Patent ID: 8873625

Claim:
A method of representing an image frame containing a plurality of source frame-edge blocks and a plurality of source non-frame-edge blocks, said method comprising: receiving a first plurality of pixels representing said image frame in an uncompressed format, said first plurality of pixels representing said plurality of source frame-edge blocks and said plurality of source non-frame-edge blocks; prior to encoding a first source non-frame-edge block of said image frame and a second source non-frame-edge block of said image frame, selecting a first prediction approach to encode said first source non-frame-edge block and selecting a second prediction approach to encode said second source non-frame-edge block, wherein said first prediction approach is selected from a first subset of available prediction approaches that is selected from a plurality of prediction approaches, wherein said first subset is selected by eliminating, prior to said encoding, prediction approaches from said plurality of prediction approaches based on a location of said first source non-frame edge block in a slice in said image frame, wherein said second prediction approach is selected from a second subset of available prediction approaches that is selected from said plurality of prediction approaches, wherein said second subset is selected by eliminating, prior to said encoding, prediction approaches from said plurality of prediction approaches based on a location of said second source non-frame edge block in a slice in said image frame, wherein the number of available prediction approaches in said first subset is less than the number of available prediction approaches in said second subset; generating a compressed first non-frame-edge block and a second compressed non-frame-edge block using said first prediction approach and said second prediction approach respectively; forming a compressed data by including said first compressed non-frame-edge block, said second compressed non-frame-edge block, a first field corresponding to said first compressed non-frame-edge block, and a second field corresponding to said second compressed non-frame-edge block, wherein said first field and said second field respectively identify said first prediction approach and said second prediction approach; wherein said first source non-frame-edge block and said second source non-frame-edge block are equal in size, and wherein the number of bits in said first field corresponds to said number of available prediction approaches in said first subset and the number of bits in said second field corresponds to said number of available prediction approaches in said second subset, wherein said number of bits in said first field is less than said number of bits in said second field.