Patent ID: 7729590

Claim:
A trick mode play process for digital video, comprising: storing a plurality of most recent reference frames in a corresponding plurality of frame buffers; displaying a current frame during a current frame time interval; determining a next frame for display; inspecting the plurality of frame buffers to determine if the next frame is present in one of the frame buffers; if the next frame is present in one of the frame buffers, designating the frame for display in the next frame time interval; if the next frame is not present in one of the frame buffers: checking if the frame buffers contain any reference frames needed to decode the next frame; and at a decoder, decoding a next frame using all reference frames needed to decode the next frame which can be found in the frame buffers; and storing data comprising a next frame into one of the frame buffers by replacing said frame buffer data with data selected for replacement being based upon the replaced data having a lowest cost of restoration, where determining the lowest cost of restoration comprises at least determining that the frame requires a lowest number of additional video frames to decode.