Device and method for scalable coding of video information

1. An apparatus configured to code video information, the apparatus comprising:

a memory configured to store video information associated with a reference layer (RL) and an enhancement layer (EL), the RL comprising an RL picture having an output region corresponding to a conformance cropping window of the RL, and the EL comprising an EL picture corresponding to the RL picture; and

a processor in communication with the memory, the processor configured to:

determine that a current block in the EL picture at least partially corresponds to a region in the RL picture that is outside of the output region;

determine, based on a condition, whether information associated with the region in the RL that is outside of the output region is available to the apparatus for use in predicting the current block in the EL picture, wherein the condition comprises one or more of (i) whether the RL picture and the EL picture have the same width and height, (ii) whether the RL conforms to High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), and (iii) whether a layer identifier (ID) value associated with the RL is equal to zero; and

perform one of (i) encode or decode the current block using the information associated with the region in the RL picture that is outside of the output region based on the condition being satisfied, or (ii) encode or decode the current block without using the information associated with the region in the RL picture that is outside of the output region based on the condition not being satisfied.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the output region is smaller than the RL picture.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus comprises an encoder, and wherein the processor is further configured to encode the current block of the EL using the information associated with the region in the RL picture that is outside of the output region.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus comprises a decoder, and wherein the processor is further configured to decode the current block of the EL using the information associated with the region in the RL picture that is outside of the output region.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus comprises a device selected from a group consisting of: a computer, a notebook computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a set-top box, a telephone handset, a smart phone, a smart pad, a television, a camera, a display device, a digital media player, a video gaming console, and an in-car computer.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether the RL conforms to HEVC based upon a codec used to code the RL.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether the RL conforms to HEVC by processing a flag that indicates whether the codec used to code the RL is an Advanced Video Coding (AVC) codec.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether the condition is satisfied at least in part by processing a first flag and a second flag, the first flag indicating whether texture information of the current block may be predicted using the information associated with the region in the RL picture that is outside of the output region, and the second flag indicating whether syntax information of the current block may be predicted using the information associated with the region in the RL picture that is outside of the output region.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the value of the second flag depends on the value of the first flag.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to determine whether the condition is satisfied by determining whether the RL picture and the EL picture have the same width and height.

11. The apparatus of Claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to determine whether the condition is satisfied by determining whether the layer ID value of the RL is equal to zero.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to determine whether the condition is satisfied by processing a flag.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein a value of the flag is determined based on a codec used to code the RL.

14. A method of coding video information, the method comprising:

storing video information associated with a reference layer (RL) and an enhancement layer (EL), the RL comprising an RL picture having an output region corresponding to a conformance cropping window of the RL, and the EL comprising an EL picture corresponding to the RL picture;

determining that a current block in the EL picture at least partially corresponds to a region in the RL picture that is outside of the output region;

determining, based on a condition, whether information associated with the region in the RL that is outside of the output region is available during the coding of the video information for predicting the current block in the EL picture, wherein the condition comprises one or more of (i) whether the RL picture and the EL picture have the same width and height, (ii) whether the RL conforms to High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), and (iii) whether a layer identifier (ID) value associated with the RL is equal to zero; and

performing one of (i) encoding or decoding the current block using the information associated with the region in the RL picture that is outside of the output region based on the condition being satisfied, or (ii) encoding or decoding the current block without using the information associated with the region in the RL picture that is outside of the output region based on the condition not being satisfied.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the output region is smaller than the RL picture.

16. The method of claim 14 , further comprising determining whether the RL conforms to HEVC based upon a codec used to code the RL.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising determining whether the RL conforms to HEVC based on a flag that indicates whether the codec used to code the RL is an Advanced Video Coding (AVC) codec.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein determining whether the condition is satisfied comprises;

processing a first flag indicating whether texture information of the current block may be predicted using the information associated with the region in the RL picture that is outside of the output region; and

processing a second flag indicating whether syntax information of the current block may be predicted using the information associated with the region in the RL picture that is outside of the output region.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the value of the second flag depends on the value of the first flag.

20. The method of claim 14 , wherein determining whether the condition is satisfied comprises determining whether the RL picture and the EL picture have the same width and height.

21. The method of claim 14 , wherein determining whether the condition is satisfied comprises determining whether the layer ID value of the RL is equal to zero.

22. The method of claim 14 , wherein determining whether the condition is satisfied comprises processing a flag, a value of the flag being determined based on a codec used to code the RL.

23. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising code that, when executed, causes an apparatus to:

store video information associated with a reference layer (RL) and an enhancement layer (EL), the RL comprising an RL picture having an output region corresponding to a conformance cropping window of the RL, and the EL comprising an EL picture corresponding to the RL picture;

determine that a current block in the EL picture at least partially corresponds to a region in the RL picture that is outside of the output region;

determine, based on a condition, whether information associated with the region in the RL that is outside of the output region is available to the apparatus for use in predicting the current block in the EL picture, wherein the condition comprises one or more of (i) whether the RL picture and the EL picture have the same width and height, (ii) whether the RL conforms to High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), and (iii) whether a layer identifier (ID) value associated with the RL is equal to zero; and

perform one of (i) encode or decode the current block using the information associated with the region in the RL picture that is outside of the output region based on the condition being satisfied, or (ii) encode or decode the current block without using the information associated with the region in the RL picture that is outside of the output region based on the condition not being satisfied.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 23 , wherein the code further causes the apparatus to determine whether the condition is satisfied based on whether the RL picture and the EL picture have the same width and height.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 23 , wherein the code further causes the apparatus to determine whether the condition is satisfied based on whether the layer ID value of the RL is equal to zero.

26. The computer readable medium of claim 23 , wherein the code further causes the apparatus to determine whether the condition is satisfied based on a flag.

27. A video coding device configured to code video information, the video coding device comprising:

means for storing video information associated with a reference layer (RL) and an enhancement layer (EL), the RL comprising an RL picture having an output region corresponding to a conformance cropping window of the RL, and the EL comprising an EL picture corresponding to the RL picture;

means for determining that a current block in the EL picture at least partially corresponds to a region in the RL picture that is outside of the output region;

means for determining, based on a condition, whether information associated with the region in the RL that is outside of the output region is available to the video coding device for use in predicting the current block in the EL picture, wherein the condition comprises one or more of (i) whether the RL picture and the EL picture have the same width and height, (ii) whether the RL conforms to High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), and (iii) whether a layer identifier (ID) value associated with the RL is equal to zero; and

means for performing one of (i) encoding or decoding the current block using the information associated with the region in the RL picture that is outside of the output region based on the condition being satisfied, or (ii) encoding or decoding the current block without using the information associated with the region in the RL picture that is outside of the output region based on the condition not being satisfied.

28. The video coding device of claim 27 , further comprising means for determining whether the condition is satisfied based on whether the RL picture and the EL picture have the same width and height.

29. The video coding device of claim 27 , further comprising means for determining whether the condition is satisfied based on whether the layer ID value of the RL is equal to zero.

30. The video coding device of claim 27 , further comprising means for determining whether the condition is satisfied based on a flag.