Patent ID: 8693549

Claim:
An enhanced inter-layer reference picture designating apparatus comprising: a computer system comprising a processor and a memory; a macroblock searching unit which hierarchically retrieves at least two lower spatial layer pictures of an input picture and searches for macroblocks in the at least two lower spatial layer pictures that correspond to macroblocks in the input picture; a macroblock indicator inserting unit operating on the computer system and adapted to insert, into the macroblocks in the input picture, macroblock indicators indicating the lower spatial layer pictures that correspond to macroblocks in the input picture; and an adaptive referring unit operating on the computer system and adapted to refer to the macroblocks in the at least two lower spatial layer pictures indicated by the macroblock indicators, wherein the macroblock indicators indicate the highest layer picture among the searched lower spatial layer pictures including the macroblocks corresponding to the macroblocks in the input picture.