Encoder, decoder, and recording medium

Abstract

To achieve further improvements.SOLUTION: An encoding device 100 comprises a circuit 160, and a memory 162 connected to the circuit 160. The circuit 160 is configured to, in the operation: perform DMVR processing of deriving motion vectors of a current block in block unit, retrieving a peripheral region of the motion vectors in sub-block unit for each of sub-blocks included in the current block, and correcting the motion vector (S311); determine whether or not deblocking filter processing is applied to each of sub-block boundaries which are the sub-blocks where the DMVR processing is performed and each of which is the boundary between the adjacent sub-blocks (S312); and apply deblocking filter processing to the boundary on the basis of the determination result (S313). The height of each of the sub-blocks is 16.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 55

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to video coding, for example, systems, components, and methods in video encoding and decoding, etc.

Background Art

[0002] Video coding technology has advanced from H.261 and MPEG-1 to H.264 / AVC (Advanced Video Coding), MPEG-LA, H.265 / HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding), and H.266 / VVC (Versatile Video Codec). Along with this progress, there is always a need to provide improvements and optimizations to video coding technology to handle the continuously increasing amount of digital video data in various applications.

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0003]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Regarding the encoding method as described above, for improving encoding efficiency, improving image quality, reducing processing volume, reducing circuit scale, or appropriately selecting elements or operations such as filters, blocks, sizes, motion vectors, reference pictures, or reference blocks, etc., a new method is desired to be proposed.

[0005] The present disclosure provides a configuration or method that can contribute to, for example, improvement of coding efficiency, improvement of image quality, reduction of processing amount, reduction of circuit scale, improvement of processing speed, and appropriate selection of elements or operations. Note that the present disclosure may include a configuration or method that can contribute to benefits other than those described above.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] An encoding device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is an encoding device that encodes an image, and includes a circuit and a memory connected to the circuit. In operation, the circuit derives a motion vector of a current block in block units, and for each of a plurality of sub-blocks included in the current block, performs a DMVR (Dynamic Motion Vector Refreshing) process of searching a peripheral region of the motion vector in sub-block units to correct the motion vector. For each of the plurality of sub-blocks that have undergone the DMVR process and for each of a plurality of sub-block boundaries that are boundaries between adjacent sub-blocks, it is determined whether to apply a deblocking filter process, and based on the determination result, the deblocking filter process is applied to the boundary. The height of each of the plurality of sub-blocks is 16.

[0007] A decoding device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a decoding device that decodes an image, and includes a circuit and a memory connected to the circuit. In operation, the circuit derives a motion vector of a current block in block units, and for each of a plurality of sub-blocks included in the current block, performs a DMVR (Dynamic Motion Vector Refreshing) process of searching a peripheral region of the motion vector in sub-block units to correct the motion vector. For each of the plurality of sub-blocks that have undergone the DMVR process and for each of a plurality of sub-block boundaries that are boundaries between adjacent sub-blocks, it is determined whether to apply a deblocking filter process, and based on the determination result, the deblocking filter process is applied to the boundary. The height of each of the plurality of sub-blocks is 16.

[0008] Some implementations of the embodiments in the present disclosure may improve coding efficiency, simplify encoding / decoding processing, increase the encoding / decoding processing speed, or efficiently select appropriate components / operations used in encoding and decoding, such as appropriate filters, block sizes, motion vectors, reference pictures, reference blocks, etc.

[0009] Further advantages and effects in one aspect of the present disclosure will be clarified from the specification and drawings. Such advantages and / or effects can be obtained by some embodiments and the features described in the specification and drawings respectively, but not all of them are necessarily provided to obtain one or more advantages and / or effects.

[0010] Note that these general or specific aspects may be implemented in a system, method, integrated circuit, computer program, recording medium, or any arbitrary combination thereof.

Effects of the Invention

[0011] The configuration or method according to one aspect of the present disclosure may contribute to, for example, one or more of improvement of coding efficiency, improvement of image quality, reduction of processing amount, reduction of circuit scale, improvement of processing speed, and appropriate selection of elements or operations. Note that the configuration or method according to one aspect of the present disclosure may contribute to benefits other than those described above.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] For example, an encoding device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is an encoding device that encodes a moving image, and includes a circuit and a memory connected to the circuit. In operation, the circuit derives a motion vector of a current block with reference to at least one reference picture different from the picture to which the current block belongs, executes a mode of searching for a peripheral region of the motion vector in units of sub-blocks obtained by dividing the current block to correct the motion vector, determines whether to apply deblocking filter processing to each of the boundaries of adjacent sub-blocks, and applies the deblocking filter processing to the boundary based on the determination result.

[0014] According to this, even if distortion in which pixel values are discontinuous may occur at the boundary of sub-blocks, the deblocking filter processing may reduce the distortion, and there is a possibility of improving the image quality.

[0015] Also, for example, the mode is DMVR (Dynamic Motion Vector Refreshing) processing in units of sub-blocks.

[0016] Also, for example, the size of the sub-blocks in the unit of sub-blocks is 16×16 pixels.

[0017] Also, for example, the circuit determines the intensity of the deblocking filter processing based on whether a difference value between motion vectors of the adjacent sub-blocks is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

[0018] Also, for example, the determined intensity of the deblocking filter processing includes an intensity at which the deblocking filter processing is not performed.

[0019] Further, for example, when applying the deblocking filter process to the boundary, the intensity of the deblocking filter process applied to the boundary is the same as the intensity of the deblocking filter process applied to the block boundary of the current block.

[0020] Moreover, a decoding device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a decoding device that decodes a moving image, and includes a circuit and a memory connected to the circuit. In operation, the circuit derives a motion vector of the current block with reference to at least one reference picture different from the picture to which the current block belongs, executes a mode of searching a peripheral region of the motion vector in units of sub-blocks obtained by dividing the current block to correct the motion vector, determines whether to apply a deblocking filter process to each boundary of adjacent sub-blocks, and applies the deblocking filter process to the boundary based on the determination result.

[0021] According to this, even if distortion in which pixel values are discontinuous may occur at the boundary of the sub-blocks, there is a possibility that the distortion can be reduced by the deblocking filter process, and there is a possibility that the image quality can be improved.

[0022] Further, for example, the mode is a DMVR (Dynamic Motion Vector Refreshing) process in units of sub-blocks.

[0023] Further, for example, the size of the sub-blocks in the sub-block unit is 16×16 pixels.

[0024] Further, for example, the circuit determines the intensity of the deblocking filter process based on whether a difference value between motion vectors of the adjacent sub-blocks is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

[0025] Further, for example, the intensity of the deblocking filter process includes an intensity at which the deblocking filter process is not performed.

[0026] Further, for example, when applying the deblocking filter process to the boundary, the intensity of the deblocking filter process applied to the boundary is the same as the intensity of the deblocking filter process applied to the block boundary of the current block.

[0027] Further, for example, an encoding method according to an aspect of the present disclosure is an encoding method for encoding a moving image, which derives a motion vector of a current block with reference to at least one reference picture different from a picture to which the current block belongs, and executes a mode of correcting the motion vector by searching a peripheral area of the motion vector in units of sub-blocks obtained by dividing the current block, determines whether to apply a deblocking filter process to each boundary of adjacent sub-blocks, and applies the deblocking filter process to the boundary based on the determination result.

[0028] According to this, even if distortion in which pixel values are discontinuous may occur at the boundary of the sub-block, there is a possibility that the distortion can be reduced by the deblocking filter process, and there is a possibility that the image quality can be improved.

[0029] Further, for example, a decoding method according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a decoding method for decoding a moving image, which derives a motion vector of a current block with reference to at least one reference picture different from a picture to which the current block belongs, and executes a mode of correcting the motion vector by searching a peripheral area of the motion vector in units of sub-blocks obtained by dividing the current block, determines whether to apply a deblocking filter process to each boundary of adjacent sub-blocks, and applies the deblocking filter process to the boundary based on the determination result.

[0030] According to this, even if distortion in which pixel values are discontinuous may occur at the boundary of the sub-block, there is a possibility that the distortion can be reduced by the deblocking filter process, and there is a possibility that the image quality can be improved.

[0031] Furthermore, these general or specific aspects may be implemented in a system, apparatus, method, integrated circuit, computer program, or non-transitory recording medium such as a computer-readable CD-ROM, and may be implemented in any combination of a system, apparatus, method, integrated circuit, computer program, and recording medium.

[0032] Hereinafter, embodiments will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. Note that all the embodiments described below are merely examples showing general or specific aspects. The numerical values, shapes, materials, components, arrangement positions and connection forms of the components, steps, relationships and orders of the steps, etc. shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

[0033] Hereinafter, embodiments of an encoding device and a decoding device will be described. The embodiments are examples of an encoding device and a decoding device to which the processes and / or configurations described in each aspect of the present disclosure are applicable. The processes and / or configurations can also be implemented in encoding devices and decoding devices different from the embodiments. For example, with respect to the processes and / or configurations applied to the embodiments, any of the following may be implemented, for example.

[0034] (1) Any one of a plurality of components of the encoding device or decoding device of the embodiment described in each aspect of the present disclosure may be replaced or combined with any other component described in any aspect of the present disclosure.

[0035] (2) In the encoding device or decoding device of the embodiment, arbitrary changes such as addition, replacement, deletion, etc. of functions or processes performed by some of the plurality of components of the encoding device or decoding device may be made. For example, any function or process may be replaced or combined with any other function or process described in any aspect of the present disclosure.

[0036] (3) In the method implemented by the encoding device or decoding device of the embodiment, for some of the plurality of processes included in the method, arbitrary changes such as addition, replacement, and deletion may be made. For example, any process in the method may be replaced or combined with other processes described in any of the aspects of the present disclosure.

[0037] (4) Some of the plurality of components constituting the encoding device or decoding device of the embodiment may be combined with the components described in any of the aspects of the present disclosure, or may be combined with components having a part of the functions described in any of the aspects of the present disclosure, or may be combined with components that implement a part of the processes implemented by the components described in each aspect of the present disclosure.

[0038] (5) A component having a part of the functions of the encoding device or decoding device of the embodiment, or a component that implements a part of the processes of the encoding device or decoding device of the embodiment may be combined or replaced with a component described in any of the aspects of the present disclosure, a component having a part of the functions described in any of the aspects of the present disclosure, or a component that implements a part of the processes described in any of the aspects of the present disclosure.

[0039] (6) In the method implemented by the encoding device or decoding device of the embodiment, any of the plurality of processes included in the method may be replaced or combined with the processes described in any of the aspects of the present disclosure, or with any similar processes.

[0040] (7) Some of the plurality of processes included in the method implemented by the encoding device or decoding device of the embodiment may be combined with the processes described in any of the aspects of the present disclosure.

[0041] (8) The manner of implementing the processes and / or configurations described in each aspect of the present disclosure is not limited to the encoding device or the decoding device of the embodiments. For example, the processes and / or configurations may be implemented in a device used for purposes different from the moving image encoding or moving image decoding disclosed in the embodiments.

[0042] [Encoding device] First, an encoding device according to an embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an encoding device 100 according to an embodiment. The encoding device 100 is a moving image encoding device that encodes moving images in block units.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 1, the encoding device 100 is a device that encodes images in block units, and includes a splitting unit 102, a subtraction unit 104, a conversion unit 106, a quantization unit 108, an entropy encoding unit 110, an inverse quantization unit 112, an inverse conversion unit 114, an addition unit 116, a block memory 118, a loop filter unit 120, a frame memory 122, an intra prediction unit 124, an inter prediction unit 126, and a prediction control unit 128.

[0044] The encoding device 100 is realized, for example, by a general-purpose processor and a memory. In this case, when a software program stored in the memory is executed by the processor, the processor functions as the splitting unit 102, the subtraction unit 104, the conversion unit 106, the quantization unit 108, the entropy encoding unit 110, the inverse quantization unit 112, the inverse conversion unit 114, the addition unit 116, the loop filter unit 120, the intra prediction unit 124, the inter prediction unit 126, and the prediction control unit 128. Further, the encoding device 100 may be realized as one or more dedicated electronic circuits corresponding to the splitting unit 102, the subtraction unit 104, the conversion unit 106, the quantization unit 108, the entropy encoding unit 110, the inverse quantization unit 112, the inverse conversion unit 114, the addition unit 116, the loop filter unit 120, the intra prediction unit 124, the inter prediction unit 126, and the prediction control unit 128.

[0045] First, after explaining the overall processing flow of the encoding device 100, each component included in the encoding device 100 will be described.

[0046] [Overall Flow of Encoding Process] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the overall encoding process by the encoding device 100.

[0047] First, the splitting unit 102 of the encoding device 100 splits each picture included in the input image, which is a moving image, into a plurality of fixed-size blocks (for example, 128×128 pixels) (step Sa_1). Then, the splitting unit 102 selects a splitting pattern (also referred to as a block shape) for the fixed-size block (step Sa_2). That is, the splitting unit 102 further splits the fixed-size block into a plurality of blocks that constitute the selected splitting pattern. Then, the encoding device 100 performs the processing of steps Sa_3 to Sa_9 for each of the plurality of blocks, that is, for the block (i.e., the encoding target block).

[0048] That is, the prediction processing unit, which consists of all or part of the intra prediction unit 124, the inter prediction unit 126, and the prediction control unit 128, generates a prediction signal (also referred to as a prediction block) for the encoding target block (also referred to as the current block) (step Sa_3).

[0049] Next, the subtraction unit 104 generates the difference between the encoding target block and the prediction block as a prediction residual (also referred to as a difference block) (step Sa_4).

[0050] Next, the conversion unit 106 and the quantization unit 108 perform conversion and quantization on the difference block to generate a plurality of quantization coefficients (step Sa_5). Note that a block consisting of a plurality of quantization coefficients is also referred to as a coefficient block.

[0051] Next, the entropy encoding unit 110 generates an encoded signal (step Sa_6) by performing encoding (specifically, entropy encoding) on the coefficient block and the prediction parameters related to the generation of the prediction signal. Note that the encoded signal is also referred to as an encoded bit stream, a compressed bit stream, or a stream.

[0052] Next, the inverse quantization unit 112 and the inverse transformation unit 114 restore a plurality of prediction residuals (i.e., difference blocks) by performing inverse quantization and inverse transformation on the coefficient block (step Sa_7).

[0053] Next, the addition unit 116 reconstructs the current block into a reconstructed image (also referred to as a reconstructed block or a decoded image block) by adding the predicted block to the restored difference block (step Sa_8). Thereby, a reconstructed image is generated.

[0054] When this reconstructed image is generated, the loop filter unit 120 performs filtering on the reconstructed image as necessary (step Sa_9).

[0055] Then, the encoding device 100 determines whether the encoding of the entire picture is completed (step Sa_10). If it is determined that the encoding is not completed (No in step Sa_10), the processing from step Sa_2 is repeatedly executed.

[0056] In the above example, the encoding device 100 selects one splitting pattern for a block of a fixed size and performs encoding of each block according to the splitting pattern. However, encoding of each block may be performed according to each of a plurality of splitting patterns. In this case, the encoding device 100 may evaluate the cost for each of the plurality of splitting patterns and select, as the output encoded signal, the encoded signal obtained by encoding according to, for example, the splitting pattern with the smallest cost.

[0057] As shown, the processes of these steps Sa_1 to Sa_10 are sequentially performed by the encoding device 100. Alternatively, a plurality of processes among them may be performed in parallel, or the order of these processes may be changed, etc.

[0058] [Splitting unit] The splitting unit 102 splits each picture included in the input moving image into a plurality of blocks and outputs each block to the subtraction unit 104. For example, the splitting unit 102 first splits the picture into blocks of a fixed size (e.g., 128x128). Other fixed block sizes may be adopted. These fixed-size blocks are sometimes called coding tree units (CTUs). Then, the splitting unit 102 splits each of the fixed-size blocks into variable-size blocks (e.g., 64x64 or less) based on, for example, recursive quadtree and / or binary tree block splitting. That is, the splitting unit 102 selects a splitting pattern. These variable-size blocks are sometimes called coding units (CUs), prediction units (PUs), or transform units (TUs). In various processing examples, it is not necessary to distinguish between CUs, PUs, and TUs, and some or all of the blocks in the picture may be the processing units of CUs, PUs, and TUs.

[0059] FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of block splitting in the embodiment. In FIG. 3, the solid line represents the block boundary by quadtree block splitting, and the dashed line represents the block boundary by binary tree block splitting.

[0060] Here, the block 10 is a square block of 128x128 pixels (128x128 block). This 128x128 block 10 is first split into four square 64x64 blocks (quadtree block splitting).

[0061] The upper left 64x64 block is further vertically divided into two rectangular 32x64 blocks, and the left 32x64 block is further vertically divided into two rectangular 16x64 blocks (binary tree block division). As a result, the upper left 64x64 block is divided into two 16x64 blocks 11, 12 and a 32x64 block 13.

[0062] The upper right 64x64 block is horizontally divided into two rectangular 64x32 blocks 14, 15 (binary tree block division).

[0063] The lower left 64x64 block is divided into four square 32x32 blocks (quadtree block division). Among the four 32x32 blocks, the upper left block and the lower right block are further divided. The upper left 32x32 block is vertically divided into two rectangular 16x32 blocks, and the right 16x32 block is further horizontally divided into two 16x16 blocks (binary tree block division). The lower right 32x32 block is horizontally divided into two 32x16 blocks (binary tree block division). As a result, the lower left 64x64 block is divided into a 16x32 block 16, two 16x16 blocks 17, 18, two 32x32 blocks 19, 20, and two 32x16 blocks 21, 22.

[0064] The lower right 64x64 block 23 is not divided.

[0065] As described above, in FIG. 3, block 10 is divided into 13 variable-size blocks 11 to 23 based on recursive quadtree and binary tree block division. Such division is sometimes called QTBT (quad-tree plus binary tree) division.

[0066] In FIG. 3, one block was divided into four or two blocks (quad-tree or binary-tree block division), but the division is not limited to these. For example, one block may be divided into three blocks (ternary-tree block division). Such a division including ternary-tree block division may be called MBT (multi type tree) division.

[0067] [Picture Composition: Slice / Tile] To decode pictures in parallel, a picture may be composed of slices or tiles. A picture composed of slices or tiles may be configured by the dividing unit 102.

[0068] A slice is a basic encoding unit that constitutes a picture. A picture is composed of, for example, one or more slices. Also, a slice consists of one or more consecutive CTUs (Coding Tree Units).

[0069] FIG. 4A is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration of a slice. For example, a picture includes 11×8 CTUs and is divided into four slices (Slice 1 - 4). Slice 1 consists of 16 CTUs, Slice 2 consists of 21 CTUs, Slice 3 consists of 29 CTUs, and Slice 4 consists of 22 CTUs. Here, each CTU in the picture belongs to one of the slices. The shape of a slice is in the form of dividing the picture horizontally. The boundary of a slice does not have to be at the screen edge and can be anywhere among the boundaries of CTUs within the screen. The processing order (encoding order or decoding order) of CTUs in a slice is, for example, raster scan order. Also, a slice includes header information and encoded data. The header information may describe features of the slice such as the CTU address at the start of the slice and the slice type.

[0070] A tile is a unit of a rectangular area that constitutes a picture. A number called TileId may be assigned to each tile in raster scan order.

[0071] FIG. 4B is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the tile configuration. For example, a picture includes 11×8 CTUs and is divided into four rectangular region tiles (tiles 1-4). When tiles are used, the processing order of CTUs is changed compared to when tiles are not used. When tiles are not used, a plurality of CTUs in a picture are processed in raster scan order. When tiles are used, in each of the plurality of tiles, at least one CTU is processed in raster scan order. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, the processing order of the plurality of CTUs included in tile 1 is from the left end of the first row of tile 1 to the right end of the first row of tile 1, and then from the left end of the second row of tile 1 to the right end of the second row of tile 1.

[0072] Note that one tile may include one or more slices, and one slice may include one or more tiles.

[0073] [Subtraction unit] The subtraction unit 104 receives an input from the division unit 102 and subtracts a prediction signal (a prediction sample input from the prediction control unit 128 shown below) from the original signal (original sample) in block units divided by the division unit 102. That is, the subtraction unit 104 calculates the prediction error (also referred to as the residual) of the block to be encoded (hereinafter referred to as the current block). Then, the subtraction unit 104 outputs the calculated prediction error (residual) to the conversion unit 106.

