Intra block copy coding with temporal block vector prediction

A video coding method comprising:

• forming a list of motion vector merge candidates and a list of block vector merge candidates for a prediction unit;
• selecting one of the merge candidates as a predictor;
• providing the prediction unit with a flag identifying whether the predictor is in the list of motion vector merge candidates or in the list of block vector merge candidates;
• and
• providing the prediction unit with an index identifying the predictor from within the identified list of merge candidates.

A video coding method comprising:

• forming a list of merge candidates for a prediction unit, wherein each merge candidate is a predictive vector, and wherein at least one of the predictive vectors is a first block vector from a temporal reference picture;
• selecting one of the merge candidates as a predictor;
• and
• providing the prediction unit with an index identifying the predictor from within the identified set of merge candidates.

A video coding method comprising:

• identifying a set of merge candidates for a prediction unit, wherein the identification of the set of merge candidates includes adding at least one candidate with a default block vector;
• selecting one of the candidates as a predictor;
• and
• providing the prediction unit with an index identifying the merge candidate from within the identified set of merge candidates.