Encoding system, device, and method
An encoding system includes: a plurality of encoding devices that each include an encoding processing unit configured to, at a timing in accordance with a vertical synchronization signal included in a moving picture signal, encode divided image data, wherein one encoding device acts as a single master and the remaining one or more encoding devices act as slave. A main synchronization processing unit configured to be provided in the master, in accordance with the vertical synchronization signal, to transmit a setting signal to the slave to perform setting on the encoding processing unit, so that a start timing of encoding processing by each of the encoding processing units is synchronized in frame image units, and to monitor a synchronization state of the encoding devices based on a state signal representing a state of the encoding processing unit of the ancillary encoding device received from the slave.
1. An encoding system comprising:
a plurality of encoding devices that each include an encoding processing unit configured to, at a timing in accordance with a vertical synchronization signal included in a moving picture signal, encode divided image data arising when a frame image unit of image data included in the moving picture signal is divided into a plurality of divided image data, wherein one of the encoding devices acts as a single main encoding device and the remaining one or more encoding devices act as one or more ancillary encoding devices;
a main synchronization processing unit configured to be provided in the main encoding device, in accordance with the vertical synchronization signal, to transmit a setting signal to the ancillary encoding device to perform setting on the encoding processing unit, so that a start timing of encoding processing by each of the plurality of encoding processing units and a switching timing of an encoding parameter are synchronized in frame image units, and to monitor a synchronization state of the plurality of encoding devices based on a state signal representing a state of the encoding processing unit of the ancillary encoding device received from the ancillary encoding device; and
an ancillary synchronization processing unit configured to be provided at the ancillary encoding device, to perform setting of the in-device encoding processing unit according to the setting signal received from the main encoding device, and to transmit a state signal representing a state of the in-device encoding processing unit to the main encoding device.
2. The encoding system of claim 1 , wherein the main synchronization processing unit determines the synchronization state of the plurality of encoding devices, based on whether or not a state signal representing a setting state of the encoding processing unit has been received from the ancillary encoding device, from when the setting signal was transmitted to the ancillary encoding device until the input of the next vertical synchronization signal.
3. The encoding system of claim 1 , wherein the main synchronization processing unit determines the synchronization state of the plurality of encoding devices, based on whether or not a state signal, representing an encoding processing state of the encoding processing unit for the frame image that should be encoding processed in a time period from input of the vertical synchronization signal to input of the next vertical synchronization signal, has been received from the ancillary encoding device.
4. The encoding system of claim 1 , wherein:
a counter unit is further provided at each of the plurality of encoding devices to count a horizontal synchronization signal included in the moving picture signal;
the ancillary synchronization processing unit includes a count value by the counter unit in the state signal for transmission; and
the main synchronization processing unit determines the synchronization state of the plurality of encoding devices based on the count value included in the state signal received from the ancillary encoding device.
5. The encoding system of claim 1 , wherein:
a counter unit is further provided at each of the plurality of encoding devices to count a horizontal synchronization signal included in the moving picture signal;
the ancillary synchronization processing unit determines the in-device synchronization state in the plurality of encoding devices based on the count values, and transmits a determination result included in the state signal; and
the main synchronization processing unit determines the synchronization state of the plurality of encoding devices from the determination result included in the state signal.
6. An encoding device that functions as a main encoding device of a plurality of encoding devices, each including an encoding processing unit configured to, at a timing in accordance with a vertical synchronization signal included in a moving picture signal, encodes divided image data arising when a frame image unit of image data included in the moving picture signal is divided into a plurality of divided image data, wherein each of the remaining one or more encoding devices other than the single main encoding device is provided with an ancillary synchronization processing unit that performs setting on the in-device encoding processing unit according to a setting signal received from the main encoding device, and transmit a state signal representing the state of the in-device encoding processing unit to the main encoding device,
the encoding device functioning as the main encoding device comprising a main synchronization processing unit configured to, in accordance with the vertical synchronization signal, transmits a setting signal to the ancillary encoding device to perform setting on the encoding processing unit, so that a start timing of encoding processing by each of the plurality of encoding processing units and a switching timing of encoding parameters are synchronized in frame image units, and to monitor a synchronization state of the plurality of encoding devices based on the state signal representing the state of the encoding processing unit of the ancillary encoding device received from the ancillary encoding device.