[0074] The original signal is an input signal of the encoding device 100 and is a signal representing the image of each picture constituting a moving image (for example, a luminance signal and two chroma signals). Hereinafter, the signal representing the image may also be referred to as a sample.

[0075] [Conversion unit] The conversion unit 106 converts the prediction error in the spatial domain into conversion coefficients in the frequency domain and outputs the conversion coefficients to the quantization unit 108. Specifically, the conversion unit 106 performs, for example, a predetermined discrete cosine transform (DCT) or discrete sine transform (DST) on the prediction error in the spatial domain. The predetermined DCT or DST may be predefined.

[0076] Note that the conversion unit 106 may adaptively select a conversion type from a plurality of conversion types and convert the prediction error into conversion coefficients using a conversion basis function corresponding to the selected conversion type. Such a conversion is sometimes called an explicit multiple core transform (EMT) or an adaptive multiple transform (AMT).

[0077] The plurality of conversion types include, for example, DCT-II, DCT-V, DCT-VIII, DST-I, and DST-VII. FIG. 5A is a table showing the conversion basis functions corresponding to the conversion type examples. In FIG. 5A, N indicates the number of input pixels. The selection of the conversion type from among these plurality of conversion types may depend on, for example, the type of prediction (intra prediction and inter prediction) or the intra prediction mode.

[0078] Information indicating whether to apply such EMT or AMT (for example, called an EMT flag or an AMT flag) and information indicating the selected conversion type are usually signaled at the CU level. Note that the signaling of these information does not necessarily have to be limited to the CU level and may be at other levels (for example, the bit sequence level, the picture level, the slice level, the tile level, or the CTU level).

[0079] Further, the conversion unit 106 may re-convert the conversion coefficient (conversion result). Such re-conversion may be referred to as AST (adaptive secondary transform) or NSST (non-separable secondary transform). For example, the conversion unit 106 performs re-conversion for each sub-block (e.g., 4x4 sub-block) included in the block of conversion coefficients corresponding to the intra prediction error. Information indicating whether to apply NSST and information regarding the conversion matrix used for NSST are usually signaled at the CU level. Note that the signaling of these pieces of information is not necessarily limited to the CU level and may be at other levels (e.g., sequence level, picture level, slice level, tile level, or CTU level).

[0080] A separable transform and a non-separable transform may be applied to the conversion unit 106. The separable transform is a method of performing multiple conversions by separating for each direction by the number of dimensions of the input, and the non-separable transform is a method of treating two or more dimensions as one dimension when the input is multi-dimensional and performing the conversion collectively.

[0081] For example, as an example of the non-separable transform, when the input is a 4×4 block, it is regarded as an array having 16 elements, and a conversion process is performed on the array with a 16×16 conversion matrix.

[0082] Further, in a further example of the non-separable transform, after regarding a 4×4 input block as an array having 16 elements, a transform (Hypercube Givens Transform) that performs a plurality of Givens rotations on the array may be performed.

[0083] In the conversion by the conversion unit 106, the type of basis for conversion to the frequency domain can also be switched according to the region within the CU. As an example, there is SVT (Spatially Varying Transform). In SVT, as shown in FIG. 5B, the CU is divided into two equal parts in the horizontal or vertical direction, and conversion to the frequency domain is performed only on one of the regions. The type of conversion basis can be set for each region. For example, DST7 and DCT8 are used. In this example, only one of the two regions within the CU is converted, and the other is not, but both regions may be converted. Also, the division method can be made more flexible, not only by dividing into two equal parts, but also by dividing into four equal parts, or by separately encoding information indicating the division and signaling it in the same way as CU division. Note that SVT is sometimes also called SBT (Sub-block Transform).

[0084] [Quantization Unit] The quantization unit 108 quantizes the conversion coefficients output from the conversion unit 106. Specifically, the quantization unit 108 scans the conversion coefficients of the current block in a predetermined scanning order, and quantizes the conversion coefficients based on the quantization parameter (QP) corresponding to the scanned conversion coefficients. Then, the quantization unit 108 outputs the quantized conversion coefficients (hereinafter referred to as quantization coefficients) of the current block to the entropy encoding unit 110 and the inverse quantization unit 112. The predetermined scanning order may be predefined.

[0085] The predetermined scanning order is an order for quantization / inverse quantization of the conversion coefficients. For example, the predetermined scanning order may be defined in ascending order of frequency (from low frequency to high frequency) or descending order of frequency (from high frequency to low frequency).

[0086] The quantization parameter (QP) is a parameter that defines the quantization step (quantization width). For example, as the value of the quantization parameter increases, the quantization step also increases. That is, as the value of the quantization parameter increases, the quantization error increases.

[0087] In addition, a quantization matrix may be used for quantization. For example, several types of quantization matrices may be used corresponding to frequency conversion sizes such as 4x4 and 8x8, prediction modes such as intra prediction and inter prediction, and pixel components such as luminance and chrominance. Note that quantization refers to digitizing values sampled at a predetermined interval by associating them with a predetermined level, and in this technical field, it may be referred to using other expressions such as rounding, truncating, and scaling, or rounding, truncating, and scaling may be adopted. The predetermined interval and level may be predefined.

[0088] As methods of using a quantization matrix, there are a method of using a quantization matrix directly set on the encoder side and a method of using a default quantization matrix (default matrix). On the encoder side, by directly setting the quantization matrix, a quantization matrix corresponding to the characteristics of the image can be set. However, in this case, there is a demerit that the amount of code increases due to the encoding of the quantization matrix.

[0089] On the other hand, there is also a method of not using a quantization matrix and quantizing high-frequency components and low-frequency components in the same way. Note that this method is equivalent to a method of using a quantization matrix (flat matrix) in which all coefficients have the same value.

[0090] The quantization matrix may be specified, for example, by an SPS (Sequence Parameter Set) or a PPS (Picture Parameter Set). The SPS includes parameters used for a sequence, and the PPS includes parameters used for a picture. The SPS and PPS may simply be called parameter sets.

[0091] [Entropy Encoding Unit] The entropy encoding unit 110 generates an encoded signal (encoded bit stream) based on the quantized coefficients input from the quantization unit 108. Specifically, the entropy encoding unit 110 binarizes the quantized coefficients, for example, performs arithmetic encoding on the binary signal, and outputs a compressed bit stream or sequence.

[0092] [Inverse Quantization Unit] The inverse quantization unit 112 inverse quantizes the quantized coefficients input from the quantization unit 108. Specifically, the inverse quantization unit 112 inverse quantizes the quantized coefficients of the current block in a predetermined scanning order. Then, the inverse quantization unit 112 outputs the inverse quantized transform coefficients of the current block to the inverse transform unit 114. The predetermined scanning order may be determined in advance.

[0093] [Inverse Transform Unit] The inverse transform unit 114 restores the prediction error (residual) by inverse-transforming the transform coefficients input from the inverse quantization unit 112. Specifically, the inverse transform unit 114 performs an inverse transform corresponding to the transform by the transform unit 106 on the transform coefficients to restore the prediction error of the current block. Then, the inverse transform unit 114 outputs the restored prediction error to the addition unit 116.

[0094] Note that since information is usually lost due to quantization, the restored prediction error does not match the prediction error calculated by the subtraction unit 104. That is, the restored prediction error usually includes a quantization error.

[0095] [Addition Unit] The addition unit 116 reconstructs the current block by adding the prediction error input from the inverse transform unit 114 and the prediction sample input from the prediction control unit 128. Then, the addition unit 116 outputs the reconstructed block to the block memory 118 and the loop filter unit 120. The reconstructed block may also be called a local decoding block.

[0096] [Block Memory] The block memory 118 is a storage unit for storing, for example, blocks that are referred to in intra prediction and are blocks within an encoding target picture (referred to as the current picture). Specifically, the block memory 118 stores the reconstructed block output from the addition unit 116.

[0097] [Frame Memory] The frame memory 122 is a storage unit for storing, for example, reference pictures used in inter prediction, and may also be called a frame buffer. Specifically, the frame memory 122 stores the reconstructed block filtered by the loop filter unit 120.

[0098] [Loop Filter Unit] The loop filter unit 120 applies a loop filter to the block reconstructed by the addition unit 116 and outputs the filtered reconstructed block to the frame memory 122. The loop filter is a filter (in-loop filter) used within the encoding loop, and includes, for example, a deblocking filter (DF or DBF), a sample adaptive offset (SAO), and an adaptive loop filter (ALF).

[0099] In the case of the ALF, a least squares error filter for removing encoding distortion is applied, and for example, for each 2x2 sub-block within the current block, one filter selected from a plurality of filters is applied based on the direction and activity of the local gradient.

[0100] Specifically, first, sub-blocks (for example, 2x2 sub-blocks) are classified into a plurality of classes (for example, 15 or 25 classes). The classification of the sub-blocks is performed based on the direction and activity of the gradient. For example, a classification value C (for example, C = 5D + A) is calculated using the gradient direction value D (for example, 0 to 2 or 0 to 4) and the gradient activity value A (for example, 0 to 4). Then, based on the classification value C, the sub-blocks are classified into a plurality of classes.

[0101] The gradient direction value D is derived, for example, by comparing the gradients in a plurality of directions (e.g., horizontal, vertical, and two diagonal directions). Also, the gradient activity value A is derived, for example, by adding the gradients in a plurality of directions and quantizing the addition result.

[0102] Based on the results of such classification, a filter for the sub-block is determined from among a plurality of filters.

[0103] As the shape of the filter used in ALF, for example, a circularly symmetric shape is utilized. FIGS. 6A to 6C are diagrams showing a plurality of examples of the shape of the filter used in ALF. FIG. 6A shows a 5×5 diamond-shaped filter, FIG. 6B shows a 7×7 diamond-shaped filter, and FIG. 6C shows a 9×9 diamond-shaped filter. The information indicating the shape of the filter is usually signaled at the picture level. Note that the signaling of the information indicating the shape of the filter is not necessarily limited to the picture level, and may be at other levels (e.g., sequence level, slice level, tile level, CTU level, or CU level).

[0104] The on / off of ALF may be determined, for example, at the picture level or the CU level. For example, whether to apply ALF at the CU level may be determined for luminance, and whether to apply ALF at the picture level may be determined for color difference. The information indicating the on / off of ALF is usually signaled at the picture level or the CU level. Note that the signaling of the information indicating the on / off of ALF is not necessarily limited to the picture level or the CU level, and may be at other levels (e.g., sequence level, slice level, tile level, or CTU level).

[0105] The coefficient sets of a plurality of selectable filters (e.g., up to 15 or 25 filters) are usually signaled at the picture level. Note that the signaling of the coefficient sets is not necessarily limited to the picture level, and may be at other levels (e.g., sequence level, slice level, tile level, CTU level, CU level, or sub-block level).

[0106] [Loop Filter Section > Deblocking Filter] In the deblocking filter, the loop filter section 120 reduces the distortion generated at the block boundary of the reconstructed image by performing a filtering process on the block boundary of the reconstructed image.

[0107] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the detailed configuration of the loop filter section 120 that functions as a deblocking filter.

[0108] The loop filter section 120 includes a boundary determination section 1201, a filter determination section 1203, a filter processing section 1205, a processing determination section 1208, a filter characteristic determination section 1207, and switches 1202, 1204, and 1206.

[0109] The boundary determination section 1201 determines whether or not a pixel to be deblocking-filtered (i.e., a target pixel) exists near the block boundary. Then, the boundary determination section 1201 outputs the determination result to the switches 1202 and the processing determination section 1208.

[0110] When it is determined by the boundary determination section 1201 that the target pixel exists near the block boundary, the switch 1202 outputs the image before the filtering process to the switch 1204. Conversely, when it is determined by the boundary determination section 1201 that the target pixel does not exist near the block boundary, the switch 1202 outputs the image before the filtering process to the switch 1206.

[0111] The filter determination section 1203 determines whether or not to perform deblocking filter processing on the target pixel based on the pixel values of at least one neighboring pixel around the target pixel. Then, the filter determination section 1203 outputs the determination result to the switches 1204 and the processing determination section 1208.

[0112] When the switch 1204 is determined by the filter determination unit 1203 to perform the deblocking filter process on the target pixel, the switch 1204 outputs the image before the filter process obtained via the switch 1202 to the filter process unit 1205. Conversely, when the switch 1204 is determined by the filter determination unit 1203 not to perform the deblocking filter process on the target pixel, the switch 1204 outputs the image before the filter process obtained via the switch 1202 to the switch 1206.

[0113] When the filter process unit 1205 obtains the image before the filter process via the switches 1202 and 1204, the filter process unit 1205 performs the deblocking filter process having the filter characteristics determined by the filter characteristic determination unit 1207 on the target pixel. Then, the filter process unit 1205 outputs the pixel after the filter process to the switch 1206.

[0114] The switch 1206 selectively outputs the pixel not subjected to the deblocking filter process and the pixel subjected to the deblocking filter process by the filter process unit 1205 according to the control by the process determination unit 1208.

[0115] The process determination unit 1208 controls the switch 1206 based on the determination results of the boundary determination unit 1201 and the filter determination unit 1203 respectively. That is, when the process determination unit 1208 is determined by the boundary determination unit 1201 that the target pixel exists near the block boundary and is determined by the filter determination unit 1203 to perform the deblocking filter process on the target pixel, the process determination unit 1208 causes the switch 1206 to output the pixel subjected to the deblocking filter process. In addition, in other cases than the above, the process determination unit 1208 causes the switch 1206 to output the pixel not subjected to the deblocking filter process. By repeating such output of pixels, the image after the filter process is output from the switch 1206.

[0116] FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a deblocking filter having filter characteristics symmetric with respect to the block boundary.

[0117] In the deblocking filter process, for example, using the pixel value and quantization parameter, one of two deblocking filters with different characteristics, namely the strong filter and the weak filter, is selected. In the strong filter, as shown in FIG. 8, when there are pixels p0 to p2 and pixels q0 to q2 sandwiching the block boundary, the pixel values of each of the pixels q0 to q2 are changed to pixel values q'0 to q'2, for example, by performing the operation shown in the following formula.

[0118] q'0 = (p1 + 2 × p0 + 2 × q0 + 2 × q1 + q2 + 4) / 8 q'1 = (p0 + q0 + q1 + q2 + 2) / 4 q'2 = (p0 + q0 + q1 + 3 × q2 + 2 × q3 + 4) / 8

[0119] Note that in the above formulas, p0 to p2 and q0 to q2 are the pixel values of pixels p0 to p2 and pixels q0 to q2, respectively. Also, q3 is the pixel value of pixel q3 adjacent to pixel q2 on the side opposite to the block boundary. Also, in the right side of each of the above formulas, the coefficient multiplied by the pixel value of each pixel used in the deblocking filter process is the filter coefficient.

[0120] Furthermore, in the deblocking filter process, clip processing may be performed so that the pixel value after the operation is not set to exceed the threshold value. In this clip processing, the pixel value after the operation by the above formula is clipped to "operation target pixel value ± 2 × threshold value" using the threshold value determined from the quantization parameter. Thereby, excessive smoothing can be prevented.

[0121] FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the block boundary where the deblocking filter process is performed. FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the Bs value.

[0122] The block boundary where deblocking filter processing is performed is, for example, the boundary of a PU (Prediction Unit) or TU (Transform Unit) of an 8×8 pixel block as shown in FIG. 9. The deblocking filter processing can be performed in units of 4 rows or 4 columns. First, for blocks P and Q shown in FIG. 9, a Bs (Boundary Strength) value is determined as shown in FIG. 10.

[0123] According to the Bs value in FIG. 10, even for block boundaries belonging to the same image, it is determined whether to perform deblocking filter processing with different strengths. Deblocking filter processing for the chrominance signal is performed when the Bs value is 2. Deblocking filter processing for the luminance signal is performed when the Bs value is 1 or more and a predetermined condition is satisfied. The predetermined condition may be determined in advance. Note that the determination condition of the Bs value is not limited to that shown in FIG. 10 and may be determined based on other parameters.

[0124] [Prediction Processing Unit (Intra Prediction Unit · Inter Prediction Unit · Prediction Control Unit)] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing performed by the prediction processing unit of the encoding apparatus 100. Note that the prediction processing unit includes all or some of the components of the intra prediction unit 124, the inter prediction unit 126, and the prediction control unit 128.

[0125] The prediction processing unit generates a predicted image of the current block (step Sb_1). This predicted image is also referred to as a prediction signal or a prediction block. Note that the prediction signal includes, for example, an intra prediction signal or an inter prediction signal. Specifically, the prediction processing unit generates a predicted image of the current block using the reconstructed image that has already been obtained by performing generation of a prediction block, generation of a difference block, generation of a coefficient block, restoration of the difference block, and generation of a decoded image block.

[0126] The reconstructed image may be, for example, an image of a reference picture, or an image of an encoded block in the current picture which is the picture including the current block. The encoded block in the current picture is, for example, an adjacent block of the current block.

[0127] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing another example of the processing performed by the prediction processing unit of the encoding apparatus 100.

[0128] The prediction processing unit generates a prediction image in a first method (step Sc_1a), generates a prediction image in a second method (step Sc_1b), and generates a prediction image in a third method (step Sc_1c). The first method, the second method, and the third method are different methods for generating a prediction image, and may be, for example, an inter prediction method, an intra prediction method, and other prediction methods, respectively. In these prediction methods, the above-described reconstructed image may be used.

[0129] Next, the prediction processing unit selects any one of the plurality of prediction images generated in steps Sc_1a, Sc_1b, and Sc_1c (step Sc_2). The selection of this prediction image, that is, the selection of the method or mode for obtaining the final prediction image, may be performed based on calculating the cost for each generated prediction image and based on that cost. Alternatively, the selection of the prediction image may be performed based on the parameters used in the encoding process. The encoding apparatus 100 may signal information for specifying the selected prediction image, method, or mode in an encoded signal (also referred to as an encoded bitstream). The information may be, for example, a flag or the like. Thereby, the decoding apparatus can generate a prediction image according to the method or mode selected in the encoding apparatus 100 based on the information. Note that in the example shown in FIG. 12, the prediction processing unit selects any prediction image after generating prediction images in each method. However, the prediction processing unit may select a method or mode based on the parameters used in the above-described encoding process before generating those prediction images, and generate a prediction image according to the method or mode.

[0130] For example, the first method and the second method are intra prediction and inter prediction, respectively, and the prediction processing unit may select the final prediction image for the current block from the prediction images generated according to these prediction methods.

[0131] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing another example of the processing performed by the prediction processing unit of the encoding apparatus 100.

[0132] First, the prediction processing unit generates a prediction image by intra prediction (step Sd_1a) and generates a prediction image by inter prediction (step Sd_1b). Note that the prediction image generated by intra prediction is also referred to as an intra prediction image, and the prediction image generated by inter prediction is also referred to as an inter prediction image.

[0133] Next, the prediction processing unit evaluates each of the intra prediction image and the inter prediction image (step Sd_2). A cost may be used for this evaluation. That is, the prediction processing unit calculates the cost C of each of the intra prediction image and the inter prediction image. This cost C can be calculated by an equation of an R-D optimization model, for example, C = D + λ × R. In this equation, D is the encoding distortion of the prediction image, and is represented by, for example, the sum of absolute differences between the pixel values of the current block and the pixel values of the prediction image. Also, R is the generated code amount of the prediction image, and specifically, is the code amount required for encoding motion information or the like for generating the prediction image. Also, λ is, for example, a Lagrange undetermined multiplier.

[0134] Then, the prediction processing unit selects, as the final prediction image of the current block, the prediction image for which the smallest cost C has been calculated from the intra prediction image and the inter prediction image (step Sd_3). That is, the prediction method or mode for generating the prediction image of the current block is selected.

[0135] [Intra Prediction Unit] The intra prediction unit 124 generates a prediction signal (intra prediction signal) by performing intra prediction (also referred to as in-picture prediction) of the current block with reference to the blocks in the current picture stored in the block memory 118. Specifically, the intra prediction unit 124 generates an intra prediction signal by performing intra prediction with reference to samples (e.g., luminance values, color difference values) of blocks adjacent to the current block, and outputs the intra prediction signal to the prediction control unit 128.

