diff --git a/libavcodec/mpegvideo.c b/libavcodec/mpegvideo.c
index 9bb862af91..458d2e447b 100644
--- a/libavcodec/mpegvideo.c
+++ b/libavcodec/mpegvideo.c
@@ -1131,9 +1131,6 @@ int MPV_frame_start(MpegEncContext *s, AVCodecContext *avctx)
     Picture *pic;
     s->mb_skipped = 0;
 
-    assert(s->last_picture_ptr == NULL || s->out_format != FMT_H264 ||
-           s->codec_id == CODEC_ID_SVQ3);
-
     /* mark & release old frames */
     if (s->out_format != FMT_H264 || s->codec_id == CODEC_ID_SVQ3) {
         if (s->pict_type != AV_PICTURE_TYPE_B && s->last_picture_ptr &&