Method of video compression that accommodates scene changes

A method of compressing a sequence of video frames, video frames comprising blocks of picture information;

• types of video frames being:
• an I-frame having blocks encoded referencing intra-picture information only, a P-frame having blocks encoded referencing intra-picture or inter-picture information, and a B-frame having blocks encoded referencing inter-picture information only;
• the method comprising:
• (a) providing a predetermined sequence of video frames, the predetermined sequence beginning with an I-frame and ending with a P-frame;
• (b) sequentially encoding frames by encoding blocks of each frame according to the frame type;
• (c) determining a number of intra-picture encoded blocks in a P-frame, and determining a scene change as occurring when the number of intra-picture encoded blocks is greater than a predetermined number;
• and
• (d) when detecting a scene change in a P-frame, redefining that P-frame as an I-frame and redefining B-frames of the sequence as P-frames, and re-encoding redefined frames.