[0136] For example, the intra prediction unit 124 performs intra prediction using one of a plurality of predefined intra prediction modes. The plurality of intra prediction modes usually include one or more non-directional prediction modes and a plurality of directional prediction modes. The plurality of predefined modes may be predefined in advance.

[0137] The one or more non-directional prediction modes include, for example, the Planar prediction mode and the DC prediction mode defined in the H.265 / HEVC standard.

[0138] The plurality of directional prediction modes include, for example, the 33-direction prediction mode defined in the H.265 / HEVC standard. Note that the plurality of directional prediction modes may further include a 32-direction prediction mode (a total of 65 directional prediction modes) in addition to the 33 directions. FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing all 67 intra prediction modes (2 non-directional prediction modes and 65 directional prediction modes) that can be used in intra prediction. The solid arrows represent the 33 directions defined in the H.265 / HEVC standard, and the dashed arrows represent the additional 32 directions (the 2 non-directional prediction modes are not shown in FIG. 14).

[0139] In various processing examples, in the intra prediction of a chrominance block, a luminance block may be referred to. That is, based on the luminance component of the current block, the chrominance component of the current block may be predicted. Such intra prediction is sometimes called CCLM (cross-component linear model) prediction. Such an intra prediction mode of a chrominance block that refers to a luminance block (for example, called the CCLM mode) may be added as one of the intra prediction modes of the chrominance block.

[0140] The intra prediction unit 124 may correct the pixel value after intra prediction based on the gradient of the reference pixels in the horizontal / vertical direction. Such intra prediction with such correction is sometimes called PDPC (position dependent intra prediction combination). Information indicating the presence or absence of application of PDPC (for example, called a PDPC flag) is usually signaled at the CU level. Note that the signaling of this information is not necessarily limited to the CU level and may be at other levels (for example, sequence level, picture level, slice level, tile level or CTU level).

[0141] [Inter prediction unit] The inter prediction unit 126 generates a prediction signal (inter prediction signal) by performing inter prediction (also referred to as inter - frame prediction) of a current block with reference to a reference picture stored in the frame memory 122 that is different from the current picture. The inter prediction is performed in units of a current block or a current sub - block (e.g., 4x4 block) within the current block. For example, the inter prediction unit 126 performs motion estimation within the reference picture for the current block or current sub - block, and finds the reference block or sub - block that most matches the current block or current sub - block. Then, the inter prediction unit 126 acquires motion information (e.g., a motion vector) for compensating the motion or change from the reference block or sub - block to the current block or sub - block. The inter prediction unit 126 performs motion compensation (or motion prediction) based on the motion information, and generates an inter prediction signal for the current block or sub - block. The inter prediction unit 126 outputs the generated inter prediction signal to the prediction control unit 128.

[0142] The motion information used for motion compensation may be signaled as an inter prediction signal in various forms. For example, the motion vector may be signaled. As another example, the difference between the motion vector and the motion vector predictor may be signaled.

[0143] [Basic Flow of Inter Prediction] FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the basic flow of inter prediction.

[0144] The inter prediction unit 126 first generates a prediction image (steps Se_1 to Se_3). Next, the subtraction unit 104 generates the difference between the current block and the prediction image as a prediction residual (step Se_4).

[0145] Here, in generating the prediction image, the inter prediction unit 126 generates the prediction image by performing determination of the motion vector (MV) of the current block (steps Se_1 and Se_2) and motion compensation (step Se_3). Also, in determining the MV, the inter prediction unit 126 determines the MV by performing selection of candidate motion vectors (candidate MVs) (step Se_1) and derivation of the MV (step Se_2). The selection of candidate MVs is performed, for example, by selecting at least one candidate MV from a candidate MV list. Also, in deriving the MV, the inter prediction unit 126 may determine the selected at least one candidate MV as the MV of the current block by further selecting at least one candidate MV from the at least one candidate MV. Alternatively, the inter prediction unit 126 may determine the MV of the current block by searching for the region of the reference picture indicated by the candidate MV for each of the selected at least one candidate MVs. Note that searching for the region of this reference picture may be referred to as motion estimation.

[0146] Also, in the above example, steps Se_1 to Se_3 are performed by the inter prediction unit 126. However, for example, processing such as step Se_1 or step Se_2 may be performed by other components included in the encoding device 100.

[0147] [Flow of Derivation of Motion Vector] FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of motion vector derivation.

[0148] The inter prediction unit 126 derives the MV of the current block in a mode of encoding motion information (e.g., MV). In this case, for example, the motion information is encoded as a prediction parameter and signaled. That is, the encoded motion information is included in the encoded signal (also referred to as an encoded bitstream).

[0149] Alternatively, the inter prediction unit 126 derives the MV in a mode that does not encode the motion information. In this case, the motion information is not included in the encoded signal.

[0150] Here, the modes of MV derivation may include, for example, the normal inter mode, the merge mode, the FRUC mode, and the affine mode, which will be described later. Among these modes, the modes that encode the motion information include the normal inter mode, the merge mode, and the affine mode (specifically, the affine inter mode and the affine merge mode). Note that the motion information may include not only the MV but also the predicted motion vector selection information, which will be described later. Also, the modes that do not encode the motion information include the FRUC mode. The inter prediction unit 126 selects a mode for deriving the MV of the current block from these multiple modes, and derives the MV of the current block using the selected mode.

[0151] FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing another example of motion vector derivation.

[0152] The inter prediction unit 126 derives the MV of the current block in a mode that encodes the differential MV. In this case, for example, the differential MV is encoded as a prediction parameter and signaled. That is, the encoded differential MV is included in the encoded signal. This differential MV is the difference between the MV of the current block and its predicted MV.

[0153] Alternatively, the inter prediction unit 126 derives the MV in a mode that does not encode the differential MV. In this case, the encoded differential MV is not included in the encoded signal.

[0154] Here, as described above, the modes for deriving the MV include the normal inter, merge mode, FRUC mode, and affine mode, etc., which will be described later. Among these modes, the modes for encoding the differential MV include the normal inter mode and the affine mode (specifically, the affine inter mode), etc. Also, the modes for not encoding the differential MV include the FRUC mode, the merge mode, and the affine mode (specifically, the affine merge mode), etc. The inter prediction unit 126 selects a mode for deriving the MV of the current block from these multiple modes, and derives the MV of the current block using the selected mode.

[0155] [Flow of Motion Vector Derivation] FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing another example of motion vector derivation. There are multiple modes for the mode of MV derivation, that is, the inter prediction mode, which can be roughly divided into a mode for encoding the differential MV and a mode for not encoding the differential motion vector. The modes for not encoding the differential MV include the merge mode, the FRUC mode, and the affine mode (specifically, the affine merge mode). The details of these modes will be described later. Briefly, the merge mode is a mode for deriving the MV of the current block by selecting a motion vector from surrounding encoded blocks, and the FRUC mode is a mode for deriving the MV of the current block by performing a search between encoded regions. Also, the affine mode is a mode for deriving the motion vector of each of the multiple sub-blocks constituting the current block as the MV of the current block assuming an affine transformation.

[0156] Specifically, as shown in the figure, when the inter-prediction mode information indicates 0 (0 in Sf_1), the inter-prediction unit 126 derives a motion vector in the merge mode (Sf_2). Further, when the inter-prediction mode information indicates 1 (1 in Sf_1), the inter-prediction unit 126 derives a motion vector in the FRUC mode (Sf_3). Further, when the inter-prediction mode information indicates 2 (2 in Sf_1), the inter-prediction unit 126 derives a motion vector in the affine mode (specifically, the affine merge mode) (Sf_4). Further, when the inter-prediction mode information indicates 3 (3 in Sf_1), the inter-prediction unit 126 derives a motion vector in the mode for encoding the differential MV (for example, the normal inter mode) (Sf_5).

[0157] [MV Derivation > Normal Inter Mode] The normal inter mode is an inter-prediction mode in which the MV of the current block is derived based on a block similar to the image of the current block from the region of the reference picture indicated by the candidate MV. Also, in this normal inter mode, the differential MV is encoded.

[0158] FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of inter-prediction by the normal inter mode.

[0159] The inter-prediction unit 126 first obtains a plurality of candidate MVs for the current block based on information such as the MVs of a plurality of encoded blocks temporally or spatially around the current block (step Sg_1). That is, the inter-prediction unit 126 creates a candidate MV list.

[0160] Next, the inter-prediction unit 126 extracts each of N candidate MVs (N is an integer of 2 or more) from the plurality of candidate MVs obtained in step Sg_1 as a prediction motion vector candidate (also referred to as a prediction MV candidate) according to a predetermined priority order (step Sg_2). Note that the priority order may be determined in advance for each of the N candidate MVs.

[0161] Next, the inter prediction unit 126 selects one candidate prediction motion vector from among the N candidate prediction motion vectors as the prediction motion vector (also referred to as the prediction MV) of the current block (step Sg_3). At this time, the inter prediction unit 126 encodes prediction motion vector selection information for identifying the selected prediction motion vector into the stream. Note that the stream is the encoded signal or encoded bit stream described above.

[0162] Next, the inter prediction unit 126 refers to the encoded reference picture and derives the MV of the current block (step Sg_4). At this time, the inter prediction unit 126 further encodes the difference value between the derived MV and the prediction motion vector as the differential MV into the stream. Note that the encoded reference picture is a picture composed of a plurality of blocks reconstructed after encoding.

[0163] Finally, the inter prediction unit 126 generates a predicted image of the current block by performing motion compensation on the current block using the derived MV and the encoded reference picture (step Sg_5). Note that the predicted image is the inter prediction signal described above.

[0164] In addition, information indicating the inter prediction mode (normal inter mode in the above example) used for generating the predicted image included in the encoded signal is encoded as, for example, prediction parameters.

[0165] Note that the candidate MV list may be used in common with lists used in other modes. Also, the processing related to the candidate MV list may be applied to the processing related to the lists used in other modes. The processing related to this candidate MV list is, for example, extraction or selection of candidate MVs from the candidate MV list, rearrangement of candidate MVs, or deletion of candidate MVs.

[0166] [MV Derivation > Merge Mode] The merge mode is an inter prediction mode for deriving an MV by selecting a candidate MV from a candidate MV list as the MV of the current block.

[0167] FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing an example of inter prediction by the merge mode.

[0168] The inter prediction unit 126 first obtains a plurality of candidate MVs for the current block based on information such as the MVs of a plurality of encoded blocks temporally or spatially around the current block (step Sh_1). That is, the inter prediction unit 126 creates a candidate MV list.

[0169] Next, the inter prediction unit 126 derives the MV of the current block by selecting one candidate MV from the plurality of candidate MVs obtained in step Sh_1 (step Sh_2). At this time, the inter prediction unit 126 encodes the MV selection information for identifying the selected candidate MV into the stream.

[0170] Finally, the inter prediction unit 126 generates a predicted image of the current block by performing motion compensation on the current block using the derived MV and the encoded reference picture (step Sh_3).

[0171] Also, information indicating the inter prediction mode (merge mode in the above example) used for generating the predicted image, which is included in the encoded signal, is encoded as, for example, prediction parameters.

[0172] FIG. 21 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of the motion vector derivation process of the current picture by the merge mode.

[0173] First, a prediction MV list with candidates for the predicted MV is generated. As candidates for the predicted MV, there are a spatial adjacent prediction MV which is the MV of a plurality of encoded blocks spatially adjacent to the target block, a temporal adjacent prediction MV which is the MV of a neighboring block obtained by projecting the position of the target block in the encoded reference picture, a combined prediction MV which is an MV generated by combining the MV values of the spatial adjacent prediction MV and the temporal adjacent prediction MV, a zero prediction MV which is an MV with a value of zero, and the like.

[0174] Next, one predicted MV is selected from among the plurality of predicted MVs registered in the prediction MV list to determine the MV of the target block.

[0175] Furthermore, in the variable-length coding section, a merge_idx which is a signal indicating which predicted MV is selected is described in the stream and encoded.

[0176] Note that the predicted MVs registered in the prediction MV list described in FIG. 21 are just examples, and the number may be different from that in the figure, or the configuration may not include some of the types of predicted MVs in the figure, or the configuration may be one in which predicted MVs other than the types of predicted MVs in the figure are added.

[0177] The final MV may be determined by performing a DMVR (decoder motion vector refinement) process described later using the MV of the target block derived in the merge mode.

[0178] Note that the candidates for the predicted MV are the above-described candidate MVs, and the prediction MV list is the above-described candidate MV list. Also, the candidate MV list may be referred to as the candidate list. Also, merge_idx is MV selection information.

[0179] [MV Derivation > FRUC Mode] Motion information may be derived on the decoder side without being signaled from the encoder side. Note that, as described above, the merge mode defined in the H.265 / HEVC standard may be used. Also, for example, motion information may be derived by performing motion search on the decoder side. In the embodiment, on the decoder side, motion search is performed without using the pixel values of the current block.

[0180] Here, a mode in which motion search is performed on the decoder side will be described. This mode in which motion search is performed on the decoder side may be referred to as the PMMVD (pattern matched motion vector derivation) mode or the FRUC (frame rate up-conversion) mode.

[0181] An example of the FRUC process is shown in FIG. 22 in the form of a flowchart. First, by referring to the motion vectors of the encoded blocks that are spatially or temporally adjacent to the current block, a list of a plurality of candidates (i.e., a candidate MV list, which may be common with the merge list), each having a predicted motion vector (MV), is generated (step Si_1). Next, the best candidate MV is selected from among the plurality of candidate MVs registered in the candidate MV list (step Si_2). For example, an evaluation value of each candidate MV included in the candidate MV list is calculated, and one candidate MV is selected based on the evaluation value. Then, based on the motion vector of the selected candidate, a motion vector for the current block is derived (step Si_4). Specifically, for example, the motion vector of the selected candidate (the best candidate MV) is directly derived as the motion vector for the current block. Also, for example, in the peripheral region of the position in the reference picture corresponding to the motion vector of the selected candidate, by performing pattern matching, a motion vector for the current block may be derived. That is, perform search using pattern matching and evaluation value in the reference picture for the region around the best candidate MV, and if there is an MV with a better evaluation value, update the best candidate MV to the MV and use it as the final MV of the current block. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the process of updating to an MV with a better evaluation value is not performed.

[0182] Finally, the inter prediction unit 126 generates a predicted image of the current block by performing motion compensation on the current block using the derived MV and the encoded reference picture (step Si_5).

[0183] When processing is performed in units of sub-blocks, the same processing may be performed.

[0184] The evaluation value may be calculated by various methods. For example, the reconstructed image of the region in the reference picture corresponding to the motion vector is compared with the reconstructed image of a predetermined region (the region may be, for example, the region of another reference picture or the region of an adjacent block of the current picture as shown below). The predetermined region may be determined in advance.

[0185] Then, the difference between the pixel values of the two reconstructed images may be calculated and used as the evaluation value of the motion vector. Note that in addition to the difference value, other information may be used to calculate the evaluation value.

[0186] Next, an example of pattern matching will be described in detail. First, one candidate MV included in the candidate MV list (for example, the merge list) is selected as the start point of the search by pattern matching. For example, as the pattern matching, the first pattern matching or the second pattern matching may be used. The first pattern matching and the second pattern matching may be called bilateral matching and template matching, respectively.

[0187] [MV Derivation > FRUC > Bilateral Matching] In the first pattern matching, pattern matching is performed between two blocks in two different reference pictures that are along the motion trajectory of the current block. Therefore, in the first pattern matching, as the predetermined region for calculating the evaluation value of the above-described candidate, the region in another reference picture along the motion trajectory of the current block is used. The predetermined region may be determined in advance.

[0188] FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of first pattern matching (bilateral matching) between two blocks in two reference pictures along a motion trajectory. As shown in FIG. 23, in the first pattern matching, two motion vectors (MV0, MV1) are derived by searching for the most matching pair among pairs of two blocks in two different reference pictures (Ref0, Ref1) that are two blocks along the motion trajectory of the current block (Cur block). Specifically, for the current block, the difference between the reconstructed image at the specified position in the first encoded reference picture (Ref0) specified by the candidate MV and the reconstructed image at the specified position in the second encoded reference picture (Ref1) specified by the symmetric MV obtained by scaling the candidate MV by the display time interval is derived, and an evaluation value is calculated using the obtained difference value. It is possible to select the candidate MV with the best evaluation value among a plurality of candidate MVs as the final MV, which can bring good results.

[0189] Under the assumption of a continuous motion trajectory, the motion vectors (MV0, MV1) indicating the two reference blocks are proportional to the temporal distances (TD0, TD1) between the current picture (Cur Pic) and the two reference pictures (Ref0, Ref1). For example, when the current picture is temporally located between the two reference pictures and the temporal distances from the current picture to the two reference pictures are equal, in the first pattern matching, mirror-symmetric bidirectional motion vectors are derived.

[0190] [MV Derivation > FRUC > Template Matching] In the second pattern matching (template matching), pattern matching is performed between a template in the current picture (a block adjacent to the current block in the current picture (e.g., the upper and / or left adjacent block)) and a block in the reference picture. Therefore, in the second pattern matching, a block adjacent to the current block in the current picture is used as the predetermined region for calculating the evaluation value of the above-described candidate.

[0191] FIG. 24 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of pattern matching (template matching) between a template in a current picture and a block in a reference picture. As shown in FIG. 24, in the second pattern matching, the motion vector of the current block is derived by searching in the reference picture (Ref0) for the block that most closely matches the block adjacent to the current block (Cur block) in the current picture (Cur Pic). Specifically, for the current block, the difference between the reconstructed image of the encoded region of both the left adjacent and upper adjacent or either one of them and the reconstructed image at the equivalent position in the encoded reference picture (Ref0) specified by the candidate MV is derived, an evaluation value is calculated using the obtained difference value, and it is possible to select, as the best candidate MV, the candidate MV having the best evaluation value among a plurality of candidate MVs.

[0192] Information indicating whether or not to apply such an FRUC mode (for example, called an FRUC flag) may be signaled at the CU level. Also, when the FRUC mode is applied (for example, when the FRUC flag is true), information indicating the applicable pattern matching method (the first pattern matching or the second pattern matching) may be signaled at the CU level. Note that the signaling of this information need not be limited to the CU level and may be at other levels (for example, sequence level, picture level, slice level, tile level, CTU level, or sub-block level).

[0193] [MV Derivation > Affine Mode] Next, the affine mode for deriving a motion vector in sub-block units based on the motion vectors of a plurality of adjacent blocks will be described. This mode may be called an affine motion compensation prediction mode.

[0194] FIG. 25A is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of deriving a motion vector for each sub-block based on motion vectors of a plurality of adjacent blocks. In FIG. 25A, a current block includes 16 4x4 sub-blocks. Here, based on the motion vectors of adjacent blocks, a motion vector v0 of the upper left control point of the current block is derived, and similarly, based on the motion vectors of adjacent sub-blocks, a motion vector v1 of the upper right control point of the current block is derived. Then, the two motion vectors v0 and v1 may be projected by the following equation (1A), and the motion vectors (v x , v y ) of each sub-block within the current block may be derived.

[0195] [Equation]

[0196] Here, x and y respectively indicate the horizontal position and the vertical position of the sub-block, and w indicates a predetermined weight coefficient. The predetermined weight coefficient may be determined in advance.

[0197] Information indicating such an affine mode (for example, called an affine flag) may be signaled at the CU level. Note that the signaling of the information indicating this affine mode does not have to be limited to the CU level, and may be at other levels (for example, sequence level, picture level, slice level, tile level, CTU level, or sub-block level).

[0198] Also, such an affine mode may include several modes in which the methods for deriving the motion vectors of the upper left and upper right control points are different. For example, the affine mode includes two modes: an affine inter (also called affine normal inter) mode and an affine merge mode.

[0199] [MV Derivation > Affine Mode] FIG. 25B is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of deriving motion vectors of sub - block units in affine mode having three control points. In FIG. 25B, the current block includes 16 4x4 sub - blocks. Here, based on the motion vectors of adjacent blocks, the motion vector v0 of the upper - left control point of the current block is derived, and similarly, based on the motion vectors of adjacent blocks, the motion vector v1 of the upper - right control point of the current block and the motion vector v2 of the lower - left control point of the current block are derived. Then, the three motion vectors v0, v1, and v2 may be projected by the following formula (1B), and the motion vectors (v x ,v y ) of each sub - block within the current block may be derived.

