Patent ID: 8139150

Claim:
An apparatus for decoding a coded multi-view video signal including coded signals resulting from encoding picture signals corresponding to different viewpoints respectively, wherein at least one among the viewpoints is designated as a base viewpoint, the base viewpoint corresponding to a picture signal which is encoded without referring to at least one picture signal corresponding to one of the viewpoints except the base viewpoint, and wherein the coded multi-view video signal contains coded information representing a desired delay time of the start of decoding a coded signal originating from each of the picture signals corresponding to the viewpoints except the base viewpoint relative to the start of decoding a coded signal originating from the picture signal corresponding to the base viewpoint, the apparatus comprising: first means for decoding the coded information in the coded multi-view video signal to recover the desired delay times for the coded signals originating from the picture signals corresponding to the viewpoints except the base viewpoint; second means for decoding the coded signal originating from the picture signal corresponding to the base viewpoint; third means for decoding the coded signals originating from the picture signals corresponding to the viewpoints except the base viewpoint; and fourth means for delaying the decoding of the coded signals by the third means relative to the decoding of the coded signal by the second means by time intervals equal to the desired delay times recovered by the first means.