Block size determining method and program recording medium

Abstract

The present invention reduces the amount of computation that is needed when determining the block size, which is the unit in which motion information is to be held, for a video coding format in which motion estimation is performed. A program causes a computer to execute: a vector search process for determining motion information for each of the smallest blocks, which are the blocks in a predetermined deepest layer; a block size determination process for determining the block size, which is the unit in which the motion information is to be held; and a block integration process for determining whether or not to integrate one or a plurality of mutually adjacent sub-blocks with a single block having a single piece of motion information, on the basis of integration conditions including at least the motion information of the sub-blocks which are the blocks in a layer that is one layer deeper than the layer currently being considered; wherein the block size determination process determines the block size by carrying out the block integration process in layers, in a sequence from the blocks in a layer one level shallower than the smallest blocks, to the largest blocks, which are the blocks in a predetermined shallowest layer.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.