Support for Variable Number of Picture Buffers in Decoded Picture Buffer

In one method embodiment a method of processing of a bitstream is disclosed. The method may include receiving at a processing device a bitstream comprising a first portion of compressed pictures having a first picture resolution format and a second portion having a second picture resolution format during transmission over a given channel, wherein the first compressed picture of the second portion of compressed pictures is the first compressed picture in the video stream after the last compressed picture of the first portion of compressed pictures; determining by the processing device a first number of picture buffers in a decodable picture buffer (DPB) for decoding the first portion of the compressed pictures; allocating a linear memory corresponding to the first number of picture buffers for decoding of the first portion of the bitstream; determining a second number of picture decode buffers in the DPB for decoding the second portion of the compressed pictures, wherein the second number of picture decode buffers are determined based on a ratio of picture size of pictures from the first portion and the second portion; and reusing the linear buffer for decoding the second portion without deallocating and reallocating the linear memory.