Reference picture signaling

#The embodiments generally relate to reference picture management in connection with video encoding and decoding, and in particular to reference picture signaling and buffer management.

#H.264, also referred to as Moving Picture Experts Group-4 (MPEG-4) Advanced Video Coding (AVC), is the state of the art video coding standard. It consists of a block based hybrid video coding scheme that exploits temporal and spatial prediction.

#High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) is a new video coding standard currently being developed in Joint Collaborative Team-Video Coding (JCT-VC). JCT-VC is a collaborative project between MPEG and International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication standardization sector (ITU-T). Currently, a Working Draft (WD) is defined that includes large macroblocks (abbreviated LCUs for Largest Coding Units) and a number of other new tools and is considerably more efficient than H.264/AVC.

#The invention, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by making reference to the following description taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

#FIG. 1 is a simplified flow chart of the H.264/AVC reference buffer scheme;

#FIG. 2 is an example of a coding structure with two temporal layers;

#Throughout the drawings, the same reference numbers are used for similar or corresponding elements.

#The present embodiments generally relate to encoding and decoding of pictures, also referred to as frames in the art, of a video stream. In particular, the embodiments relate to management of reference pictures in connection with video encoding and decoding and the signaling of such reference pictures from the encoder to the decoder.

#Video encoding, such as represented by H.264/MPEG-4 AVC and HEVC, utilizes reference pictures as predictions or references for the encoding and decoding of pixel data of a current picture. This is generally referred to as inter coding in the art where a picture is encoded and decoded relative to such reference pictures. In order to be able to decode an encoded picture, the decoder thereby has to know which reference pictures to use for the current encoded picture and has to have access to these reference pictures. Generally, the decoder uses a decoded picture buffer (DPB), also denoted reference picture buffer herein, for storing the reference pictures. It is then important that the reference pictures stored in the decoded picture buffer are indeed the correct reference pictures when decoding an encoded picture otherwise the decoder will use wrong reference pictures during the decoding process causing a degradation of the quality of the presented video.