Patent ID: 7760803

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a memory having one or more memory areas, each memory area being capable of storing a first field data, a second field data, or both of the first field data and the second field data; and a memory management unit operable to manage a state of each memory area, the state being a data storage prohibition state or a data storage allowance state, wherein, when the first field data is reference picture data and is stored in one memory area in the data storage allowance state, said memory management unit (i) allows the second field data to be stored in the one memory area into which the first field data is stored when each of the first field data and the second field data constitute a part of the same frame and the second field data is reference picture data, and (ii) prohibits the second field data from being stored in the one memory area into which the first field data is stored and allows the second field data to be stored in a memory area other than the one memory area when the first field data and the second field data do not constitute a part of the same frame and the second field data is reference picture data.