System, method, and apparatus for efficiently storing macroblocks
View Patent ↗Presented herein is a system for storing macroblocks for such that all vertically, horizontally, and diagonally adjacent macroblock are stored in different banks. When fetching a block from a reference frame that overlaps four macroblocks, each of the overlapped macroblocks can be fetched substantially concurrently.
1. A method for storing a plurality of rows of blocks, said method comprising:
storing each of a first sequence of blocks of a first row in particular ones of a plurality of banks according to a particular order, starting at a first and then a second of the plurality of banks;
storing each of the blocks of a next row in particular ones of the plurality of banks according to the particular order, starting at a third and then a fourth of the plurality of banks, wherein the first sequence and the second sequence comprise a first block and a second block, through a last macroblock, and wherein storing each of the first sequence further comprises:
storing the first macroblock in the first sequence in the first bank;
storing the second macroblock in the first sequence in the second bank; and
storing the last macroblock of the first sequence in a particular one of the plurality of banks according to the particular order;
the method further comprising:
stuffing each bank starting from the bank following the particular one of the plurality of banks to the second bank in the particular order.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein stuffing further comprises:
storing a blank block.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the particular order comprises repeating the first bank followed by the second bank, followed by the third bank, followed by the fourth bank.
4. A system for storing a plurality of rows of blocks, said system comprising:
a plurality of banks for storing each of a first sequence of blocks of a first row in particular ones of a plurality of banks, and for storing each of the blocks of a next row in particular ones of the plurality of banks; and
a video decoder for writing the first sequence of blocks according to a particular order, starting at a first and then a second of the plurality of banks and writing each of the blocks of the next row according to the particular order, starting at a third and then a fourth of the plurality of banks, wherein the first sequence and the second sequence comprise a first block and a second block, through a last macroblock, the plurality of banks storing the first macroblock in the first sequence in the first bank and storing the second macroblock in the first sequence in the second bank and storing the last macroblock of the first sequence in a particular one of the plurality of banks according to the particular order, and wherein the video decoder stuffs each bank starting from the bank following the particular one of the plurality of banks to the second bank in the particular order.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the video decoder stuffs a bank by storing a blank block.
6. The system of claim 4 , wherein the particular order comprises repeating the first bank followed by the second bank, followed by the third bank, followed by the fourth bank.