PICTURE PROCESSING APPARATUS, PICTURE PROCESSING METHOD, INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, RECORDING MEDIUM, AND PROGRAM

A reusable quantization value Qref included in history information or parameter information is obtained in step S21. In step S22, it is judged whether or not the quantization value Qref obtained in step S21 is smaller than a predetermined minimum quantization value Qmin. If it has been judged that the quantization value Qref is smaller than the predetermined minimum quantization value Qmin, the process proceeds to step S23, where the quantization value Q is set at Qmin, and then the process is completed. If it has been judged that the quantization value Qref is not smaller than the predetermined minimum quantization value Qmin, the process proceeds to step S24, where the quantization value Qref is reused and is set as the quantization value Q, and then the process is completed. The present invention can be applied to an SDTI CP-ASI converter or a long GOP encoder.