High efficiency encoding and decoding of picture signals and recording medium containing same

A recording medium having data recorded thereon which represents:

• (i) an encoded picture signal having a plurality of macroblocks and including picture portions having been frame-based and/or field-based type predictively encoded and frame-based and/or field-based type orthogonally transformed processed in which each of said picture portions includes at least one of said macroblocks and in which said encoded picture signal represents a sequence of pictures such that said sequence of pictures provides a substantially continuous video image when reproduced from said recording medium, and (ii) header information which includes (a) information identifying the type of predictive encoding utilized for each respective picture portion, (b) information identifying the type of orthogonal transformation processing utilized for each respective picture portion, and (c) macroblock address information indicating the respective location of each macroblock, in which the type of predictive encoding utilized for each respective picture portion is selected from among the frame-based type predictive encoding and field-based type predictive encoding and in which the type of orthogonal transformation processing is selected from among the frame-based type orthogonal transformation processing and field-based orthogonal transformation processing so as to provide a relatively high efficient encoding.