art, and a correspondence table in which the relationships of those rates are described is created.  Subsequently, the combinations of optimum prediction modes described in the correspondence table are narrowed down based on the rates of occurrences, and then information of prediction mode correspondence, which describes the combinations of optimum prediction modes as narrowed down, is produced.  Then, in a case where a block of the upper layer is to be encoded, the information of prediction mode correspondence is referenced to based on an optimum prediction mode selected in the encoding of the spatially corresponding block of the lower layer, thereby deciding candidates of a sought prediction mode that is searched for in the encoding and thereby reducing the number of the candidates of the sought prediction mode.