[0200]

Equation

[0201] Here, x and y indicate the horizontal position and vertical position of the sub - block center, respectively, w indicates the width of the current block, and h indicates the height of the current block.

[0202] The affine modes with different numbers of control points (e.g., two and three) may be switched and signaled at the CU level. Note that information indicating the number of control points of the affine mode used at the CU level may be signaled at other levels (e.g., sequence level, picture level, slice level, tile level, CTU level, or sub - block level).

[0203] Also, in such an affine mode having three control points, it may include several modes in which the methods for deriving the motion vectors of the upper - left, upper - right, and lower - left control points are different. For example, the affine mode includes two modes: the affine inter (also called affine normal inter) mode and the affine merge mode.

[0204] [MV Derivation > Affine Merge Mode] Figures 26A, 26B, and 26C are conceptual diagrams for explaining the affine merge mode.

[0205] In the affine merge mode, as shown in Figure 26A, for example, among the encoded blocks A (left), B (above), C (upper right), D (lower left), and E (upper left) adjacent to the current block, a plurality of motion vectors corresponding to the blocks encoded in the affine mode are used to calculate the predicted motion vectors of each control point of the current block. Specifically, these blocks are inspected in the order of encoded block A (left), block B (above), block C (upper right), block D (lower left), and block E (upper left), and the first valid block encoded in the affine mode is identified. Based on the plurality of motion vectors corresponding to this identified block, the predicted motion vectors of the control points of the current block are calculated.

[0206] For example, as shown in Figure 26B, when the block A adjacent to the left of the current block is encoded in the affine mode having two control points, the motion vectors v3 and v4 projected onto the upper left corner and upper right corner positions of the encoded block including block A are derived. Then, from the derived motion vectors v3 and v4, the predicted motion vector v0 of the control point at the upper left corner of the current block and the predicted motion vector v1 of the control point at the upper right corner are calculated.

[0207] For example, as shown in Figure 26C, when the block A adjacent to the left of the current block is encoded in the affine mode having three control points, the motion vectors v3, v4, and v5 projected onto the upper left corner, upper right corner, and lower left corner positions of the encoded block including block A are derived. Then, from the derived motion vectors v3, v4, and v5, the predicted motion vector v0 of the control point at the upper left corner of the current block, the predicted motion vector v1 of the control point at the upper right corner, and the predicted motion vector v2 of the control point at the lower left corner are calculated.

[0208] Note that this predicted motion vector derivation method may be used to derive the respective predicted motion vectors of the control points of the current block in step Sj_1 of FIG. 29 described later.

[0209] FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing an example of the affine merge mode.

[0210] In the affine merge mode, as shown in the figure, first, the inter prediction unit 126 derives the respective predicted MVs of the control points of the current block (step Sk_1). The control points are, as shown in FIG. 25A, the upper left and upper right points of the current block, or, as shown in FIG. 25B, the upper left, upper right, and lower left points of the current block.

[0211] That is, as shown in FIG. 26A, the inter prediction unit 126 inspects these blocks in the order of the encoded block A (left), block B (upper), block C (upper right), block D (lower left), and block E (upper left), and identifies the first valid block encoded in the affine mode.

[0212] When block A is identified and block A has two control points, as shown in FIG. 26B, the inter prediction unit 126 calculates the motion vector v0 of the control point at the upper left corner of the current block and the motion vector v1 of the control point at the upper right corner from the motion vectors v3 and v4 at the upper left and upper right corners of the encoded block including block A. For example, the inter prediction unit 126 projects the motion vectors v3 and v4 at the upper left and upper right corners of the encoded block onto the current block to calculate the predicted motion vector v0 of the control point at the upper left corner of the current block and the predicted motion vector v1 of the control point at the upper right corner.

[0213] Alternatively, when block A is identified and block A has three control points, as shown in FIG. 26C, the inter prediction unit 126 calculates the motion vectors v0, v1, and v2 of the control points at the upper left corner, upper right corner, and lower left corner of the current block from the motion vectors v3, v4, and v5 at the upper left corner, upper right corner, and lower left corner of the encoded block including block A. For example, the inter prediction unit 126 projects the motion vectors v3, v4, and v5 at the upper left corner, upper right corner, and lower left corner of the encoded block onto the current block to calculate the predicted motion vector v0 of the control point at the upper left corner of the current block, the predicted motion vector v1 of the control point at the upper right corner, and the motion vector v2 of the control point at the lower left corner.

[0214] Next, the inter prediction unit 126 performs motion compensation for each of the plurality of sub-blocks included in the current block. That is, for each of the plurality of sub-blocks, the inter prediction unit 126 calculates the motion vector of the sub-block as an affine MV using two prediction motion vectors v0 and v1 and the above formula (1A), or three prediction motion vectors v0, v1, and v2 and the above formula (1B) (step Sk_2). Then, the inter prediction unit 126 performs motion compensation on the sub-block using those affine MVs and the encoded reference picture (step Sk_3). As a result, motion compensation is performed on the current block, and a predicted image of the current block is generated.

[0215] [MV Derivation > Affine Inter Mode] FIG. 28A is a conceptual diagram for explaining the affine inter mode having two control points.

[0216] In this affine interpolation mode, as shown in FIG. 28A, a motion vector selected from the motion vectors of the encoded blocks A, B, and C adjacent to the current block is used as the predicted motion vector v0 of the control point at the upper left corner of the current block. Similarly, a motion vector selected from the motion vectors of the encoded blocks D and E adjacent to the current block is used as the predicted motion vector v1 of the control point at the upper right corner of the current block.

[0217] FIG. 28B is a conceptual diagram for explaining the affine interpolation mode having three control points.

[0218] In this affine interpolation mode, as shown in FIG. 28B, a motion vector selected from the motion vectors of the encoded blocks A, B, and C adjacent to the current block is used as the predicted motion vector v0 of the control point at the upper left corner of the current block. Similarly, a motion vector selected from the motion vectors of the encoded blocks D and E adjacent to the current block is used as the predicted motion vector v1 of the control point at the upper right corner of the current block. Further, a motion vector selected from the motion vectors of the encoded blocks F and G adjacent to the current block is used as the predicted motion vector v2 of the control point at the lower left corner of the current block.

[0219] FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing an example of the affine interpolation mode.

[0220] As shown in the figure, in the affine interpolation mode, first, the inter prediction unit 126 derives the respective predicted MVs (v0, v1) or (v0, v1, v2) of two or three control points of the current block (step Sj_1). The control points are the points at the upper left corner, upper right corner, or lower left corner of the current block as shown in FIG. 25A or FIG. 25B.

[0221] That is, the inter prediction unit 126 derives the predicted motion vectors (v0, v1) or (v0, v1, v2) of the control points of the current block by selecting the motion vector of any one of the encoded blocks near each control point of the current block shown in FIG. 28A or FIG. 28B. At this time, the inter prediction unit 126 encodes the prediction motion vector selection information for identifying the two selected motion vectors into the stream.

[0222] For example, the inter prediction unit 126 determines which block's motion vector to select as the predicted motion vector of the control point from the encoded blocks adjacent to the current block using cost evaluation or the like, and may describe a flag indicating which predicted motion vector is selected in the bit stream.

[0223] Next, the inter prediction unit 126 performs motion search (steps Sj_3 and Sj_4) while updating the predicted motion vectors selected or derived in step Sj_1 (step Sj_2). That is, the inter prediction unit 126 calculates the motion vectors of the respective sub-blocks corresponding to the updated predicted motion vectors as affine MVs using the above formula (1A) or formula (1B) (step Sj_3). Then, the inter prediction unit 126 performs motion compensation on each sub-block using those affine MVs and the encoded reference picture (step Sj_4). As a result, the inter prediction unit 126 determines, in the motion search loop, for example, the predicted motion vector that obtains the smallest cost as the motion vector of the control point (step Sj_5). At this time, the inter prediction unit 126 further encodes the difference value between each of the determined MV and the predicted motion vector as the differential MV into the stream.

[0224] Finally, the inter prediction unit 126 generates a predicted image of the current block by performing motion compensation on the current block using the determined MV and the encoded reference picture (step Sj_6).

[0225] [MV Derivation > Affine Inter Mode] When signaling by switching the affine modes with different numbers of control points (for example, two and three) at the CU level, the number of control points may be different between the coded block and the current block. FIGS. 30A and 30B are conceptual diagrams for explaining a method of deriving a prediction vector of control points when the number of control points is different between the coded block and the current block.

[0226] For example, as shown in FIG. 30A, when the current block has three control points at the upper left corner, upper right corner, and lower left corner, and the block A adjacent to the left of the current block is coded in an affine mode with two control points, motion vectors v3 and v4 projected onto the upper left corner and upper right corner positions of the coded block including block A are derived. Then, from the derived motion vectors v3 and v4, a predicted motion vector v0 of the control point at the upper left corner of the current block and a predicted motion vector v1 of the control point at the upper right corner are calculated. Further, from the derived motion vectors v0 and v1, a predicted motion vector v2 of the control point at the lower left corner is calculated.

[0227] For example, as shown in FIG. 30B, when the current block has two control points at the upper left corner and upper right corner, and the block A adjacent to the left of the current block is coded in an affine mode with three control points, motion vectors v3, v4, and v5 projected onto the upper left corner, upper right corner, and lower left corner positions of the coded block including block A are derived. Then, from the derived motion vectors v3, v4, and v5, a predicted motion vector v0 of the control point at the upper left corner of the current block and a predicted motion vector v1 of the control point at the upper right corner are calculated.

[0228] This prediction motion vector derivation method may be used to derive each predicted motion vector of the control points of the current block in step Sj_1 of FIG. 29.

[0229] [MV Derivation > DMVR] FIG. 31A is a flowchart showing the relationship between the merge mode and DMVR.

[0230] The inter prediction unit 126 derives the motion vector of the current block in the merge mode (step Sl_1). Next, the inter prediction unit 126 determines whether to perform motion vector search, that is, motion search (step Sl_2). Here, if the inter prediction unit 126 determines not to perform motion search (No in step Sl_2), the motion vector derived in step Sl_1 is determined as the final motion vector for the current block (step Sl_4). That is, in this case, the motion vector of the current block is determined in the merge mode.

[0231] On the other hand, if it is determined to perform motion search in step Sl_1 (Yes in step Sl_2), the inter prediction unit 126 derives the final motion vector for the current block by searching the peripheral area of the reference picture indicated by the motion vector derived in step Sl_1 (step Sl_3). That is, in this case, the motion vector of the current block is determined by DMVR.

[0232] FIG. 31B is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of the DMVR process for determining the MV.

[0233] First, the optimal MVP set for the current block (for example, in the merge mode) is used as the candidate MV. Then, according to the candidate MV (L0), reference pixels are specified from the first reference picture (L0), which is the encoded picture in the L0 direction. Similarly, according to the candidate MV (L1), reference pixels are specified from the second reference picture (L1), which is the encoded picture in the L1 direction. A template is generated by taking the average of these reference pixels.

[0234] Next, using the template, search the peripheral regions of the candidate MVs of the first reference picture (L0) and the second reference picture (L1) respectively, and determine the MV with the minimum cost as the final MV. Note that the cost value may be calculated using, for example, the difference value between each pixel value of the template and each pixel value of the search region, the candidate MV value, and the like.

[0235] Note that typically, in the encoding device and the decoding device described later, the configuration and operation of the processing described here are basically common.

[0236] Even if it is not the processing example itself described here, any processing may be used as long as it is a processing capable of searching the periphery of the candidate MV to derive the final MV.

[0237] [Motion Compensation > BIO / OBMC] In motion compensation, there are modes for generating a predicted image and correcting the predicted image. Those modes are, for example, BIO and OBMC described later.

[0238] FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing an example of generating a predicted image.

[0239] The inter prediction unit 126 generates a predicted image (step Sm_1), and corrects the predicted image by, for example, any of the above-described modes (step Sm_2).

[0240] FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing another example of generating a predicted image.

[0241] The inter prediction unit 126 determines the motion vector of the current block (step Sn_1). Next, the inter prediction unit 126 generates a prediction image (step Sn_2) and determines whether to perform correction processing (step Sn_3). Here, when the inter prediction unit 126 determines to perform correction processing (Yes in step Sn_3), it generates a final prediction image by correcting the prediction image (step Sn_4). On the other hand, when the inter prediction unit 126 determines not to perform correction processing (No in step Sn_3), it outputs the prediction image as the final prediction image without correction (step Sn_5).

[0242] Also, in motion compensation, there is a mode of correcting luminance when generating a prediction image. That mode is, for example, LIC described later.

[0243] Figure 34 is a flowchart showing another example of generating a prediction image.

[0244] The inter prediction unit 126 derives the motion vector of the current block (step So_1). Next, the inter prediction unit 126 determines whether to perform luminance correction processing (step So_2). Here, when the inter prediction unit 126 determines to perform luminance correction processing (Yes in step So_2), it generates a prediction image while performing luminance correction (step So_3). That is, the prediction image is generated by LIC. On the other hand, when the inter prediction unit 126 determines not to perform luminance correction processing (No in step So_2), it generates a prediction image by normal motion compensation without performing luminance correction (step So_4).

[0245] [Motion Compensation > OBMC] An inter prediction signal may be generated using not only the motion information of the current block obtained by motion search but also the motion information of adjacent blocks. Specifically, a prediction signal based on the motion information obtained by motion search (within the reference picture) and a prediction signal based on the motion information of adjacent blocks (within the current picture) may be weighted and added to generate an inter prediction signal for each sub-block within the current block. Such inter prediction (motion compensation) is sometimes referred to as OBMC (overlapped block motion compensation).

[0246] In the OBMC mode, information indicating the size of the sub-blocks for OBMC (e.g., called OBMC block size) may be signaled at the sequence level. Further, information indicating whether to apply the OBMC mode (e.g., called OBMC flag) may be signaled at the CU level. Note that the signaling levels of these pieces of information do not have to be limited to the sequence level and the CU level, and may be other levels (e.g., picture level, slice level, tile level, CTU level, or sub-block level).

[0247] An example of the OBMC mode will be described more specifically. FIGS. 35 and 36 are a flowchart and a conceptual diagram for explaining the outline of the prediction image correction process by OBMC processing.

[0248] First, as shown in FIG. 36, a predicted image (Pred) by normal motion compensation is obtained using the motion vector (MV) assigned to the processing target (current) block. In FIG. 36, the arrow “MV” points to the reference picture, indicating what the current block of the current picture refers to in order to obtain the predicted image.

[0249] Next, the motion vector (MV_L) already derived for the encoded left adjacent block is applied (reused) to the block to be encoded to obtain a predicted image (Pred_L). The motion vector (MV_L) is indicated by an arrow "MV_L" pointing from the current block to the reference picture. Then, the first correction of the predicted image is performed by superimposing the two predicted images Pred and Pred_L. This has the effect of blending the boundaries between adjacent blocks.

[0250] Similarly, the motion vector (MV_U) already derived for the encoded upper adjacent block is applied (reused) to the block to be encoded to obtain a predicted image (Pred_U). The motion vector (MV_U) is indicated by an arrow "MV_U" pointing from the current block to the reference picture. Then, the second correction of the predicted image is performed by superimposing the predicted image Pred_U on the predicted image (e.g., Pred and Pred_L) that has undergone the first correction. This has the effect of blending the boundaries between adjacent blocks. The predicted image obtained by the second correction is the final predicted image of the current block in which the boundary with the adjacent block is blended (smoothed).

[0251] Note that the above example is a two-pass correction method using left and upper adjacent blocks, but the correction method may also be a three-pass or more pass correction method using right and / or lower adjacent blocks.

[0252] Note that the area for superimposition may be only a partial area near the block boundary, rather than the entire pixel area of the block.

[0253] Here, the OBMC prediction image correction process for obtaining one prediction image Pred by superimposing additional prediction images Pred_L and Pred_U from one reference picture has been described. However, when the prediction image is corrected based on a plurality of reference images, the same process may be applied to each of the plurality of reference pictures. In such a case, by performing OBMC image correction based on a plurality of reference pictures, after obtaining the corrected prediction images from each reference picture, the final prediction image is obtained by further superimposing the plurality of obtained corrected prediction images.

[0254] Note that in OBMC, the unit of the target block may be a prediction block unit or a sub-block unit obtained by further dividing the prediction block.

[0255] As a method for determining whether to apply the OBMC process, for example, there is a method using an obmc_flag which is a signal indicating whether to apply the OBMC process. As a specific example, the encoding device may determine whether the target block belongs to a region with complex motion. When the target block belongs to a region with complex motion, the encoding device sets the value 1 as the obmc_flag and applies the OBMC process for encoding. When the target block does not belong to a region with complex motion, the encoding device sets the value 0 as the obmc_flag and performs block encoding without applying the OBMC process. On the other hand, in the decoding device, by decoding the obmc_flag described in the stream (for example, the compressed sequence), the decoding is performed by switching whether to apply the OBMC process according to the value.

[0256] In the above example, the inter prediction unit 126 generates one rectangular prediction image for the rectangular current block. However, the inter prediction unit 126 may generate a plurality of prediction images with shapes different from the rectangle for the rectangular current block, and generate the final rectangular prediction image by combining the plurality of prediction images. The shape different from the rectangle may be, for example, a triangle.

[0257] FIG. 37 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the generation of predicted images of two triangles.

[0258] The inter prediction unit 126 generates a predicted image of a triangle by performing motion compensation on the first partition of the triangle in the current block using the first MV of the first partition. Similarly, the inter prediction unit 126 generates a predicted image of a triangle by performing motion compensation on the second partition of the triangle in the current block using the second MV of the second partition. Then, the inter prediction unit 126 generates a predicted image of a rectangle same as the current block by combining these predicted images.

[0259] Note that in the example shown in FIG. 37, the first partition and the second partition are each a triangle, but they may be trapezoids, and they may have different shapes from each other. Further, in the example shown in FIG. 37, the current block is composed of two partitions, but it may be composed of three or more partitions.

[0260] Also, the first partition and the second partition may overlap. That is, the first partition and the second partition may include the same pixel region. In this case, a predicted image of the current block may be generated using the predicted image in the first partition and the predicted image in the second partition.

[0261] Also, in this example, an example in which predicted images are generated by inter prediction for both two partitions is shown, but predicted images may be generated by intra prediction for at least one partition.

[0262] [Motion Compensation > BIO] Next, a method for deriving a motion vector will be described. First, a mode for deriving a motion vector based on a model assuming uniform linear motion will be described. This mode is sometimes called the BIO (bi - directional optical flow) mode.

[0263] Figure 38 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a model assuming uniform linear motion. In Figure 38, (vx, vy) represents the velocity vector, and τ0 and τ1 respectively represent the temporal distances between the current picture (Cur Pic) and two reference pictures (Ref0, Ref1). (MVx0, MVy0) represents the motion vector corresponding to the reference picture Ref0, and (MVx1, MVy1) represents the motion vector corresponding to the reference picture Ref1.

[0264] At this time, under the assumption of uniform linear motion of the velocity vector (vx, vy), (MVx0, MVy0) and (MVx1, MVy1) are respectively represented as (vxτ0, vyτ0) and (-vxτ1, -vyτ1), and the following optical flow equation (2) may be adopted.

[0265]

Equation

[0266] Here, I(k) represents the luminance value of the reference image k (k = 0, 1) after motion compensation. This optical flow equation indicates that the sum of (i) the temporal derivative of the luminance value, (ii) the product of the horizontal velocity and the horizontal component of the spatial gradient of the reference image, and (iii) the product of the vertical velocity and the vertical component of the spatial gradient of the reference image is equal to zero. Based on the combination of this optical flow equation and Hermite interpolation, the motion vector in block units obtained from the merge list or the like may be corrected in pixel units.

[0267] Note that the motion vector may be derived on the decoder side by a method different from the derivation of the motion vector based on the model assuming uniform linear motion. For example, the motion vector may be derived in sub-block units based on the motion vectors of a plurality of adjacent blocks.

[0268] [Motion Compensation > LIC] Next, an example of a mode for generating a predicted image (prediction) using LIC (local illumination compensation) processing will be described.

[0269] FIG. 39 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of a method for generating a predicted image using luminance correction processing by LIC processing.

