Apparatus and methods for providing a cubic transport format for multi-lens spherical imaging

Apparatus and methods for providing a frame packing arrangement for the encoding/decoding of, for example, panoramic content. In one embodiment, the frame packing arrangement utilizes overlapping imaging data so as to enable, for example, a post-decode stitching operation to be performed. The frame packing arrangement may utilize a number of projection formats, such as a cubemap projection, and may utilize any number of differing aspect ratios such as, without limitation, 4×3, 3×2, 4×2, 2×4 aspect ratios. Additionally, the overlapping imaging data may be positioned within the frame packing arrangement chosen so as to improve upon coding efficiency. For example, the overlapping imaging data may be positioned within the frame packing arrangement so as to emphasize image continuity. An encoder apparatus and decoder apparatus for use with the aforementioned frame packing arrangements are also disclosed.