Patent ID: 8363721

Claim:
An apparatus for coding comprising: a forward coder configured to accept a current picture of a video sequence and to determine quantized transform coefficients of a difference picture; and a reconstruction module including a multi-picture store for storing at least previously decoded pictures, the reconstruction module configured to accept the quantized transform coefficient and to determine a predicted picture from one or more previously decoded pictures in the multi-picture store, wherein the reconstruction module further includes: a reference picture predictor that uses one or more previously decoded picture(s) to determine, using a predicting process, one or more predicted reference pictures; and a motion compensated predictor coupled to the reference picture predictor and configured to determine, from one or a plurality of the one or more predicted reference pictures determined by the reference picture predictor, a motion compensated prediction picture and any motion vectors, such that the forward coder uses the current picture and the motion compensated prediction picture to determine the difference picture, such that the only overhead needed to be sent to or stored for a decoder that includes a decoder multi-picture store is an indication of what data in the decoder multi-picture store is used by, or how the data is organized in the decoder multi-picture store and what data in the decoder multi-picture store is used by a decoder reference picture predictor that uses the prediction process and that is included in the decoder.