Patent ID: 8009738

Claim:
A data holding apparatus used for image processing in which an image is coded or decoded, on a macroblock basis, based on a field structure or a frame structure selected on a macroblock pair basis, said data holding apparatus comprising: a current register which holds a parameter set of a current macroblock to be coded or decoded; and registers which respectively hold parameter sets of macroblocks having neighboring relationships with the current macroblock, wherein at least one of said registers selectively holds, in sequence, parameter sets of respective different macroblocks having the neighboring relationships, one parameter set at a time, wherein said registers include: a first register which selectively holds one of a parameter set of a top macroblock in an above neighboring macroblock pair with respect to the current macroblock, and a parameter set of a top macroblock in a current macroblock pair containing the current macroblock; a second register which holds a parameter set of a bottom macroblock in the above neighboring macroblock pair with respect to the current macroblock; a third register which holds a parameter set of a top macroblock in a left neighboring macroblock pair with respect to the current macroblock; and a fourth register which holds a parameter set of a bottom macroblock in the left neighboring macroblock pair with respect to the current macroblock, wherein said first register holds the parameter set of the top macroblock in the current macroblock pair when the current macroblock is a bottom macroblock in the current macroblock pair, and the parameter set of the top macroblock in the above neighboring macroblock pair when the current macroblock is a top macroblock in the current macroblock pair.