Patent ID: 11956440
Assignee: SUN PATENT TRUST
Field: Audio-visual technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 0:
1. An image encoding apparatus for encoding pictures into an encoded sequence, the image encoding apparatus comprising:
a processor; and
a memory storing thereon a computer program, which when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform operations including:
writing, into a sequence parameter set, (i) buffer descriptions, each of the buffer descriptions specifying reference pictures to be held in a buffer for encoding the pictures and (ii) reference list descriptions which correspond one-to-one with the buffer descriptions, each of the reference list descriptions indicating a correspondence relationship between one of the reference pictures that is specified by a corresponding one of the buffer descriptions and an index for identifying the reference picture;
writing, into a header of one of slices in one of the pictures, selecting information indicating one of the buffer descriptions; and
(i) specifying one of the reference pictures held in the buffer using the buffer description indicated by the selecting information, (ii) encoding the one of the slices using the specified reference picture, and (iii) writing, into the encoded sequence, the encoded slice and the index that identifies the specified reference picture in the reference list description that corresponds to the buffer description indicated by the selecting information.