Granted Patent B2

US 12,309,431 · App. 18/597,002 · Granted May 20, 2025

Inventors: Robert Skupin (Berlin, DE); Yago Sánchez De La Fuente (Berlin, DE); Cornelius Hellge (Berlin, DE); Thomas Schierl (Berlin, DE); Karsten Suehring (Berlin, DE); Thomas Wiegand (Berlin, DE)

Assignee: FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V.

H04N19/70H04N19/119H04N19/184H04N19/44

Abstract

Claims (69)

1. A method for decoding pictures from a data stream, the method comprising:

for a picture, decoding, from the data stream, a flag indicating whether NAL unit type varies between at least two subpictures of the picture;

when the flag is a first value, determining that NAL unit type is the same for all of the subpictures of the picture; and

when the flag is a second value that is different than the first value, decoding a first NAL unit type for a first subpicture of the picture and a second NAL unit type of a second subpicture of the picture, wherein the first NAL unit type is different than the second NAL unit type.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the first NAL unit type is random access, and

the second NAL unit type is not random access.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the flag is contained in a picture parameter set (PPS), a sequence parameter set (SPS), or a video parameter set (VPS) of the data stream, and

each NAL unit type is associated with a slice of a sub-picture.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

when the flag is the second value, storing at least one of the subpictures in a buffer while decoding the subpictures; and

flushing the buffer after all of the subpictures of the picture are parsed or decoded.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

distinguishing between two NAL unit type subsets based on an integer-valued syntax element corresponding to the NAL unit type, wherein:

a first of the two NAL unit type subsets corresponds to random access, and

a second of the two NAL unit type subsets corresponds to not random access.

6. A decoder configured to:

for a picture, decode, from a data stream, a flag indicating whether NAL unit type varies between at least two subpictures of the picture;

when the flag is a first value, determine that NAL unit type is the same for all of the subpictures of the picture; and

when the flag is a second value that is different than the first value, decode a first NAL unit type for a first subpicture of the picture and a second NAL unit type of a second subpicture of the picture, wherein the first NAL unit type is different than the second NAL unit type.

7. The decoder of claim 6 , wherein:

the first NAL unit type is random access, and

the second NAL unit type is not random access.

8. The decoder of claim 6 , wherein:

the flag is contained in a picture parameter set (PPS), a sequence parameter set (SPS), or a video parameter set (VPS) of the data stream, and

each NAL unit type is associated with a slice of a sub-picture.

9. The decoder of claim 6 , further configured to:

when the flag is the second value, store at least one of the subpictures in a buffer while decoding the subpictures; and

flush the buffer after all of the subpictures of the picture are parsed or decoded.

10. The decoder of claim 6 , further configured to:

distinguish between two NAL unit type subsets based on an integer-valued syntax element corresponding to the NAL unit type, wherein:

a first of the two NAL unit type subsets corresponds to random access, and

a second of the two NAL unit type subsets corresponds to not random access.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing instructions, the instructions when executed cause at least one processor to:

for a picture, decode, from a data stream, a flag indicating whether NAL unit type varies between at least two subpictures of the picture;

when the flag is a first value, determine that NAL unit type is the same for all of the subpictures of the picture; and

when the flag is a second value that is different than the first value, decode a first NAL unit type for a first subpicture of the picture and a second NAL unit type of a second subpicture of the picture, wherein the first NAL unit type is different than the second NAL unit type.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , wherein:

the first NAL unit type is random access, and

the second NAL unit type is not random access.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , wherein:

the flag is contained in a picture parameter set (PPS), a sequence parameter set (SPS), or a video parameter set (VPS) of the data stream, and

each NAL unit type is associated with a slice of a sub-picture.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , further containing instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to:

when the flag is the second value, store at least one of the subpictures in a buffer while decoding the subpictures; and

flush the buffer after all of the subpictures of the picture are parsed or decoded.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , further containing instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to:

distinguish between two NAL unit type subsets based on an integer-valued syntax element corresponding to the NAL unit type, wherein:

a first of the two NAL unit type subsets corresponds to random access, and

a second of the two NAL unit type subsets corresponds to not random access.

16. A method for encoding pictures into a data stream, the method comprising:

determining whether NAL unit type is the same for all of subpictures of a picture;

in response to the determination that NAL unit type is the same for all of the subpictures of the picture, encoding a flag with a first value; and

in response to the determination that NAL unit type is not the same for all of the subpictures of the picture:

encoding the flag with a second value, wherein the second value is different than the first value, and

encoding a first NAL unit type for a first subpicture of the picture and a second NAL unit type of a second subpicture of the picture, wherein the first NAL unit type is different than the second NAL unit type.

17. A encoder configured to:

determine whether NAL unit type is the same for all of subpictures of a picture;

in response to the determination the NAL unit type is the same for all of the subpictures of the picture, encode a flag with a first value; and

in response to the determination that NAL unit type is not the same for all of the subpictures of the picture:

encode the flag with second value, wherein the second value is different than the first value, and

encode a first NAL unit type for a first subpicture of the picture and a second NAL unit type of a second subpicture of the picture, wherein the first NAL unit type is different than the second NAL unit type.

18. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing instructions, the instructions when executed cause at least one processor to:

determine whether NAL unit type is the same for all of subpictures of a picture;

in response to the determination the NAL unit type is the same for all of the subpictures of the picture, encode a flag with a first value; and

in response to the determination that NAL unit type is not the same for all of the subpictures of the picture:

encode the flag with a second value, wherein the second value is different than the first value, and

encode a first NAL unit type for a first subpicture of the picture and a second NAL unit type of a second subpicture of the picture, wherein the first NAL unit type is different than the second NAL unit type.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (39)