Moving image encoding apparatus, control method therefor, and non-transitory computer readable storage medium

A control method for a moving image encoding apparatus including

• an encoding unit configured to encode moving image data in unit of a group of pictures including a predetermined number of frames and generate an encoded stream,
• a holding unit configured to hold the encoded stream generated by the encoding unit, and
• a write unit configured to write, in response to a recording start instruction, the encoded stream held by the holding unit in a recording medium and to combine the written encoded stream with an encoded stream which has already been written in the recording medium,
• the method comprising:
• causing the holding unit to hold, while the writing unit stops writing the encoded stream in the recording medium, the encoded stream of a predetermined number of the groups of pictures corresponding to a predetermined period;
• causing the write unit to start recording, in response to the recording start instruction, the encoded stream from the group of pictures the predetermined numbers before the recording start instruction;
• causing a calculation unit to calculate an expected occupation amount of a virtual buffer when a picture contained in the encoded stream generated by the encoding unit is held for decoding processing;
• and
• causing a code amount control unit to control a generated code amount in the encoding unit based on information of the occupation amount,
• wherein in the calculation, a plurality of virtual buffers are set, each of which starts from each of the predetermined number of groups of pictures held in the holding unit and has an initial value equal to a virtual buffer occupation amount at an end of the encoded stream which has been written in the recording medium, and the occupation amount of the virtual buffer corresponding to each of the predetermined number of the groups of pictures is updated based on a size of the picture contained in the encoded stream, and
• in the controlling the generated code amount, the generated code amount is compared with a smallest occupation amount among the plurality of occupation amounts, which is calculated in the calculation, corresponding to the same picture in each of the plurality of virtual buffers starting from each of the predetermined number of the groups of pictures, and the generated code amount is controlled not to exceed the smallest occupation amount.