[0270] First, an MV is derived from the encoded reference picture to obtain a reference image corresponding to the current block.

[0271] Next, for the current block, information indicating how the luminance value has changed between the reference picture and the current picture is extracted. This extraction is performed based on the luminance pixel values in the encoded left adjacent reference area (peripheral reference area) and the encoded upper adjacent reference area (peripheral reference area) in the current picture, and the luminance pixel values at the equivalent positions in the reference picture specified by the derived MV. Then, a luminance correction parameter is calculated using the information indicating how the luminance value has changed.

[0272] A predicted image for the current block is generated by performing a luminance correction process of applying the luminance correction parameter to the reference image in the reference picture specified by the MV.

[0273] Note that the shape of the peripheral reference area in FIG. 39 is an example, and other shapes may be used.

[0274] Also, although the process of generating a predicted image from one reference picture has been described here, the same applies when generating a predicted image from a plurality of reference pictures. After performing luminance correction processing on the reference images obtained from each reference picture in the same manner as described above, a predicted image may be generated.

[0275] As a method for determining whether to apply LIC processing, for example, there is a method of using lic_flag, which is a signal indicating whether to apply LIC processing. As a specific example, in an encoding device, it is determined whether the current block belongs to an area where a luminance change has occurred. If it belongs to an area where a luminance change has occurred, a value 1 is set as lic_flag and LIC processing is applied for encoding. If it does not belong to an area where a luminance change has occurred, a value 0 is set as lic_flag and encoding is performed without applying LIC processing. On the other hand, in a decoding device, by decoding the lic_flag described in the stream, decoding may be performed by switching whether to apply LIC processing according to the value thereof.

[0276] As another method for determining whether to apply LIC processing, for example, there is also a method of determining according to whether LIC processing has been applied to surrounding blocks. As a specific example, when the current block is in merge mode, it is determined whether the encoded block in the periphery selected at the time of deriving the MV in the merge mode process has been encoded by applying LIC processing. Encoding is performed by switching whether to apply LIC processing according to the result. Note that, also in the case of this example, the same processing is applied to the processing on the decoder side.

[0277] Although the mode of LIC processing (luminance correction processing) has been described with reference to FIG. 39, the details will be described below.

[0278] First, the inter prediction unit 126 derives a motion vector for obtaining a reference image corresponding to the encoding target block from the reference picture which is the encoded picture.

[0279] Next, the inter prediction unit 126 extracts information indicating how the luminance values change between the reference picture and the picture to be encoded, using the luminance pixel values of the left and upper adjacent encoded peripheral reference regions for the block to be encoded and the luminance pixel values at the equivalent positions in the reference picture specified by the motion vector, and calculates a luminance correction parameter. For example, let the luminance pixel value of a certain pixel in the peripheral reference region within the picture to be encoded be p0, and let the luminance pixel value of the pixel in the peripheral reference region within the reference picture at the equivalent position to this pixel be p1. The inter prediction unit 126 calculates, as the luminance correction parameter, the coefficients A and B that optimize A×p1 + B = p0 for a plurality of pixels in the peripheral reference region.

[0280] Next, the inter prediction unit 126 performs a luminance correction process on the reference image in the reference picture specified by the motion vector using the luminance correction parameter, thereby generating a predicted image for the block to be encoded. For example, let the luminance pixel value in the reference image be p2, and let the luminance pixel value of the predicted image after the luminance correction process be p3. The inter prediction unit 126 generates the predicted image after the luminance correction process by calculating A×p2 + B = p3 for each pixel in the reference image.

[0281] Note that the shape of the peripheral reference region in FIG. 39 is an example, and other shapes may be used. Also, a part of the peripheral reference region shown in FIG. 39 may be used. For example, a region including a predetermined number of pixels decimated from each of the upper adjacent pixel and the left adjacent pixel may be used as the peripheral reference region. Also, the peripheral reference region is not limited to the region adjacent to the block to be encoded, and may be a region not adjacent to the block to be encoded. The predetermined number regarding the pixels may be determined in advance.

[0282] Also, in the example shown in FIG. 39, the peripheral reference region in the reference picture is the region specified by the motion vector of the picture to be encoded from the peripheral reference region within the picture to be encoded, but it may be the region specified by another motion vector. For example, the other motion vector may be the motion vector of the peripheral reference region within the picture to be encoded.

[0283] Here, the operation of the encoding device 100 has been described, but the operation of the decoding device 200 is typically the same.

[0284] Note that the LIC process may be applied not only to luminance but also to color difference. At this time, correction parameters may be derived individually for each of Y, Cb, and Cr, or a common correction parameter may be used for any of them.

[0285] Also, the LIC process may be applied in units of sub-blocks. For example, correction parameters may be derived using the peripheral reference region of the current sub-block and the peripheral reference region of the reference sub-block in the reference picture specified by the MV of the current sub-block.

[0286] [Prediction control unit] The prediction control unit 128 selects either an intra prediction signal (a signal output from the intra prediction unit 124) or an inter prediction signal (a signal output from the inter prediction unit 126), and outputs the selected signal as a prediction signal to the subtraction unit 104 and the addition unit 116.

[0287] As shown in FIG. 1, in various encoding device examples, the prediction control unit 128 may output prediction parameters input to the entropy encoding unit 110. The entropy encoding unit 110 may generate an encoded bitstream (or sequence) based on the prediction parameters input from the prediction control unit 128 and the quantization coefficients input from the quantization unit 108. The prediction parameters may be used in the decoding device. The decoding device may receive and decode the encoded bitstream, and perform the same processing as the prediction processing performed in the intra prediction unit 124, the inter prediction unit 126, and the prediction control unit 128. The prediction parameters may include a selected prediction signal (e.g., a motion vector, a prediction type, or a prediction mode used in the intra prediction unit 124 or the inter prediction unit 126), or any index, flag, or value based on or indicating the prediction processing performed in the intra prediction unit 124, the inter prediction unit 126, and the prediction control unit 128.

[0288] [Implementation Example of Encoding Device] FIG. 40 is a block diagram showing an implementation example of the encoding device 100. The encoding device 100 includes a processor a1 and a memory a2. For example, a plurality of components of the encoding device 100 shown in FIG. 1 are implemented by the processor a1 and the memory a2 shown in FIG. 40.

[0289] The processor a1 is a circuit that performs information processing and is a circuit that can access the memory a2. For example, the processor a1 is a dedicated or general-purpose electronic circuit that encodes a moving image. The processor a1 may be a processor such as a CPU. Also, the processor a1 may be an aggregate of a plurality of electronic circuits. Also, for example, the processor a1 may play the roles of a plurality of components among the plurality of components of the encoding device 100 shown in FIG. 1 and the like.

[0290] The memory a2 is a dedicated or general-purpose memory in which information for the processor a1 to encode a moving image is stored. The memory a2 may be an electronic circuit and may be connected to the processor a1. Also, the memory a2 may be included in the processor a1. Also, the memory a2 may be an aggregate of a plurality of electronic circuits. Also, the memory a2 may be a magnetic disk, an optical disk, or the like, or may be expressed as a storage or a recording medium or the like. Also, the memory a2 may be a non-volatile memory or a volatile memory.

[0291] For example, the moving image to be encoded or the bit string corresponding to the encoded moving image may be stored in the memory a2. Also, a program for the processor a1 to encode a moving image may be stored in the memory a2.

[0292] Further, for example, the memory a2 may serve as a component for storing information among the plurality of components of the encoding device 100 shown in FIG. 1 and the like. For example, the memory a2 may serve as the block memory 118 and the frame memory 122 shown in FIG. 1. More specifically, the memory a2 may store reconstructed blocks, reconstructed pictures, and the like.

[0293] Note that in the encoding device 100, not all of the plurality of components shown in FIG. 1 and the like need to be implemented, and not all of the plurality of processes described above need to be performed. A part of the plurality of components shown in FIG. 1 and the like may be included in other devices, and a part of the plurality of processes described above may be executed by other devices.

[0294] [Decoder device] Next, for example, a decoder device capable of decoding the encoded signal (encoded bit stream) output from the above-described encoding device 100 will be described. FIG. 41 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the decoder device 200 according to the embodiment. The decoder device 200 is a moving image decoder device that decodes moving images in block units.

[0295] As shown in FIG. 41, the decoder device 200 includes an entropy decoding unit 202, an inverse quantization unit 204, an inverse transform unit 206, an addition unit 208, a block memory 210, a loop filter unit 212, a frame memory 214, an intra prediction unit 216, an inter prediction unit 218, and a prediction control unit 220.

[0296] The decoding device 200 is realized by, for example, a general-purpose processor and a memory. In this case, when a software program stored in the memory is executed by the processor, the processor functions as an entropy decoding unit 202, an inverse quantization unit 204, an inverse transformation unit 206, an addition unit 208, a loop filter unit 212, an intra prediction unit 216, an inter prediction unit 218, and a prediction control unit 220. Further, the decoding device 200 may be realized as one or more dedicated electronic circuits corresponding to the entropy decoding unit 202, the inverse quantization unit 204, the inverse transformation unit 206, the addition unit 208, the loop filter unit 212, the intra prediction unit 216, the inter prediction unit 218, and the prediction control unit 220.

[0297] First, after explaining the overall processing flow of the decoding device 200, each component included in the decoding device 200 will be described.

[0298] [Overall Flow of Decoding Process] FIG. 42 is a flowchart showing an example of the overall decoding process by the decoding device 200.

[0299] First, the entropy decoding unit 202 of the decoding device 200 identifies the division pattern of a fixed-size block (for example, 128×128 pixels) (step Sp_1). This division pattern is the division pattern selected by the encoding device 100. Then, the decoding device 200 performs the processing of steps Sp_2 to Sp_6 for each of the plurality of blocks constituting the division pattern.

[0300] That is, the entropy decoding unit 202 decodes (specifically, entropy decodes) the encoded quantization coefficients and prediction parameters of the block to be decoded (also referred to as the current block) (step Sp_2).

[0301] Next, the inverse quantization unit 204 and the inverse transformation unit 206 restore a plurality of prediction residuals (that is, difference blocks) by performing inverse quantization and inverse transformation on the plurality of quantization coefficients (step Sp_3).

[0302] Next, a prediction processing unit composed of all or part of the intra prediction unit 216, the inter prediction unit 218, and the prediction control unit 220 generates a prediction signal (also referred to as a prediction block) of the current block (step Sp_4).

[0303] Next, the addition unit 208 reconstructs the current block into a reconstructed image (also referred to as a decoded image block) by adding the prediction block to the difference block (step Sp_5).

[0304] Then, when this reconstructed image is generated, the loop filter unit 212 performs filtering on the reconstructed image (step Sp_6).

[0305] Then, the decoding device 200 determines whether the decoding of the entire picture is completed (step Sp_7). If it is determined that the decoding is not completed (No in step Sp_7), the processing from step Sp_1 is repeatedly executed.

[0306] As shown in the figure, the processes of steps Sp_1 to Sp_7 are sequentially performed by the decoding device 200. Alternatively, a plurality of some of these processes may be performed in parallel, or the order may be changed, etc.

[0307] [Entropy Decoding Unit] The entropy decoding unit 202 entropy-decodes the encoded bit stream. Specifically, the entropy decoding unit 202, for example, arithmetically decodes the encoded bit stream into a binary signal. Then, the entropy decoding unit 202 de-binarizes the binary signal. The entropy decoding unit 202 outputs quantization coefficients to the inverse quantization unit 204 in block units. The entropy decoding unit 202 may output prediction parameters included in the encoded bit stream (see FIG. 1) to the intra prediction unit 216, the inter prediction unit 218, and the prediction control unit 220 in the embodiment. The intra prediction unit 216, the inter prediction unit 218, and the prediction control unit 220 can execute the same prediction processing as that performed by the intra prediction unit 124, the inter prediction unit 126, and the prediction control unit 128 on the encoding device side.

[0308] [Inverse Quantization Unit] The inverse quantization unit 204 inverse-quantizes the quantization coefficients of the decoding target block (hereinafter referred to as the current block), which is the input from the entropy decoding unit 202. Specifically, for each of the quantization coefficients of the current block, the inverse quantization unit 204 inverse-quantizes the quantization coefficient based on the quantization parameter corresponding to the quantization coefficient. Then, the inverse quantization unit 204 outputs the inverse-quantized quantization coefficients (i.e., transform coefficients) of the current block to the inverse transform unit 206.

[0309] [Inverse Transform Unit] The inverse transform unit 206 restores the prediction error by inverse-transforming the transform coefficients, which are the input from the inverse quantization unit 204.

[0310] For example, when the information decoded from the encoded bit stream indicates that EMT or AMT is to be applied (e.g., the AMT flag is true), the inverse transform unit 206 inverse-transforms the transform coefficients of the current block based on the information indicating the decoded transform type.

[0311] Also, for example, when the information decoded from the encoded bit stream indicates that NSST is to be applied, the inverse transform unit 206 applies inverse-retransformation to the transform coefficients.

[0312] [Addition unit] The addition unit 208 reconstructs the current block by adding the prediction error, which is the input from the inverse conversion unit 206, and the prediction sample, which is the input from the prediction control unit 220. Then, the addition unit 208 outputs the reconstructed block to the block memory 210 and the loop filter unit 212.

[0313] [Block memory] The block memory 210 is a storage unit for storing blocks within the decoded target picture (hereinafter referred to as the current picture), which are blocks referred to in intra prediction. Specifically, the block memory 210 stores the reconstructed block output from the addition unit 208.

[0314] [Loop filter unit] The loop filter unit 212 applies a loop filter to the block reconstructed by the addition unit 208 and outputs the filtered reconstructed block to the frame memory 214 and a display device, etc.

[0315] When the information indicating the on / off of the ALF read from the encoded bitstream indicates that the ALF is on, one filter is selected from a plurality of filters based on the local gradient direction and activity, and the selected filter is applied to the reconstructed block.

[0316] [Frame memory] The frame memory 214 is a storage unit for storing reference pictures used in inter prediction and may also be called a frame buffer. Specifically, the frame memory 214 stores the reconstructed block filtered by the loop filter unit 212.

[0317] [Prediction processing unit (intra prediction unit, inter prediction unit, prediction control unit)] FIG. 43 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing performed by the prediction processing unit of the decoding apparatus 200. Note that the prediction processing unit includes all or some of the components of the intra prediction unit 216, the inter prediction unit 218, and the prediction control unit 220.

[0318] The prediction processing unit generates a predicted image of the current block (step Sq_1). This predicted image is also referred to as a prediction signal or a prediction block. Note that the prediction signal includes, for example, an intra prediction signal or an inter prediction signal. Specifically, the prediction processing unit generates a predicted image of the current block using the reconstructed image that has already been obtained by performing generation of a prediction block, generation of a difference block, generation of a coefficient block, restoration of the difference block, and generation of a decoded image block.

[0319] The reconstructed image may be, for example, an image of a reference picture, or may be an image of a decoded block in the current picture that is the picture including the current block. The decoded block in the current picture is, for example, an adjacent block of the current block.

[0320] FIG. 44 is a flowchart showing another example of the processing performed by the prediction processing unit of the decoding apparatus 200.

[0321] The prediction processing unit determines a method or mode for generating a predicted image (step Sr_1). For example, this method or mode may be determined based on, for example, prediction parameters.

[0322] When the prediction processing unit determines the first method as the mode for generating the predicted image, the prediction processing unit generates the predicted image according to the first method (step Sr_2a). When the prediction processing unit determines the second method as the mode for generating the predicted image, the prediction processing unit generates the predicted image according to the second method (step Sr_2b). When the prediction processing unit determines the third method as the mode for generating the predicted image, the prediction processing unit generates the predicted image according to the third method (step Sr_2c).

[0323] The first method, the second method, and the third method are different methods for generating a predicted image, and may be, for example, an inter prediction method, an intra prediction method, and other prediction methods, respectively. In these prediction methods, the above-described reconstructed image may be used.

[0324] [Intra Prediction Unit] The intra prediction unit 216 generates a prediction signal (intra prediction signal) by performing intra prediction with reference to a block in the current picture stored in the block memory 210 based on the intra prediction mode decoded from the coded bitstream. Specifically, the intra prediction unit 216 generates an intra prediction signal by performing intra prediction with reference to samples (e.g., luminance values, color difference values) of blocks adjacent to the current block, and outputs the intra prediction signal to the prediction control unit 220.

[0325] In addition, when an intra prediction mode that refers to a luminance block in the intra prediction of a color difference block is selected, the intra prediction unit 216 may predict the color difference component of the current block based on the luminance component of the current block.

[0326] Also, when the information decoded from the coded bitstream indicates the application of PDPC, the intra prediction unit 216 corrects the pixel value after intra prediction based on the gradients of the reference pixels in the horizontal / vertical directions.

[0327] [Inter Prediction Unit] The inter prediction unit 218 predicts the current block by referring to the reference picture stored in the frame memory 214. The prediction is performed in units of the current block or sub-blocks (e.g., 4x4 blocks) within the current block. For example, the inter prediction unit 218 generates an inter prediction signal for the current block or sub-block by performing motion compensation using motion information (e.g., motion vectors) decoded from the coded bitstream (e.g., prediction parameters output from the entropy decoding unit 202), and outputs the inter prediction signal to the prediction control unit 220.

[0328] When the information decoded from the coded bitstream indicates that the OBMC mode is to be applied, the inter prediction unit 218 generates an inter prediction signal using not only the motion information of the current block obtained by motion search but also the motion information of adjacent blocks.

[0329] Also, when the information decoded from the coded bitstream indicates that the FRUC mode is to be applied, the inter prediction unit 218 derives motion information by performing motion search according to the pattern matching method (bilateral matching or template matching) decoded from the coded stream. Then, the inter prediction unit 218 performs motion compensation (prediction) using the derived motion information.

[0330] Also, the inter prediction unit 218 derives a motion vector based on a model assuming uniform linear motion when the BIO mode is applied. Also, when the information decoded from the coded bitstream indicates that the affine motion compensation prediction mode is to be applied, the inter prediction unit 218 derives motion vectors in units of sub-blocks based on the motion vectors of a plurality of adjacent blocks.

[0331] [MV Derivation > Normal Inter Mode] When the information decoded from the symbolized bit stream indicates that the normal inter mode is to be applied, the inter prediction unit 218 derives an MV based on the information decoded from the coded stream, and performs motion compensation (prediction) using the MV.

[0332] FIG. 45 is a flowchart showing an example of inter prediction in the normal inter mode in the decoding apparatus 200.

[0333] The inter prediction unit 218 of the decoding apparatus 200 performs motion compensation for each block. The inter prediction unit 218 acquires a plurality of candidate MVs for the current block based on information such as the MVs of a plurality of decoded blocks temporally or spatially around the current block (step Ss_1). That is, the inter prediction unit 218 creates a candidate MV list.

[0334] Next, the inter prediction unit 218 extracts each of N (N is an integer of 2 or more) candidate MVs from the plurality of candidate MVs acquired in step Ss_1 as a prediction motion vector candidate (also referred to as a prediction MV candidate) according to a predetermined priority order (step Ss_2). Note that the priority order may be determined in advance for each of the N prediction MV candidates.

[0335] Next, the inter prediction unit 218 decodes prediction motion vector selection information from the input stream (that is, the symbolized bit stream), and uses the decoded prediction motion vector selection information to select one prediction MV candidate from the N prediction MV candidates as the prediction motion vector (also referred to as a prediction MV) of the current block (step Ss_3).

[0336] Next, the inter prediction unit 218 decodes the differential MV from the input stream, and derives the MV of the current block by adding the difference value, which is the decoded differential MV, to the selected prediction motion vector (step Ss_4).

[0337] Finally, the inter prediction unit 218 generates a predicted image of the current block by performing motion compensation on the current block using the derived MV and the decoded reference picture (step Ss_5).

[0338] [Prediction control unit] The prediction control unit 220 selects either the intra prediction signal or the inter prediction signal, and outputs the selected signal as a prediction signal to the adder 208. Overall, the configuration, function, and processing of the prediction control unit 220, the intra prediction unit 216, and the inter prediction unit 218 on the decoder side may correspond to the configuration, function, and processing of the prediction control unit 128, the intra prediction unit 124, and the inter prediction unit 126 on the encoder side.

