Method and apparatus for decoupling frame number and/or picture order count (poc) for multi-view video encoding and decoding

Abstract

There is disclosed and described a decoder (250) and decoding method (410) for decoding at least one picture corresponding to at least one of at least two views of multi-view video content from a bitstream, wherein in the bitstream at least one of coding order information and output order information for the at least one picture is decoupled from the at least one view to which the at least one picture corresponds. Furthermore, there is disclosed and described an encoder (200) and encoding method (360) for encoding at least one picture corresponding to at least one of at least two views of multi-view video content to form a resultant bitstream, wherein in the resultant bitstream at least one of coding order information and output order information for the at least one picture is decoupled from the at least one view to which the at least one picture corresponds.

1 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a decoder ( 250 ) for decoding at least one picture corresponding to at least one of at least two views of multi-view video content from a bitstream, wherein in the bitstream at least one of coding order information and output order information for the at least one picture is decoupled from the at least one view to which the at least one picture corresponds.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said decoder ( 250 ) determines an existence of a decoupling of the at least one of the coding order information and the output order information for the at least one picture using at least one existing syntax element corresponding to the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector H.264 recommendation. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said decoder ( 250 ) determines an existence of a decoupling of the at least one of the coding order information and the output order information for the at least one picture using a view identifier. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the view identifier is present at a slice level in the bitstream. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the view identifier is present at a level higher than a macroblock level in the bitstream. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein said decoder ( 250 ) parses the view identifier from the bitstream for use by a decoded reference picture marking process. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein said decoder ( 250 ) parses the view identifier from the bitstream to determine which of the at least two views a particular picture to be marked by the decoded reference picture marking process belongs. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein said decoder ( 250 ) uses at least one existing syntax element with semantics of the at least one existing syntax element redefined for use in a redefined decoded reference picture marking process corresponding to the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector H.264 recommendation to support a use of the view identifier in the redefined decoded reference picture marking process. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein in the redefined decoded reference picture marking process, only pictures with a same view identifier as a currently decoded picture are marked. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein at least one of a sliding window decoded reference picture marking process and an adaptive memory control decoded reference picture marking process are applied. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein in the. redefined decoded reference picture marking process, pictures which have a different view identifier than that of the at least one picture are marked using a previously unused syntax element. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein said decoder ( 250 ) parses the view identifier from the bitstream for default reference picture list construction. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein inter-view reference pictures are prohibited from being added to a reference list for a default reference picture list creation process corresponding to the reference picture list construction, according to at least one existing syntax element for the reference picture list construction. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein only inter-view reference pictures are added to a reference list for a default reference picture list creation process corresponding to the reference picture list construction, according to at least one existing syntax element for the default reference picture list construction. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the inter-view reference pictures are added after temporal references. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein said decoder ( 250 ) uses at least one existing syntax element redefined for use in a redefined reference picture list reordering process corresponding to the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector H.264 recommendation to support a use of the view identifier in the redefined reference picture list reordering process. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein in the redefined reference picture list reordering process, only pictures with a same view identifier as a currently decoded picture are reordered. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the view identifier indicates to which of the at least two views corresponds a particular picture to be moved to a current index in a corresponding reference picture list. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the view identifier is only required when the view identifier of a reference picture to be ordered is different from that of the at least one picture. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein said decoder ( 250 ) uses an existing syntax element redefined for temporal DIRECT mode, the existing syntax corresponding to the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector H.264 recommendation to support a use of the view identifier in the temporal DIRECT mode. 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein the temporal DIRECT mode is derived based on at least one of a Picture Order Count value and a view identifier. 
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein said decoder ( 250 ) uses an existing syntax element, existing semantics, and an existing decoding process for temporal DIRECT mode, the existing syntax, the existing semantics, and the existing decoding process corresponding to the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector H.264 recommendation. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein said decoder ( 250 ) uses an existing syntax element redefined for implicit weighted prediction, the existing syntax corresponding to the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector H.264 recommendation to support a use of the view identifier in the implicit weighted prediction. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 23 , wherein the implicit weighted prediction is derived based on at least one of a Picture Order Count value and a view identifier. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein said decoder ( 250 ) uses an existing syntax element, existing semantics, and an existing decoding process for implicit weighted prediction, the existing syntax, the existing semantics, and the existing decoding process corresponding to the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector H.264 recommendation. 
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said decoder ( 250 ) uses a particular one of the at least two views corresponding to a particular picture to determine an inter-view dependency in a parallel decoding of different ones of the at least two views. 
     