7. The encoding device of claim 6 , wherein the main synchronization processing unit determines the synchronization state of the plurality of encoding devices, based on whether or not a state signal representing a setting state of the encoding processing unit has been received from the ancillary encoding device, from when the setting signal was transmitted to the ancillary encoding device until the input of the next vertical synchronization signal.
8. The encoding device of claim 6 , wherein the main synchronization processing unit determines the synchronization state of the plurality of encoding devices, based on whether or not, in a time period from input of the vertical synchronization signal to input of the next vertical synchronization signal, a state signal representing an encoding processing state of the encoding processing unit for the frame image that should be encoding processed has been received from the ancillary encoding device.
9. The encoding device of claim 6 , wherein:
a counter unit is further provided at each of the plurality of encoding devices to count a horizontal synchronization signal included in the moving picture signal;
the ancillary synchronization processing unit includes a count value by the counter unit in the state signal for transmission; and
the main synchronization processing unit determines the synchronization state of the plurality of encoding devices based on the count value included in the state signal received from the ancillary encoding device.
10. The encoding device of claim 6 , wherein:
a counter unit is further provided at each of the plurality of encoding devices to count a horizontal synchronization signal included in the moving picture signal;
the ancillary synchronization processing unit determines the in-device synchronization state in the plurality of encoding devices based on the count values, and transmits a determination result included in the state signal; and
the main synchronization processing unit determines the synchronization state of the plurality of encoding devices from the determination result included in the state signal.
11. An encoding method comprising:
in cases in which, among a plurality of encoding devices that each include an encoding processing unit that, in accordance with a vertical synchronization signal included in a moving picture signal, encodes divided image data arising when a frame image unit of image data included in the moving picture signal is divided into a plurality of divided image data, one of the encoding devices out of the plural encoding devices acts as a main encoding device and the remaining one or more encoding devices other than the main encoding device act as one or more ancillary encoding devices,
via the main encoding device, in accordance with the vertical synchronization signal, transmitting a setting signal to the ancillary encoding device to perform setting on the encoding processing unit, so that a start timing of encoding processing by each of the plurality of encoding processing units and a switching timing of encoding parameters are synchronized in frame image units, and monitoring a synchronization state of the plurality of encoding devices based on a state signal representing a state of the encoding processing unit of the ancillary encoding device received from the ancillary encoding device; and
via the ancillary encoding device, performing setting of the in-device encoding processing unit according to the setting signal received from the main encoding device, and transmitting a state signal representing a state of the in-device encoding processing unit to the main encoding device.
12. The encoding method of claim 11 , wherein the main synchronization processing unit determines the synchronization state of the plurality of encoding devices, based on whether or not a state signal representing a setting state of the encoding processing unit has been received from the ancillary encoding device, from when the setting signal was transmitted to the ancillary encoding device until the input of the next vertical synchronization signal.
13. The encoding method of claim 11 , wherein the main synchronization processing unit determines the synchronization state of the plurality of encoding devices, based on whether or not, in a time period from input of the vertical synchronization signal to input of the next vertical synchronization signal, a state signal representing an encoding processing state of the encoding processing unit for the frame image that should be encoding processed has been received from the ancillary encoding device.
14. The encoding method of claim 11 , wherein:
a counter unit is further provided at each of the plurality of encoding devices to count a horizontal synchronization signal included in the moving picture signal;
the ancillary encoding devices include a count value by the counter unit in the state signal for transmission; and
the main encoding device determines the synchronization state of the plurality of encoding devices based on the count value included in the state signal received from the ancillary encoding device.
15. The encoding method of claim 11 , wherein:
a counter unit is further provided at each of the plurality of encoding devices to count a horizontal synchronization signal included in the moving picture signal;
the ancillary synchronization processing unit determines the in-device synchronization state in the plurality of encoding devices based on the count values, and transmits a determination result included in the state signal; and
the main synchronization processing unit determines the synchronization state of the plurality of encoding devices from the determination result included in the state signal.