IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE AND SYSTEM

A video providing device for providing video content having a plurality of viewpoints, the device including a video storage unit operable to store a plurality of versions of a video for each of a plurality of viewpoints in the video content, each video corresponding to the same viewpoint being encoded with a different resolution and a different group of pictures duration, a viewpoint determining unit operable to determine a requested viewpoint in the video content, a video selection unit operable to select a video from amongst the plurality of versions corresponding to the requested viewpoint, the selected video having a next-occurring group of pictures boundary, a video transmitting unit operable to transmit the selected video to a video receiving device, and a video switching unit operable to, if the selected video is not the highest-resolution video corresponding to that viewpoint, perform successive switches to higher-resolution videos at the next-occurring group of pictures boundary in a higher-resolution video until a switch is performed to the highest-resolution video for the determined viewpoint, where the video transmitting unit is operable to transmit a switched video instead of the selected video.