     
         27 . A method, comprising:
 decoding at least one picture corresponding to at least one of at least two views of multi-view video content from a bitstream, wherein in the bitstream at least one of coding order information and output order information for the at least one picture is decoupled ( 410 ) from the at least one view to which the at least one picture corresponds.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein said decoding step determines an existence of a decoupling of the at least one of the coding order information and output order information for the at least one picture using at least one existing syntax element ( 410 ) corresponding to the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector H.264 recommendation. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein said decoding step determines an existence of a decoupling of the at least one of the coding order information and output order information for the at least one picture using a view identifier ( 410 ). 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the view identifier is present at a slice level in the bitstream. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the view identifier is present at a level higher than a macroblock level in the bitstream. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein said decoding step parses the view identifier from the bitstream ( 410 ) for use by a decoded reference picture marking process. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein said decoding step parses the view identifier from the bitstream to determine which of the at least two views a particular picture to be marked by the decoded reference picture marking process belongs ( 425 ). 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein said decoding step uses at least one existing syntax element with semantics of the at least one existing syntax element redefined for use in a redefined decoded reference picture marking process ( 1625 ,  340 ) corresponding to the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector H.264 recommendation to support a use of the view identifier in the redefined decoded reference picture marking process. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein in the redefined decoded reference picture marking process, only pictures with a same view identifier as a currently decoded picture are marked ( 1625 ). 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein at least one of a sliding window decoded reference picture marking process and an adaptive memory control decoded reference picture marking process are applied. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein in the redefined decoded reference picture marking process, pictures which have a different view identifier than that of the at least one picture are marked using a previously unused syntax element. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein said decoding step parses the view identifier from the bitstream for default reference picture list construction ( 340 ). 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein inter-view reference pictures are prohibited from being added to a reference list for a default reference picture list creation process ( 815 ) corresponding to the reference picture list construction, according to at least one existing syntax element for the reference picture list construction. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein only inter-view reference pictures are added to a reference list for a default reference picture list creation process ( 915 ) corresponding to the reference picture list construction, according to at least one existing syntax element for the default reference picture list construction. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the inter-view reference pictures are added after temporal references. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein said decoding step uses at least one existing syntax element redefined for use in a redefined reference picture list reordering ( 2317 ) process corresponding to the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector H.264 recommendation to support a use of the view identifier in the redefined reference picture list reordering process. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 42 , wherein in the redefined reference picture list reordering process, only pictures with a same view identifier as a currently decoded picture are reordered ( 2319 ). 
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 43 , wherein the view identifier indicates to which of the at least two views corresponds a particular picture to be moved to a current index in a corresponding reference picture list ( 2419 ). 
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 43 , wherein the view identifier is only required when the view identifier of a reference picture to be ordered is different from that of the at least one picture. 
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein said decoding step uses an existing syntax element redefined for temporal DIRECT mode ( 1310 ,  1315 ), the existing syntax corresponding to the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector H.264 recommendation to support a use of the view identifier in the temporal DIRECT mode. 
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 46 , wherein the temporal DIRECT mode is derived based on at least one of a Picture Order Count value and a view identifier ( 1420 ). 
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein said decoding step uses an existing syntax element, existing semantics, and an existing decoding process for temporal DIRECT mode, the existing syntax, the existing semantics, and the existing decoding process corresponding to the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector H.264 recommendation. 
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein said decoding step uses an existing syntax element redefined for implicit weighted prediction ( 1310 ,  1320 ), the existing syntax corresponding to the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced. Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector H.264 recommendation to support a use of the view identifier in the implicit weighted prediction. 
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 49 , wherein the implicit weighted prediction is derived based on at least one of a Picture Order Count value and a view identifier ( 1415 ). 
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein said decoding step uses an existing syntax element, existing semantics, and an existing decoding process for implicit weighted prediction, the existing syntax, the existing semantics, and the existing decoding process corresponding to the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector H.264 recommendation. 
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein said decoding step uses a particular one of the at least two views corresponding to a particular picture to determine an inter-view dependency ( 410 ) in a parallel decoding of different ones of the at least two views. 
     
     
         53 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a decoder ( 250 ) for decoding at least one of at least two views corresponding to multi-view video content, wherein said decoder decodes the at least one of the at least two views using redefined variables in a default reference picture list construction process and reference picture list reordering corresponding to the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector H.264 recommendation.   
     
     
         54 . The apparatus of  claim 53 , wherein at least one of a number of views and view identifier information is used to redefine the variables. 
     
     
         55 . The apparatus of  claim 53 , wherein at least one of a Group Of Pictures length and view identifier information is used to redefine the variables. 
     
     
         56 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a decoder ( 250 ) for decoding at least one of at least two views corresponding to multi-view video content, wherein said decoder decodes the at least one of the at least two views using redefined variables in a decoded reference picture marking process of the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector H.264 recommendation.   
     
     
         57 . The apparatus of  claim 56 , wherein at least one of a number of views and view identifier information is used to redefine the variables. 
     
     
         58 . The apparatus of  claim 56 , wherein at least one of a Group Of Pictures length and view identifier information is used to redefine the variables. 
     
     
         59 . A method, comprising:
 decoding at least one of at least two views corresponding to multi-view video content, wherein said decoding step decodes the at least one of the at least two views using redefined variables ( 1915 ,  2015 ) in a default reference picture list construction process and reference picture list reordering corresponding to the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector H.264 recommendation.   
     
     
         60 . The method of  claim 59 , wherein at least one of a number of views and view identifier information is used to redefine the variables ( 1915 ). 
     
     
         61 . The method of  claim 59 , wherein at least one of a Group Of Pictures length and view identifier information is used to redefine the variables ( 2015 ). 
     
     
         62 . A method, comprising:
 decoding at least one of at least two views corresponding to multi-view video content, wherein said decoding step decodes the at least one of the at least two views using redefined variables ( 1915 ,  2015 ) in a decoded reference picture marking process of the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector H.264 recommendation.   
     
     
         63 . The method of  claim 62 , wherein at least one of a number of views and view identifier information is used to redefine the variables ( 1915 ). 
     
     
         64 . The method of  claim 62 , wherein at least one of a Group Of Pictures length and view identifier information is used to redefine the variables ( 2015 ).