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Abstract

The present invention addresses decoding and simultaneously displaying multiple images in different windows of a PC or other display device such as a television set. When more than two images are displayed, if the total processing load associated with decoding all of the images to be displayed is over 100%, then decoding priority is decided for each image as a function of display window size. By decoding and displaying images according to this priority, the user can view a desired image, e.g., a main picture image smoothly and comfortably, while other images displayed in smaller sub-windows may only be partially decoded during each frame time. When windows are of the same size, decoding priority is determined between the windows of the same size, as a function of the amount of decoder resources required to decode each image. As the amount of decoder resources needed to decode and image to be displayed in a window of a given size increases, the decoder priority is decreased relative to images which are to be displayed in the same size window. In one embodiment, the image assigned the highest decoding priority is always fully decoded while only portions of the other images may be decoded. The percentage of an image which is decoded will normally be lower for images with relatively low decoding priority than for images with relatively high decoding priority.

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First Claim