[0339] [Implementation example of decoder] FIG. 46 is a block diagram showing an implementation example of the decoder 200. The decoder 200 includes a processor b1 and a memory b2. For example, a plurality of components of the decoder 200 shown in FIG. 41 are implemented by the processor b1 and the memory b2 shown in FIG. 46.

[0340] The processor b1 is a circuit that performs information processing and is a circuit that can access the memory b2. For example, the processor b1 is a dedicated or general-purpose electronic circuit that decodes an encoded moving image (i.e., an encoded bitstream). The processor b1 may be a processor such as a CPU. Also, the processor b1 may be an aggregate of a plurality of electronic circuits. Also, for example, the processor b1 may play the roles of a plurality of components among the plurality of components of the decoder 200 shown in FIG. 41 and the like.

[0341] Memory b2 is a dedicated or general-purpose memory in which information for the processor b1 to decode the encoded bitstream is stored. Memory b2 may be an electronic circuit and may be connected to the processor b1. Also, memory b2 may be included in the processor b1. Further, memory b2 may be an aggregate of a plurality of electronic circuits. Also, memory b2 may be a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc., or may be expressed as a storage or recording medium, etc. Also, memory b2 may be a non-volatile memory or a volatile memory.

[0342] For example, a moving image or an encoded bitstream may be stored in memory b2. Also, a program for the processor b1 to decode the encoded bitstream may be stored in memory b2.

[0343] Also, for example, memory b2 may serve as a component for storing information among a plurality of components of the decoding device 200 shown in FIG. 41 etc. Specifically, memory b2 may serve as the block memory 210 and the frame memory 214 shown in FIG. 41. More specifically, reconstructed blocks, reconstructed pictures, etc. may be stored in memory b2.

[0344] Note that in the decoding device 200, not all of the plurality of components shown in FIG. 41 etc. need to be implemented, and not all of the plurality of processes described above need to be performed. A part of the plurality of components shown in FIG. 41 etc. may be included in another device, and a part of the plurality of processes described above may be executed by another device.

[0345] [Definitions of Terms] Each term may, as an example, have the following definitions.

[0346] A picture is an array of a plurality of luminance samples in a monochrome format, or an array of a plurality of luminance samples and two corresponding arrays of a plurality of chrominance samples in color formats of 4:2:0, 4:2:2, and 4:4:4. The picture may be a frame or a field.

[0347] A frame is a composition of a top field in which a plurality of sample rows 0, 2, 4, ··· occur, and a bottom field in which a plurality of sample rows 1, 3, 5, ··· occur.

[0348] A slice is an integer number of coded tree units included in one independent slice segment and all subsequent dependent slice segments (if any) preceding the next independent slice segment (if any) in the same access unit.

[0349] A tile is a rectangular area of a plurality of coded tree blocks in a specific tile column and a specific tile row in a picture. The tile may be a rectangular area of a frame that is still intended to be independently decoded and encoded, although a loop filter spanning the edges of the tile may still be applied.

[0350] A block is an MxN (N rows and M columns) array of a plurality of samples, or an MxN array of a plurality of transform coefficients. The block may be a square or rectangular area of a plurality of pixels consisting of a plurality of matrices of one luminance and two chrominances.

[0351] A CTU (Coded Tree Unit) may be a coded tree block of a plurality of luminance samples of a picture having three sample arrays, or two corresponding coded tree blocks of a plurality of chrominance samples. Alternatively, a CTU may be a coded tree block of a plurality of samples of either a monochrome picture or a picture encoded using a syntax structure used for encoding three separate color planes and a plurality of samples.

[0352] The super block may constitute one or two mode information blocks, or may be a square block of 64×64 pixels that is recursively divided into four 32×32 blocks and can be further divided.

[0353] [Explanation of DMVR Processing] As a method for deriving an MV, there is DMVR (Dynamic Motion Vector Refreshing) processing.

[0354] For example, in the DMVR processing described with reference to FIGS. 30 and 31, the inter prediction unit 126 first derives the MV of the current block in the merge mode in which the differential MV is not encoded in the inter prediction mode. Note that, in the inter prediction mode, a mode in which the differential MV is encoded instead of the merge mode may be used. Further, the MV selected from the list generated in the merge mode or the mode in which the differential MV is encoded may be corrected, for example, in the BIO (bi-directional optical flow) mode or the like to derive the MV of the current block. Here, the inter prediction mode is a prediction derived in a method that depends on data elements (for example, sample values or motion vectors) of one or more reference pictures. Then, the inter prediction unit 126 searches the peripheral area of the derived MV (also referred to as the initial MV) to derive the MV with the minimum cost as the final MV. In this way, in the DMVR processing, in the inter prediction mode, the MV of the current block is derived as the initial MV, and the motion search is performed on the peripheral area of the derived initial MV to correct the initial MV.

[0355] Hereinafter, the operation of the decoding apparatus 200 will be described as a representative, but the operation of the encoding apparatus 100 is the same.

[0356] FIG. 47 is a diagram showing an example of the motion search process on the decoding apparatus 200 side in the DMVR process.

[0357] In the example shown in FIG. 47, based on the initial MV of the current block derived in the merge mode, reference blocks in the first reference picture (L0) and the second reference picture (L1) in the L0 direction and the LI direction from the current picture are specified, and the periphery of the specified reference block is searched.

[0358] Note that the initial MV of the current block is derived based on the information decoded from the bit stream on the decoder 200 side. Also, InitMV_L0 and InitMV_L1 in FIG. 47 indicate the initial MVs for the reference block (L0) in the first reference picture (L0) and the reference block (L1) in the second reference picture (L1). More specifically, InitMV_L0 shown in FIG. 47 indicates the initial MV starting from the position of the upper left pixel of the current block and ending at the position of the upper left pixel of the reference block (L0) in the first reference picture (L0) corresponding to the position of the upper left pixel of the current block. Similarly, InitMV_L1 shown in FIG. 47 indicates the initial MV starting from the position of the upper left pixel of the current block and ending at the position of the upper left pixel of the reference block (L1) in the second reference picture (L1) corresponding to the position of the upper left pixel of the current block.

[0359] When the inter prediction unit 218 searches for the vicinity of the specified reference block, first, by setting the search position for the first reference picture (L0), the search position for the second reference picture (L1) is set. In the example shown in FIG. 47, the difference vector from the initial position (pixel position) in the reference block (L0) indicated by the initial MV (InitMV_L0) to the set search position (pixel position) in the vicinity of the reference block (L0) is defined as MVd_L0. In this case, the search position for the second reference picture (L1) is the position set by the difference vector MVd_L1 obtained by mirroring MVd_L0 with respect to the initial position in the reference block (L1) indicated by the initial MV (InitMV_L1). That is, the inter prediction unit 218 sets, as the search positions, the positions in the vicinity of the reference block that are symmetric with respect to the initial position in the reference block indicated by the initial MV in the first reference picture (L0) and the second reference picture (L1).

[0360] Then, the inter prediction unit 218 evaluates the cost of the sequentially set search positions, using, as the cost, the sum of absolute differences (SAD) of the pixel values in the block at the search position, etc., to search for the search position with the minimum cost.

[0361] FIGS. 48A to 48C are diagrams showing an example of the search algorithm in the motion search process on the decoder 200 side in the DMVR process. When the motion search process is divided into three steps (steps 1 to 3) of processing, FIG. 48A shows the search algorithm for performing the processing of step 1, FIG. 48B shows the search algorithm for performing the processing of step 2, and FIG. 48C shows the search algorithm for performing the processing of step 3.

[0362] In FIG. 48A, the initial position (pixel position) in the reference block (L0) indicated by the derived initial MV is shown as a black circle, and as the surrounding area of the reference block (L0), the eight surrounding positions (pixel positions) adjacent to the initial position are shown as eight hatched circles.

[0363] That is, in the process of step 1 shown in FIG. 48A, the inter prediction unit 218 calculates the costs at eight surrounding pixel positions adjacent to the initial pixel position within the reference block indicated by the initial MV. In the example shown in FIG. 48A, the inter prediction unit 218 calculates the sum of absolute differences (SAD) of the pixel values within the block at the eight pixel positions as the cost. The inter prediction unit 218 moves the center of the search position in the direction of the pixel position with the minimum cost among these eight pixel positions.

[0364] If the pixel position with the minimum cost is the initial pixel position, the process of step 2 shown in FIG. 48B is skipped, and the process proceeds to the process of step 3 shown in FIG. 48C.

[0365] In FIG. 48B, the center (pixel position) of the moved search position is indicated by a black circle, and the eight surrounding positions (pixel positions) adjacent to the center of the search position are indicated by eight hatched circles.

[0366] That is, in the process of step 2 shown in FIG. 48B, the inter prediction unit 218 calculates the costs at eight surrounding pixel positions adjacent to the position (pixel position) moved as a result of the process of step 1, with the moved position (pixel position) as the center of the search position. The inter prediction unit 218 further moves the center of the search position in the direction of the pixel position with the minimum cost among the eight pixel positions, and by performing the process of step 2 again, searches for the center (pixel position) of the search position with the minimum cost. On the other hand, when the pixel position with the minimum cost is the center of the search position, the inter prediction unit 218 determines the difference between the position indicated by the initial MV and the center of the search position with the minimum cost as the difference vector, and proceeds to the process of step 3.

[0367] In FIG. 48C, the pixel position of the center of the search position with the minimum cost is indicated by a black circle, and the pixel position with the minimum cost among the pixel positions with sub-pixel precision located above, below, left, and right of the center is indicated by a hatched circle.

[0368] That is, in the process of step 3 shown in FIG. 48C, the inter prediction unit 218 calculates the costs at four fractional pixel positions located above, below, to the left, and to the right of the center (pixel position with integer precision) of the search position determined by the process of step 3. Then, the inter prediction unit 218 determines the fractional pixel position with the minimum cost among the four fractional pixel positions as the pixel position of the final search result. Note that the costs of the four fractional pixel positions can be calculated by weighted addition using the four vectors ((0, 1), (0, -1), (-1, 0), (1, 0)) indicating the positions above, below, to the left, and to the right at 1 / 16 pixel precision and the cost value of the center calculated by the process of step 2 as a weight. Then, by evaluating the weighted result, the fractional pixel position with the minimum cost is determined.

[0369] Note that FIGS. 47 and 48A to 48C are an example of the details of the DMVR process. Of course, a process different from this may be performed.

[0370] [DMVR Process in Sub-Block Unit According to the First Aspect] FIG. 49 is an explanatory diagram of the DMVR process in sub-block unit according to the first aspect. In FIG. 49, the reference sub-blocks obtained as a result of motion search performed for each sub-block are indicated by dotted frames, and the final MV (hereinafter referred to as the corrected MV) in which the initial MV is corrected by the obtained reference block is shown.

[0371] Here, in the DMVR process in sub-block unit, in the inter-prediction mode, the MV (initial MV) of the current block is derived, and the peripheral area of the initial MV is searched in units of sub-blocks obtained by dividing the current block, and the initial MV in units of sub-blocks is corrected. Note that the DMVR process in sub-block unit is applied when the size of the sub-block in the sub-block unit is 16×16 pixels or more.

[0372] Note that the DMVR process in sub-block units may be applied when the size of the CU in the horizontal or vertical direction is N pixels (for example, N = 16) or more. As the initial MV in sub-block units, the initial MV of the derived CU or the current block may be used as it is, or it may be further derived from the initial MV of the derived CU or the current block.

[0373] Also, the method of searching for the peripheral area of the initial MV in sub-block units is the same as the method of searching for the peripheral area of the initial MV in block units. For example, the process described with reference to FIGS. 47 and 48A to 48C may be performed, or other processes may be performed.

[0374] As described above, motion prediction in the DMVR process in sub-block units according to the first aspect is performed for each sub-block, and motion compensation is performed for each sub-block to generate a predicted image.

[0375] [First Example of Prediction Process in the First Aspect] FIG. 50 is a diagram showing the processing flow of the deblocking filter process of the encoding device 100 and the decoding device 200 in the first aspect.

[0376] In this aspect, in the inter-picture prediction mode, by applying the DMVR process in sub-block units (sub-CU units) to the CU to be processed, the initial MV of the derived CU to be processed is corrected in sub-block units. The processes described below are basically common to the encoding device 100 and the decoding device 200, differing only in whether the signals required for the process are encoded into a stream or decoded from a stream.

[0377] As shown in FIG. 50, first, for the CU to be processed, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 determines whether a mode for correcting the initial MV by performing motion search on the peripheral region of the initial MV in sub-block units in the inter-picture prediction mode is applied (S10). Here, as described above, the process by the mode of correcting the initial MV by performing motion search on the peripheral region of the initial MV in sub-block units in the inter-picture prediction mode is, for example, DMVR processing. Also, hereinafter, the corrected initial MV is referred to as the corrected MV.

[0378] In step S10, when it is determined that the mode is applied (Yes in S10), the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 determines whether the corrected MVs in two sub-blocks sandwiching the boundary satisfy a predetermined condition for the boundary between adjacent sub-blocks (S11). Here, for example, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 may perform the determination in step S11 using the corrected MVs obtained by deriving the initial MV in sub-block units in each of the adjacent sub-blocks and correcting the initial MV by DMVR processing in sub-block units.

[0379] In step S11, when it is determined that the corrected MVs in two sub-blocks sandwiching the boundary satisfy a predetermined condition (Yes in S10), the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 applies a deblocking filter with a predetermined strength to the boundary (also referred to as the sub-block boundary) (S12).

[0380] Thus, the processing flow shown in FIG. 50 shows an operation of determining whether to apply a deblocking filter based on whether a mode (DMVR processing) for correcting the initial MV based on motion prediction in sub-block units on the decoding device 200 side, for example, in the inter-picture prediction mode, is applied.

[0381] In addition, in the processing flow shown in FIG. 50, when it is determined that the corrected MVs in two sub-blocks sandwiching the boundary satisfy a predetermined condition and it is decided to apply a deblocking filter, an operation of determining the strength of the deblocking filter to be applied may further be included. For example, when determining whether to apply deblocking filter processing in step S11, it may be determined whether the difference value of the MVs of adjacent sub-blocks is equal to or greater than a threshold value, and for the boundary where the difference value is determined to be equal to or greater than the threshold value among the boundaries, the strength of applying deblocking filter processing may be determined. Then, when applying deblocking filter processing to the boundary, deblocking filter processing may be performed on the boundary where the difference value is determined to be equal to or greater than the threshold value among the boundaries with the determined strength.

[0382] Also, when a CU boundary or an inter-picture prediction mode in units of other sub-blocks such as affine prediction is executed, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 may determine whether to apply deblocking filter processing based on a process (operation) different from the processing flow shown in FIG. 50.

[0383] In addition, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 may switch whether to apply deblocking filter processing to sub-block boundaries according to the size of the sub-blocks, etc. For example, if the size of the sub-block is 16x16 pixels or more, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 may apply deblocking filter processing based on the processing flow shown in FIG. 50 for all sub-block boundaries. On the other hand, if the size of the sub-block is less than 16x16 pixels, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 may apply block filter processing only to the boundaries on the 16x16 pixel grid within the picture (i.e., block boundaries).

[0384] Also, the initial MV of the CU to be processed may be the initial MV of the current block. That is, in step S10, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 may determine whether a mode (DMVR process) for correcting the initial MV by performing motion search on the peripheral area of the initial MV in sub-block units in the inter-picture prediction mode is applied to the current block.

[0385] Here, further, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 may switch whether to apply deblocking filter processing to the sub-block boundary according to the size of the current block. The encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 may skip the determination of whether to apply deblocking filter processing (the determination in step S11) according to the size of the current block and decide not to perform the filter processing. For example, when executing the DMVR process, if the size of the current block in the horizontal or vertical direction exceeds N pixels, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 may divide the current block into sub-blocks so that the size in the direction exceeding N pixels becomes N pixels or less and execute the DMVR process. On the other hand, when executing the DMVR process, if the size of the current block in the horizontal or vertical direction is N pixels or less, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 may execute the DMVR process without dividing the current block into sub-blocks. And in this case, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 may skip the determination in step S11.

[0386] Note that the processing flow shown in FIG. 50 is an example, and a part of the processing described in FIG. 50 may be excluded, or processing or condition determination not described in FIG. 50 may be added.

[0387] [Example of Application Conditions for Deblocking Filter Processing] FIG. 51 is a diagram showing an example of application conditions for deblocking filter processing for a sub-block boundary in the first aspect. Note that FIG. 51 also shows an example of application conditions for deblocking filter processing for the CU (block) boundary shown in FIG. 10. Detailed description of what is shown in FIG. 10 is omitted.

[0388] The Bs value indicates the value of Boundary Strength, that is, the strength of the deblocking filter. The Bs value shown in FIG. 51 can take three values: 2, 1, and 0. When the Bs value is 2, it indicates that the smoothing effect by applying the deblocking filter process is high. When the Bs value is 1, it indicates that the smoothing effect by applying the deblocking filter process is low. On the other hand, when the Bs value is 0, it indicates that the deblocking filter process is not applied.

[0389] For a sub-block boundary, when the absolute value of the difference between the MVs (motion vectors) of two sub-blocks (sub-block 1 and 2) sandwiching the boundary is greater than or equal to a threshold value, the deblocking filter process may be applied. Here, the threshold value is 1 pixel in the example shown in FIG. 51, but it is not limited to this. Also, the strength of the deblocking filter process in this case may be the same as the strength of the deblocking filter process applied to the block boundary of the current CU (or current block). In the example shown in FIG. 51, the Bs value in this case is the same as 1, which is the Bs value when the absolute value of the difference between the motion vectors of two blocks sandwiching the block boundary is 1 pixel or more.

[0390] On the other hand, for a sub-block boundary, in other cases, that is, when the absolute value of the difference between the MVs (motion vectors) of two sub-blocks (sub-block 1 and 2) sandwiching the boundary is less than the threshold value, the deblocking filter process may not be applied.

[0391] [Second Example of Prediction Processing in the First Aspect] FIG. 52 is a diagram showing the processing flow of the deblocking filter process of the encoding device 100 and the decoding device 200 in the first aspect. The processing flow shown in FIG. 52 corresponds to the detailed version of the processing flow in FIG. 50. Hereinafter, the case where the DMVR process is performed on the initial MV of the derived current block will be described. FIG. 53 is a diagram showing an example of the corrected MVs for adjacent sub-blocks and reference blocks in the processing flow of FIG. 52.

[0392] As shown in FIG. 52, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 first determines whether a mode for correcting the initial MV by performing motion search on the peripheral region of the initial MV in sub-block units in the inter-picture prediction mode is applied to the current block (S20). That is, in step S20, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 determines whether DMRV processing in sub-block units is applied to the current block.

[0393] In step S20, when it is determined that the mode is applied (Yes in S20), the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 selects two sub-blocks from among the plurality of sub-blocks obtained by dividing the current block (S21). Here, assume that the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 selects sub1 and sub2 shown in FIG. 53 as the two sub-blocks. sub1 means sub-block 1, and sub2 means sub-block 2.

[0394] Next, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 determines whether the two sub-blocks selected in step S21 are adjacent to each other (S22). Here, since the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 has selected sub1 and sub2 shown in FIG. 53 as the two sub-blocks, it is determined that they are adjacent to each other.

[0395] In step 22, when it is determined that the two selected sub-blocks are adjacent to each other (Yes in S22), the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 acquires the corrected MVs in the adjacent sub-blocks (S23). Here, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 acquires, for example, MVsub1_L0, MVsub2_L0, MVsub1_L1, and MVsub2_L1 as the corrected MVs in the adjacent sub-blocks. MVsub1_L0 indicates the corrected MV for the reference sub-block in the first reference picture (L0) in the L0 direction of sub-block 1, and MVsub1_L1 indicates the corrected MV for the reference sub-block in the second reference picture (L1) in the L1 direction of sub-block 1. Mvsub2_L0 indicates the corrected MV for the reference sub-block in the first reference picture (L0) in the L0 direction of sub-block 2, and Mvsub2_L1 indicates the corrected MV for the reference sub-block in the second reference picture (L1) in the L1 direction of sub-block 1. Note that if it is determined in step S22 that the two selected sub-blocks are not adjacent to each other (No in S22), the process returns to step S21.

