Moving picture coding method, moving picture decoding method, and apparatus therefor

A moving picture decoding method for decoding a coded signal, of a moving picture using motion compensating prediction,

• wherein in the case where a picture signal of N pixels×M lines (horizontal N pixels, vertical M lines) is divided between a first picture portion serving as an internal picture portion having a picture frame of N1 pixels×M1 lines (N1≦N, M1≦M) and a second picture portion serving as a picture portion outside the first picture portion, when only decoding ability of the picture frame of N1 pixels×M1 lines is provided, only the first picture portion is reproduced to detect any one of peculiar discrimination codes added to headers of coded information of predetermined divisional units comprised of a plurality of pixels belonging to the second picture portion with resepct to the second picture portion to thereby discriminate it, thus to read, in a skipped manner, coded information of the second picture portion.

A moving picture decoding method for decoding a coded signal of a moving picture using motion compensating prediction,

• wherein in the case where a frame picture signal having 483 lines or more required for the television broadcasting of the NTSC system is divided between a first picture portion of 480 lines and a second picture portion serving as a picture portion of the highest portion or the lowest portion of a portion except for the first picture portion, when only decoding ability of a picture frame 480 lines is provided, only the first picture portion is reproduced to detect any one of peculiar discrimination codes added to headers of coded information of predetermined divisional units comprised of a plurality of pixels belonging to the second picture portion with respect to the second picture portion to there by discriminate it, thus to read, in a skipped manner, coded information of the second picture portion.