We Claim:
[Claim 1]
A moving image decoding device which decodes a bit stream generated by dividing an image of a moving image into a plurality of blocks and by compression-encoding the blocks and obtains the moving image, the moving image decoding device comprising:
a motion-compensated predictor to generate an inter prediction image of one of the blocks on a basis of a prediction parameter indicating a reference image for inter prediction processing on the block ; and
a variable-length decoder to entropy-decode the bit stream in order to obtain a binary string and obtain the prediction parameter from the binary string,
wherein the variable-length decoder obtains an identifier from bit stream, the identifier specifying a table from a plurality of binarization tables each of which defines a binary string assignment to the prediction parameter, and obtains the prediction parameter by inverse binarizing the binary string in accordance with the specified binarization table. [Claim 2]
A moving image decoding method for decoding a bit stream generated by dividing an image of a moving image into a plurality of blocks and by compression-encoding the blocks and obtains the moving image, the moving image decoding method comprising:
obtaining a binary string by entropy-decoding the bit stream!
obtaining a prediction parameter by inverse binarizing the binary string in accordance with a binarization table which is specified from a plurality of binarization tables each of which defines a binary string assignment to the prediction parameter, the identifier being obtained from the bit stream! and
generating an inter prediction images of one of the blocks on a basis of the prediction parameter, the prediction parameter indicating a reference image for inter prediction processing on the block. [Claim 3]
A moving image encoding device which generates a bit stream by dividing an image

of a moving image into a plurality of blocks and by compression-encoding the blocks, the moving image encoding device comprising:
a motion-compensated predictor to generate an inter prediction images of one of the blocks on a basis of a prediction parameter indicating a reference image for inter prediction processing on the block; and
a variable-length encoder to binarize the prediction parameter to a binary string and entropy-encode the binary string into the bit stream,
wherein the variable-length encoder carries out the binarization according to a binarization table specified with an identifier from a plurality of binarization tables, each of which defines a binary string assignment to the prediction parameter, and encodes the identifier into a bit stream. [Claim 4]
A moving image encoding method of generating a bit stream by dividing an image of a moving image into a plurality of blocks and by compression-encoding the blocks, the moving image encoding method comprising:
generating an inter prediction image of one of the blocks on a basis of a prediction parameter indicating a reference image for inter prediction processing on the block ;
binarizing the prediction parameter to a binary string in accordance with a binarization table which is specified with an identifier from a plurality of binarization tables each of which defines a binary string assignment to the prediction parameter, the identifier being encoded into the bit stream! and
entropy-encoding the binary string into a bit stream.