[0396] Next, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 determines whether the corrected MVs in the two sub-blocks sandwiching the boundary satisfy a predetermined condition for the boundary between the two adjacent sub-blocks (S24). More specifically, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 determines whether the difference between the corrected MVs in sub-block 1 and sub-block 2 in the L0 direction or in the L1 direction is equal to or greater than a threshold value. In the examples shown in FIGS. 52 and 53, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 determines whether either the difference between MVsub1_L0 and Mvsub2_L0 or the difference between MVsub1_L1 and Mvsub2_L1 is equal to or greater than the threshold value. Note that the threshold value is 1 pixel in the example shown in FIG. 52, but is not limited thereto. The threshold value can be appropriately determined as long as it indicates that the difference in luminance or accuracy between adjacent sub-blocks is not zero but is not a nearly zero relationship.

[0397] In step S24, when it is determined that any one of the above differences is equal to or greater than the threshold value (Yes in S24), the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 applies deblocking filter processing with a predetermined strength to the sub-block boundary (S25). Here, in step S24, when the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 determines that the difference value of the horizontal component or the vertical component of the corrected MV in the adjacent sub-blocks is 1 pixel or more, as shown in FIG. 51, the deblocking filter processing may be applied with the Bs value set to 1.

[0398] Next, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 checks whether all the sub-blocks constituting the current block have been selected and determined (S26).

[0399] In step S26, when it is determined that all the sub-blocks constituting the current block have been selected and determined (Yes in S26), the process ends. Otherwise (No in S26), the process returns to step S21.

[0400] On the other hand, in step S24, when it is determined that none of the above differences is equal to or greater than the threshold value (No in S24), the process proceeds to step S26.

[0401] Note that as the determination process in step S24, it may be determined whether the difference value of the horizontal component of the corrected MV in sub-block 1 and sub-block 2 in the L0 direction or in the L1 direction is equal to or greater than the threshold value. Also, it may be determined whether the difference value of the vertical component of the corrected MV in sub-block 1 and sub-block 2 in the L0 direction or in the L1 direction is equal to or greater than the threshold value. That is, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 may determine whether the difference value between the horizontal component (or vertical component) of MVsub1_L0 and the horizontal component (or vertical component) of Mvsub2_L0 is equal to or greater than the threshold value. Also, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 may determine whether the difference value between the horizontal component (or vertical component) of MVsub1_L1 and the horizontal component (or vertical component) of Mvsub2_L1 is equal to or greater than the threshold value.

[0402] Furthermore, as the determination process in step S24, it may be determined whether a difference value of a horizontal component (or vertical component) of the corrected MV of sub-block 1 in the L0 direction and the L1 direction is equal to or greater than a threshold value. That is, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 may determine whether a difference value between the horizontal component (or vertical component) of MVsub1_L0 and the horizontal component (or vertical component) of Mvsub1_L1 is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

[0403] Also, as the determination process in step S24, it may be determined whether a difference value of a horizontal component (or vertical component) of the corrected MV of sub-block 2 in the L0 direction and the L1 direction is equal to or greater than a threshold value. That is, the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 may determine whether a difference value between the horizontal component (or vertical component) of Mvsub2_L0 and the horizontal component (or vertical component) of Mvsub2_L1 is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

[0404] [Effect of the First Aspect] When performing DMVR processing in sub-block units, motion prediction or motion compensation is performed in sub-block units, and different motion vectors can be obtained for each sub-block. Therefore, depending on the magnitude of the difference between them, a distortion in which pixel values are discontinuous may occur at the sub-block boundary.

[0405] On the other hand, according to the encoding device 100 and the decoding device 200 in this aspect, even if a distortion in which pixel values are discontinuous occurs at the sub-block boundary, there is a possibility that the distortion can be reduced by applying deblocking filter processing, and there is a possibility that the image quality can be improved.

[0406] [Implementation Example of Encoding Device] FIG. 54 is a block diagram showing an implementation example of the encoding device 100 according to the embodiment. The encoding device 100 includes a circuit 160 and a memory 162. For example, a plurality of components of the encoding device 100 shown in FIG. 1 are implemented by the circuit 160 and the memory 162 shown in FIG. 54.

[0407] The circuit 160 is a circuit that performs information processing and is a circuit that can access the memory 162. For example, the circuit 160 is a dedicated or general-purpose electronic circuit that encodes moving images. The circuit 160 may be a processor such as a CPU. Also, the circuit 160 may be an aggregate of a plurality of electronic circuits. Further, for example, the circuit 160 may play the roles of a plurality of components of the encoding device 100 shown in FIG. 1 etc., excluding the components for storing information.

[0408] The memory 162 is a dedicated or general-purpose memory in which information for the circuit 160 to encode moving images is stored. The memory 162 may be an electronic circuit and may be connected to the circuit 160. Also, the memory 162 may be included in the circuit 160. Also, the memory 162 may be an aggregate of a plurality of electronic circuits. Also, the memory 162 may be a magnetic disk or an optical disk etc., or may be expressed as a storage or a recording medium etc. Also, the memory 162 may be a non-volatile memory or a volatile memory.

[0409] For example, the memory 162 may store the moving image to be encoded, or may store the bit sequence corresponding to the encoded moving image. Also, the memory 162 may store a program for the circuit 160 to encode moving images.

[0410] Also, for example, the memory 162 may play the role of a component for storing information among the plurality of components of the encoding device 100 shown in FIG. 1 etc. Specifically, the memory 162 may play the roles of the block memory 118 and the frame memory 122 shown in FIG. 1. More specifically, the memory 162 may store the reconstructed blocks and the reconstructed pictures etc.

[0411] Note that in the encoding device 100, not all of the plurality of components shown in FIG. 1 and the like need to be implemented, nor do all of the plurality of processes described above need to be performed. A part of the plurality of components shown in FIG. 1 and the like may be included in other devices, and a part of the plurality of processes described above may be executed by other devices. And in the encoding device 100, by implementing a part of the plurality of components shown in FIG. 1 and the like and performing a part of the plurality of processes described above, prediction processing in the inter prediction mode can be efficiently performed.

[0412] An operation example of the encoding device 100 shown in FIG. 54 is shown below. FIG. 55 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the encoding device 100 shown in FIG. 54. For example, when encoding a moving image, the encoding device 100 shown in FIG. 54 performs the operations shown in FIG. 55.

[0413] Specifically, the circuit 160 of the encoding device 100 performs the following processes in operation. That is, first, the circuit 160 derives a motion vector of the current block by referring to at least one reference picture different from the picture to which the current block belongs, and executes a mode of searching for a peripheral area of the motion vector in units of sub-blocks obtained by dividing the current block and correcting the motion vector (S311). Next, the circuit 160 determines whether to apply deblocking filter processing to each of the boundaries of adjacent sub-blocks (S312). Next, the circuit 160 applies deblocking filter processing to the boundary based on the determination result (S313).

[0414] Thereby, even if distortion in which pixel values are discontinuous may occur at the boundary of the sub-blocks, the encoding device 100 may be able to reduce the distortion by deblocking filter processing and may be able to improve the image quality.

[0415] [Implementation Example of Decoding Device] FIG. 56 is a block diagram showing an implementation example of the decoding apparatus 200 according to the embodiment. The decoding apparatus 200 includes a circuit 260 and a memory 262. For example, a plurality of components of the decoding apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 41 are implemented by the circuit 260 and the memory 262 shown in FIG. 56.

[0416] The circuit 260 is a circuit that performs information processing and is a circuit that can access the memory 262. For example, the circuit 260 is a dedicated or general-purpose electronic circuit that decodes a moving image. The circuit 260 may be a processor such as a CPU. Further, the circuit 260 may be an aggregate of a plurality of electronic circuits. Also, for example, the circuit 260 may play the roles of a plurality of components of the decoding apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 41 etc., excluding the components for storing information.

[0417] The memory 262 is a dedicated or general-purpose memory in which information for the circuit 260 to decode a moving image is stored. The memory 262 may be an electronic circuit and may be connected to the circuit 260. Further, the memory 262 may be included in the circuit 260. Also, the memory 262 may be an aggregate of a plurality of electronic circuits. Also, the memory 262 may be a magnetic disk or an optical disk etc., or may be expressed as a storage or a recording medium etc. Further, the memory 262 may be a non-volatile memory or a volatile memory.

[0418] For example, the memory 262 may store a bit string corresponding to the encoded moving image, or may store a moving image corresponding to the decoded bit string. Also, the memory 262 may store a program for the circuit 260 to decode a moving image.

[0419] Also, for example, the memory 262 may serve as a component for storing information among the plurality of components of the decoding device 200 shown in FIG. 41 and the like. Specifically, the memory 262 may serve as the block memory 210 and the frame memory 214 shown in FIG. 41. More specifically, the memory 262 may store reconstructed blocks, reconstructed pictures, and the like.

[0420] Note that in the decoding device 200, not all of the plurality of components shown in FIG. 41 and the like need to be implemented, and not all of the plurality of processes described above need to be performed. A part of the plurality of components shown in FIG. 41 and the like may be included in other devices, and a part of the plurality of processes described above may be executed by other devices. Then, in the decoding device 200, by implementing a part of the plurality of components shown in FIG. 41 and the like and performing a part of the plurality of processes described above, motion compensation is efficiently performed.

[0421] An operation example of the decoding device 200 shown in FIG. 56 is shown below. FIG. 57 is a flowchart showing the operation example of the decoding device 200 shown in FIG. 56. For example, when decoding a moving image, the decoding device 200 shown in FIG. 56 performs the operations shown in FIG. 56.

[0422] Specifically, the circuit 260 of the decoding device 200 performs the following processes in operation. That is, first, the circuit 260 refers to at least one reference picture different from the picture to which the current block belongs, derives the motion vector of the current block, and executes a mode of searching for the peripheral area of the motion vector in units of sub-blocks obtained by dividing the current block and correcting the motion vector (S411). Next, the circuit 260 determines whether to apply deblocking filter processing to each of the boundaries of adjacent sub-blocks (S412). Next, based on the determination result, the circuit 260 applies the deblocking filter processing to the boundary (S413).

[0423] In this way, even if distortion in which pixel values are discontinuous may occur at the boundaries of sub-blocks, the deblocking filter process may be able to reduce such distortion and there is a possibility of improving the image quality.

[0424] [Supplementary Explanation] Also, the encoding device 100 and the decoding device 200 in the present embodiment may be used as an image encoding device and an image decoding device, respectively, or may be used as a moving image encoding device and a moving image decoding device.

[0425] Also, in the present embodiment, each component may be configured by dedicated hardware or may be realized by executing a software program suitable for each component. Each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU or a processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory.

[0426] Specifically, each of the encoding device 100 and the decoding device 200 may include a processing circuit and a storage device electrically connected to the processing circuit and accessible from the processing circuit. For example, the processing circuit corresponds to circuit 160 or 260, and the storage device corresponds to memory 162 or 262.

[0427] The processing circuit includes at least one of dedicated hardware and a program execution unit, and executes processing using the storage device. Further, when the processing circuit includes a program execution unit, the storage device stores a software program executed by the program execution unit.

[0428] Here, the software that realizes the encoding device 100 or the decoding device 200 of the present embodiment is the following program.

[0429] That is, this program causes a computer to execute an encoding method for encoding a moving image, which includes: referring to at least one reference picture different from the picture to which the current block belongs to derive a motion vector of the current block; executing a mode of searching for a peripheral area of the motion vector in units of sub-blocks obtained by dividing the current block to correct the motion vector; determining whether to apply deblocking filter processing to each boundary of adjacent sub-blocks; and based on the determination result, causing the computer to execute an encoding method of applying deblocking filter processing to the boundary.

[0430] Alternatively, this program causes a computer to execute a decoding method for decoding a moving image, which includes: referring to at least one reference picture different from the picture to which the current block belongs to derive a motion vector of the current block; executing a mode of searching for a peripheral area of the motion vector in units of sub-blocks obtained by dividing the current block to correct the motion vector; determining whether to apply deblocking filter processing to each boundary of adjacent sub-blocks; and based on the determination result, causing the computer to execute a decoding method of applying deblocking filter processing to the boundary.

[0431] Also, as described above, each component may be a circuit. These circuits may form one circuit as a whole, or may be separate circuits respectively. Also, each component may be realized by a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor.

[0432] Also, the processing executed by a specific component may be executed by another component. Also, the order of executing the processing may be changed, or a plurality of processes may be executed in parallel. Also, the encoding / decoding apparatus may include an encoding apparatus 100 and a decoding apparatus 200.

[0433] The ordinal numbers such as the first and the second used in the description may be appropriately changed. Also, ordinal numbers may be newly given to or removed from components and the like.

[0434] The above-described aspects of the encoding device 100 and the decoding device 200 have been described based on the embodiments. However, the aspects of the encoding device 100 and the decoding device 200 are not limited to these embodiments. Without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure, various modifications conceived by those skilled in the art applied to these embodiments, or forms constructed by combining components in different embodiments, may also be included within the scope of the aspects of the encoding device 100 and the decoding device 200.

[0435] One or more aspects disclosed herein may be implemented in combination with at least a part of other aspects in the present disclosure. Further, a part of the processing described in the flowchart of one or more aspects disclosed herein, a part of the configuration of the device, a part of the syntax, etc. may be implemented in combination with other aspects.

[0436] In each of the above embodiments, each of the functional or operative blocks can usually be realized by an MPU (micro processing unit), a memory, etc. Further, the processing by each of the functional blocks may be realized as a program execution unit such as a processor that reads and executes software (program) recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM. The software may be distributed. The software may be recorded on various recording media such as semiconductor memories. Note that each functional block can also be realized by hardware (a dedicated circuit). Various combinations of hardware and software can be adopted.

[0437] The processing described in each embodiment may be realized by centralized processing using a single device (system), or may be realized by distributed processing using a plurality of devices. Further, the processor that executes the above program may be singular or plural. That is, centralized processing or distributed processing may be performed.

[0438] The aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible, and these are also included within the scope of the aspects of the present disclosure.

[0439] Furthermore, here, application examples of the moving image encoding method (image encoding method) or the moving image decoding method (image decoding method) shown in each of the above embodiments, and various systems for implementing the application examples will be described. Such a system may be characterized by having an image encoding device using an image encoding method, an image decoding device using an image decoding method, or an image encoding / decoding device having both. Other configurations of such a system can be appropriately changed as the case may be.

[0440] [Usage Example] FIG. 58 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a suitable content supply system ex100 for realizing a content distribution service. The communication service providing area is divided into a desired size, and base stations ex106, ex107, ex108, ex109, ex110, which are fixed radio stations in the illustrated example, are installed in each cell.

[0441] In this content supply system ex100, devices such as a computer ex111, a game machine ex112, a camera ex113, a home appliance ex114, and a smartphone ex115 are connected to the Internet ex101 via an Internet service provider ex102 or a communication network ex104 and base stations ex106 to ex110. The content supply system ex100 may be connected by combining any of the above devices. In various implementations, the devices may be directly or indirectly connected to each other via a telephone network or short-range wireless, etc., without passing through the base stations ex106 to ex110. Furthermore, the streaming server ex103 may be connected to devices such as a computer ex111, a game machine ex112, a camera ex113, a home appliance ex114, and a smartphone ex115 via the Internet ex101 or the like. Also, the streaming server ex103 may be connected to terminals or the like within a hot spot in an airplane ex117 via a satellite ex116.

[0442] Note that, instead of the base stations ex106 to ex110, a wireless access point, a hot spot, or the like may be used. Further, the streaming server ex103 may be directly connected to the communication network ex104 without going through the Internet ex101 or the Internet service provider ex102, or may be directly connected to the airplane ex117 without going through the satellite ex116.

[0443] The camera ex113 is a device capable of taking still images and moving images such as a digital camera. Further, the smartphone ex115 is a smartphone device, a mobile phone, or a PHS (Personal Handy-phone System) or the like corresponding to the mobile communication system methods called 2G, 3G, 3.9G, 4G, and in the future 5G.

[0444] The home appliance ex114 is a refrigerator or a device included in a household fuel cell cogeneration system or the like.

[0445] In the content supply system ex100, a terminal having a photographing function is connected to the streaming server ex103 through the base station ex106 or the like, so that live distribution or the like becomes possible. In live distribution, the terminal (the computer ex111, the game machine ex112, the camera ex113, the home appliance ex114, the smartphone ex115, and the terminal in the airplane ex117 or the like) may perform the encoding process described in each of the above embodiments on the still image or moving image content photographed by the user using the terminal, may multiplex the video data obtained by encoding and the audio data obtained by encoding the sound corresponding to the video, and may transmit the obtained data to the streaming server ex103. That is, each terminal functions as an image encoding device according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

[0446] On the one hand, the streaming server ex103 streams the transmitted content data to the requested client. The client is a computer ex111, a game console ex112, a camera ex113, a home appliance ex114, a smartphone ex115, or a terminal in an airplane ex117, etc., which is capable of decrypting the encoded data. Each device that receives the distributed data may decrypt and play back the received data. That is, each device may function as an image decoding device according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

[0447] [Distributed processing] Also, the streaming server ex103 may be a plurality of servers or a plurality of computers that distribute, process, and record data. For example, the streaming server ex103 may be realized by a CDN (Content Delivery Network), and content delivery may be realized by a network connecting a large number of edge servers distributed around the world. In a CDN, an edge server physically close to the client can be dynamically assigned according to the client. By caching and distributing the content to the edge server, the delay can be reduced. In addition, when some types of errors occur or the communication state changes due to an increase in traffic, etc., the processing can be distributed among multiple edge servers, the distribution entity can be switched to another edge server, or the part of the network with a failure can be bypassed to continue the distribution, so high-speed and stable distribution can be realized.

[0448] In addition to merely performing distributed processing of the distribution itself, the encoding process of the captured data may be performed on each terminal, on the server side, or may be shared between them. As an example, generally in the encoding process, the processing loop is performed twice. In the first loop, the complexity of the image in units of frames or scenes, or the amount of code is detected. In the second loop, a process is performed to improve the encoding efficiency while maintaining the image quality. For example, by having the terminal perform the first encoding process and the server side that receives the content perform the second encoding process, it is possible to improve the quality and efficiency of the content while reducing the processing load on each terminal. In this case, if there is a requirement to receive and decode almost in real time, the already encoded data from the first encoding performed by the terminal can be received and played back by other terminals, enabling more flexible real-time distribution.

[0449] As another example, cameras such as ex113 extract feature amounts (amounts of features or characteristics) from images, compress the data related to the feature amounts as metadata, and transmit it to the server. The server performs compression according to the meaning of the image (or the importance of the content), such as determining the importance of the object from the feature amounts and switching the quantization accuracy. Feature amount data is particularly effective in improving the accuracy and efficiency of motion vector prediction during re-compression on the server. Also, simple encoding such as VLC (Variable Length Coding) may be performed on the terminal, and encoding with a large processing load such as CABAC (Context Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding) may be performed on the server.

[0450] As yet another example, in a stadium, shopping mall, factory, etc., there may be a plurality of video data in which substantially the same scene is captured by a plurality of terminals. In this case, using the plurality of terminals that performed the shooting, and other terminals and servers that did not perform the shooting as necessary, encoding processes are respectively assigned and distributed processing is performed in units such as GOP (Group of Picture), picture unit, or tile unit obtained by dividing the picture. Thereby, the delay can be reduced and more real-time performance can be realized.

[0451] Since the plurality of video data is of substantially the same scene, the server may manage and / or give instructions so that the video data captured by each terminal can refer to each other. Also, the server may receive the encoded data from each terminal and change the reference relationship among the plurality of data, or correct or replace the picture itself and re-encode it. Thereby, a stream with improved quality and efficiency of each piece of data can be generated.

[0452] Furthermore, the server may perform transcoding to change the encoding method of the video data and then distribute the video data. For example, the server may convert an MPEG-based encoding method to a VP-based (e.g., VP9) method, or convert H.264 to H.265, etc.

[0453] In this way, the encoding process can be performed by a terminal or one or more servers. Therefore, hereinafter, descriptions such as "server" or "terminal" will be used as the subject performing the process, but part or all of the processes performed by the server may be performed by the terminal, or part or all of the processes performed by the terminal may be performed by the server. Also, regarding these, the same applies to the decoding process.

