Re-encoding information indicating whether or not an input moving picture has been compression-encoded is provided to a mode determining unit. The mode determining unit determines an optimal encoding mode for the input moving picture, out of a plurality of encoding modes. The mode determining operation is controlled by the re-encoding information. According to a mode determination result of the mode determining unit, a prediction error value corresponding to the determined mode is selected by a selection switch, and then, an encoding process is performed. As the re-encoding information, a pre-determined value, a bit rate, and a quantization parameter, etc., could be provided.