[0454] [3D, Multi-angle] There is an increasing trend to integrate and use images or videos of different scenes captured by terminals such as a plurality of cameras ex113 and / or smartphones ex115 that are substantially synchronized with each other, or images or videos of the same scene captured from different angles. The videos captured by each terminal can be integrated based on the relative positional relationship between the terminals obtained separately, or the regions where the feature points included in the videos match.

[0455] The server may not only encode two-dimensional moving images, but also automatically encode still images based on scene analysis of the moving images, etc., or at the time specified by the user, and transmit them to the receiving terminal. When the server can further obtain the relative positional relationship between the shooting terminals, based on not only two-dimensional moving images but also videos taken from different angles of the same scene, it can generate the three-dimensional shape of the scene. The server may separately encode the three-dimensional data generated by a point cloud or the like, or select or reconstruct the video to be transmitted to the receiving terminal from the videos taken by a plurality of terminals based on the results of recognizing or tracking a person or an object using the three-dimensional data.

[0456] In this way, the user can arbitrarily select each video corresponding to each shooting terminal to enjoy the scene, or enjoy the content obtained by cutting out the video from the selected viewpoint from the three-dimensional data reconstructed using a plurality of images or videos. Furthermore, sounds are also collected from a plurality of different angles together with the video, and the server may multiplex the sound from a specific angle or space with the corresponding video and transmit the multiplexed video and sound.

[0457] In recent years, content associating the real world with the virtual world, such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), has also become widespread. In the case of VR images, the server may create viewpoint images for the right eye and the left eye respectively, and perform encoding that allows reference between each viewpoint video by Multi-View Coding (MVC) or the like, or encode them as separate streams without referring to each other. At the time of decoding the separate streams, they may be played back in synchronization with each other so that a virtual three-dimensional space is reproduced according to the user's viewpoint.

[0458] In the case of an AR image, the server may superimpose virtual object information in the virtual space on the camera information in the real space based on the three-dimensional position or the movement of the user's viewpoint. The decoding device may acquire or hold the virtual object information and the three-dimensional data, generate a two-dimensional image according to the movement of the user's viewpoint, and create superimposed data by smoothly connecting them. Alternatively, in addition to requesting the virtual object information, the decoding device may transmit the movement of the user's viewpoint to the server. The server may create superimposed data according to the movement of the viewpoint received from the three-dimensional data held by the server, encode the superimposed data, and distribute it to the decoding device. Note that the superimposed data typically has an α value indicating transparency in addition to RGB, and the server may set the α value of the portion other than the object created from the three-dimensional data to 0 or the like, and encode it in a state where the portion is transparent. Alternatively, the server may set an RGB value of a predetermined value as a background like a chroma key, and generate data with the portion other than the object being the background color. The RGB value of the predetermined value may be determined in advance.

[0459] Similarly, the decoding process of the distributed data may be performed on the client (for example, a terminal), on the server side, or may be shared between them. As an example, a certain terminal may once send a reception request to the server, receive the content corresponding to the request on another terminal, perform the decoding process, and the decoded signal may be transmitted to a device having a display. By dispersing the process regardless of the performance of the communicable terminal itself and selecting appropriate content, it is possible to reproduce data with good image quality. As another example, while receiving large-size image data on a TV or the like, a part of the area such as a tile in which the picture is divided may be decoded and displayed on the personal terminal of the viewer. Thereby, while sharing the overall image, it is possible to confirm at hand the area that one is in charge of or the area that one wants to confirm in more detail.

[0460] In a situation where multiple short-range, medium-range, or long-range wireless communications inside and outside the house are available, it may be possible to seamlessly receive content using a distribution system standard such as MPEG-DASH. The user may freely select a decoding device or display device such as the user's terminal or a display arranged inside and outside the house and switch in real time. Also, using the user's own location information, etc., decoding can be performed while switching the terminal for decoding and the terminal for display. As a result, while the user is moving to a destination, it becomes possible to map and display information on a part of the wall surface or ground of the adjacent building where a displayable device is embedded. Also, based on the ease of access to the encoded data on the network, such as the encoded data being cached in a server that can be accessed from the receiving terminal in a short time or being copied to an edge server in a content delivery service, it is also possible to switch the bit rate of the received data.

[0461] [Scalable Encoding] Regarding content switching, it will be described using a scalable stream compressed and encoded by applying the moving image encoding method shown in each of the above embodiments shown in FIG. 59. The server may have a plurality of streams with the same content but different qualities as individual streams, but by taking advantage of the characteristics of a temporally / spatially scalable stream realized by encoding in layers as shown in the figure, it may be configured to switch content. That is, by determining which layer to decode according to internal factors such as performance on the decoding side and external factors such as the state of the communication band, the decoding side can freely switch between low-resolution content and high-resolution content for decoding. For example, when the user wants to watch the continuation of a video that was being viewed on the smartphone ex115 while moving on a device such as an Internet TV after returning home, the device only needs to decode the same stream to a different layer, thus reducing the burden on the server side.

[0462] Furthermore, as described above, pictures are encoded layer by layer. In addition to the configuration that realizes scalability in the enhancement layer above the base layer, the enhancement layer may include meta information based on statistical information of the image or the like. The decoding side may generate high-quality content by super-resolving the picture of the base layer based on the meta information. The super-resolution may improve the signal-to-noise ratio while maintaining and / or enlarging the resolution. The meta information includes information for specifying linear or non-linear filter coefficients for use in super-resolution processing, or information for specifying parameter values in filter processing, machine learning, or least-squares operation used in super-resolution processing, etc.

[0463] Alternatively, a configuration may be provided in which a picture is divided into tiles or the like according to the meaning of an object or the like in the image. The decoding side decodes only a part of the area by selecting the tile to be decoded. Further, by storing the attributes of the object (such as a person, a car, a ball, etc.) and the position in the video (such as the coordinate position in the same image) as meta information, the decoding side can specify the position of a desired object based on the meta information and determine the tile including the object. For example, as shown in FIG. 60, the meta information may be stored using a data storage structure different from pixel data, such as an SEI (supplemental enhancement information) message in HEVC. This meta information indicates, for example, the position, size, or color of the main object.

[0464] The meta information may be stored in a unit composed of a plurality of pictures, such as a stream, a sequence, or a random access unit. The decoding side can obtain the time when a specific person appears in the video, etc., and by combining the picture unit information and the time information, can specify the picture in which the object exists and determine the position of the object in the picture.

[0465] [Optimization of Web Page] FIG. 61 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a web page on a computer ex111 or the like. FIG. 62 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a web page on a smartphone ex115 or the like. As shown in FIGS. 61 and 62, a web page may include a plurality of link images that are links to image contents, and their appearances may be different depending on the device for viewing. When a plurality of link images are visible on the screen, until the user explicitly selects a link image, or until the link image approaches the vicinity of the center of the screen or the entire link image enters the screen, the display device (decoding device) may display a still image or an I picture that each content has as a link image, or may display a video like a gif animation with a plurality of still images or I pictures, etc., or may receive only the base layer, decode and display the video.

[0466] When a link image is selected by the user, the display device performs decoding, for example, with the base layer having the highest priority. If there is information indicating that the HTML constituting the web page is scalable content, the display device may decode up to the enhancement layer. Further, in order to ensure real-time performance, before being selected or when the communication bandwidth is very strict, the display device can reduce the delay between the decoding time and the display time of the leading picture (the delay from the start of content decoding to the start of display) by decoding and displaying only the forward reference pictures (I pictures, P pictures, B pictures with only forward reference). Furthermore, the display device may deliberately ignore the reference relationship of the pictures, roughly decode all B pictures and P pictures with forward reference, and perform normal decoding as the received pictures increase over time.

[0467] [Autonomous Driving] Also, when transmitting and receiving still image or video data such as two-dimensional or three-dimensional map information for autonomous driving or driving support of a vehicle, the receiving terminal may receive, in addition to the image data belonging to one or more layers, weather or construction information etc. as meta information, and decode these in association with each other. Note that the meta information may belong to a layer or may simply be multiplexed with the image data.

[0468] In this case, since vehicles, drones, airplanes, etc. including the receiving terminal move, the receiving terminal can realize seamless reception and decoding by transmitting the position information of the receiving terminal while switching between the base stations ex106 to ex110. Further, the receiving terminal can dynamically switch how much meta information to receive or how much to update the map information according to the user's selection, the user's situation, and / or the state of the communication band.

[0469] In the content supply system ex100, the client can receive, decode, and play the encoded information transmitted by the user in real time.

[0470] [Delivery of Personal Content] Also, in the content supply system ex100, not only high-quality and long-duration content by video distributors but also unicast or multicast delivery of low-quality and short-duration content by individuals is possible. Such personal content is expected to increase in the future. In order to make personal content better content, the server may perform encoding processing after performing editing processing. This can be realized, for example, using the following configuration.

[0471] During shooting in real-time or accumulating and after shooting, the server performs recognition processing such as shooting error, scene search, semantic analysis, and object detection on the original picture data or encoded data. Then, based on the recognition results, the server manually or automatically corrects out-of-focus or camera shake, deletes less important scenes such as scenes with lower brightness or out-of-focus compared to other pictures, emphasizes the edges of objects, or changes the color tone, etc. The server encodes the edited data based on the editing results. It is also known that if the shooting time is too long, the viewing rate will decrease. The server may automatically clip not only less important scenes but also scenes with little movement, etc. within a specific time range according to the shooting time so that it becomes content within that range, based on the image processing results. Or, the server may generate and encode a digest based on the result of the semantic analysis of the scene.

[0472] In the case of personal content, there may be cases where it contains something that would directly infringe copyright, moral rights of the author, or the right of portrait, etc., and it may be inconvenient for the individual, such as the sharing range exceeding the intended range. Therefore, for example, the server may deliberately change the image to be out of focus, such as the face of a person in the peripheral part of the screen or inside a house, and then encode it. Furthermore, the server may recognize whether a face of a person different from the pre-registered person appears in the image to be encoded, and if it appears, perform processing such as applying a mosaic to the face part. Or, as pre-processing or post-processing of encoding, the user may specify a person or background area that the user wants to process the image from the perspective of copyright, etc. The server may perform processing such as replacing the specified area with another video or blurring the focus. For a person, in a moving image, the person can be tracked and the video of the face part of the person can be replaced.

[0473] Since viewing personal content with a small amount of data requires strong real-time performance, depending on the bandwidth, the decoding device may first receive the base layer with the highest priority and perform decoding and playback. During this time, the decoding device may receive the enhancement layer and, when the playback is looped or played back two or more times, play back high-quality video including the enhancement layer. For a stream encoded in a scalable manner like this, the video is rough when not selected or at the beginning of viewing, but it is possible to provide an experience where the stream gradually becomes smarter and the image quality improves. In addition to scalable encoding, a similar experience can be provided even if a rough stream played back for the first time and a second stream encoded with reference to the first video are configured as one stream.

[0474] [Other implementation and application examples] Also, these encoding or decoding processes are generally processed in the LSIex500 that each terminal has. The LSI (large scale integration circuitry) ex500 (see FIG. 58) may be a single-chip or a configuration consisting of multiple chips. Note that software for video encoding or decoding may be incorporated into some recording medium (such as a CD-ROM, flexible disk, or hard disk) readable by a computer ex111 or the like, and encoding or decoding processing may be performed using the software. Further, when the smartphone ex115 has a camera, the video data acquired by the camera may be transmitted. The video data at this time may be data encoded by the LSIex500 that the smartphone ex115 has.

[0475] Note that the LSIex500 may be configured to download and activate application software. In this case, the terminal first determines whether the terminal supports the content encoding method or has the ability to execute a specific service. If the terminal does not support the content encoding method or does not have the ability to execute a specific service, the terminal may download a codec or application software and then acquire and play the content.

[0476] Moreover, not limited to the content supply system ex100 via the Internet ex101, at least one of the moving image encoding device (image encoding device) or the moving image decoding device (image decoding device) of the above-described embodiments can be incorporated into a digital broadcast system. Since multiplexed data in which video and audio are multiplexed is transmitted and received by loading it on a broadcast radio wave using a satellite or the like, there is a difference in that it is more suitable for multicast compared to the unicast-friendly configuration of the content supply system ex100, but the same application is possible for the encoding process and the decoding process.

[0477] [Hardware Configuration] FIG. 63 is a diagram showing further details of the smartphone ex115 shown in FIG. 58. Further, FIG. 64 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the smartphone ex115. The smartphone ex115 includes an antenna ex450 for transmitting and receiving radio waves to and from the base station ex110, a camera unit ex465 capable of capturing video and still images, and a display unit ex458 for displaying data obtained by decoding video images captured by the camera unit ex465 and video images received by the antenna ex450. The smartphone ex115 further includes an operation unit ex466 such as a touch panel, an audio output unit ex457 such as a speaker for outputting audio or sound, an audio input unit ex456 such as a microphone for inputting audio, a memory unit ex467 capable of storing captured video or still images, recorded audio, received video or still images, encoded data such as emails, or decoded data, and a slot unit ex464 which is an interface unit with the SIM ex468 for identifying the user and authenticating access to various data including the network. Note that an external memory may be used instead of the memory unit ex467.

[0478] A main control unit ex460 capable of comprehensively controlling the display unit ex458, the operation unit ex466, etc., a power supply circuit unit ex461, an operation input control unit ex462, a video signal processing unit ex455, a camera interface unit ex463, a display control unit ex459, a modulation / demodulation unit ex452, a multiplexing / demultiplexing unit ex453, an audio signal processing unit ex454, a slot unit ex464, and a memory unit ex467 are connected via a synchronization bus ex470.

[0479] When the power key is turned on by the user's operation, the power supply circuit unit ex461 activates the smartphone ex115 to an operable state and supplies power to each unit from the battery pack.

[0480] The smartphone ex115 performs processes such as calls and data communication based on the control of the main control unit ex460 having a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. During a call, the voice signal picked up by the voice input unit ex456 is converted into a digital voice signal by the voice signal processing unit ex454, subjected to spread spectrum processing by the modulation / demodulation unit ex452, and subjected to digital-to-analog conversion processing and frequency conversion processing by the transmission / reception unit ex451, and the resulting signal is transmitted via the antenna ex450. Also, the received data is amplified and subjected to frequency conversion processing and analog-to-digital conversion processing, subjected to inverse spread spectrum processing by the modulation / demodulation unit ex452, converted into an analog voice signal by the voice signal processing unit ex454, and then output from the voice output unit ex457. In the data communication mode, text, still images, or video data can be sent under the control of the main control unit ex460 via the operation input control unit ex462 based on operations of the operation unit ex466 of the main body unit or the like. Similar transmission and reception processes are performed. When transmitting video, still images, or video and audio in the data communication mode, the video signal processing unit ex455 compresses and encodes the video signal stored in the memory unit ex467 or the video signal input from the camera unit ex465 by the moving image encoding method shown in each of the above embodiments, and sends the encoded video data to the multiplexing / demultiplexing unit ex453. The voice signal processing unit ex454 encodes the voice signal picked up by the voice input unit ex456 while the video or still image is being captured by the camera unit ex465, and sends the encoded voice data to the multiplexing / demultiplexing unit ex453. The multiplexing / demultiplexing unit ex453 multiplexes the encoded video data and the encoded voice data in a predetermined manner, performs modulation processing and conversion processing by the modulation / demodulation unit (modulation / demodulation circuit unit) ex452 and the transmission / reception unit ex451, and transmits it via the antenna ex450. The predetermined manner may be determined in advance.

[0481] When receiving a video attached to an email or chat, or a video linked to a web page, etc., in order to decode the multiplexed data received via the antenna ex450, the multiplexing / demultiplexing unit ex453 separates the multiplexed data into a bit stream of video data and a bit stream of audio data by separating the multiplexed data, supplies the encoded video data to the video signal processing unit ex455 via the synchronization bus ex470, and supplies the encoded audio data to the audio signal processing unit ex454. The video signal processing unit ex455 decodes the video signal by a video decoding method corresponding to the moving image encoding method shown in each of the above embodiments, and a video or a still image included in the linked moving image file is displayed from the display unit ex458 via the display control unit ex459. The audio signal processing unit ex454 decodes the audio signal, and audio is output from the audio output unit ex457. Since real-time streaming is becoming increasingly popular, depending on the user's situation, it may not be socially appropriate to play the audio. Therefore, as an initial value, it is desirable to have a configuration that plays only the video data without playing the audio signal, and the audio may be played synchronously only when the user performs an operation such as clicking on the video data.

[0482] Also, although the smartphone ex115 has been described as an example here, as the terminal, in addition to the transceiver type terminal having both an encoder and a decoder, other implementation forms such as a transmitting terminal having only an encoder and a receiving terminal having only a decoder are conceivable. In the digital broadcast system, it has been described that multiplexed data in which audio data is multiplexed with video data is received or transmitted. However, in the multiplexed data, character data related to the video etc. may be multiplexed in addition to the audio data. Also, instead of the multiplexed data, the video data itself may be received or transmitted.

[0483] Although the main control unit ex460 including a CPU has been described as controlling encoding or decoding processing, many types of terminals are often equipped with a GPU. Therefore, a configuration in which a wide area is processed in a batch by taking advantage of the performance of the GPU using a memory shared by the CPU and the GPU or a memory whose address is managed so as to be commonly used may be adopted. Thereby, the encoding time can be shortened, real-time performance can be ensured, and low latency can be realized. In particular, it is efficient to perform motion search, deblocking filter, SAO (Sample Adaptive Offset), and transform / quantization processing in units such as pictures using the GPU instead of the CPU.

Industrial Applicability

[0484] The present disclosure can be applied to, for example, a television receiver, a digital video recorder, a car navigation system, a mobile phone, a digital camera, a digital video camera, a video conferencing system, or an electronic mirror.

Explanation of Signs

[0485] 100 Encoding device 102 Splitting unit 104 Subtraction unit 106 Transformation unit 108 Quantization unit 110 Entropy encoding unit 112, 204 Inverse quantization unit 114, 206 Inverse transformation unit 116, 208 Addition unit 118, 210 Block memory 120, 212 Loop filter unit 122, 214 Frame memory 124, 216 Intra prediction unit 126, 218 Inter prediction unit 128, 220 Prediction control unit 200 Decoding device 202 Entropy decoding unit 1201 Boundary determination unit 1202, 1204, 1206 Switch 1203 Filter Judgment Unit 1205 Filter Processing Unit 1207 Filter Characteristic Determination Unit 1208 Processing Judgment Unit a1, b1 Processors a2, b2 Memories

Claims

1. An encoding device for encoding an image, comprising: The circuit, a memory connected to the circuit, The circuit, in operation, Derive a motion vector for the current block on a block-by-block basis; performing a dynamic motion vector refreshing (DMVR) process for searching a peripheral area of ​​the motion vector in units of sub-blocks included in the current block and correcting the motion vector; determining whether to apply a deblocking filter process to each of a plurality of subblock boundaries, each of which is a boundary between adjacent subblocks, in the plurality of subblocks on which the DMVR process has been performed; Based on the result of the determination, the deblocking filter process is applied to the boundary; Each of the plurality of sub-blocks has a height of 16. Encoding device.

2. A decoding device for decoding an image, comprising: The circuit, a memory connected to the circuit, The circuit, in operation, Derive a motion vector for the current block on a block-by-block basis; performing a dynamic motion vector refreshing (DMVR) process for searching a peripheral area of ​​the motion vector in units of sub-blocks included in the current block and correcting the motion vector; determining whether to apply a deblocking filter process to each of a plurality of subblock boundaries, each of which is a boundary between adjacent subblocks, in the plurality of subblocks on which the DMVR process has been performed; Based on the result of the determination, the deblocking filter process is applied to the boundary; Each of the plurality of sub-blocks has a height of 16. Decryption device.

3. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a bitstream, the bitstream includes decoding information that causes a decoding device to perform a decoding process; The decoding process includes: Derive a motion vector for the current block on a block-by-block basis; performing a dynamic motion vector refreshing (DMVR) process for searching a peripheral area of ​​the motion vector in units of sub-blocks included in the current block and correcting the motion vector; determining whether to apply a deblocking filter process to each of a plurality of subblock boundaries, each of which is a boundary between adjacent subblocks, in the plurality of subblocks on which the DMVR process has been performed; Based on the result of the determination, the deblocking filter process is applied to the boundary; Each of the plurality of sub-blocks has a height of 16. Recording medium.

Images