US 11936876

US Patent 11936876, titled "Methods and apparatus for signaling intra prediction for large blocks for video encoders and decoders," was issued to InterDigital VC Holdings Inc. on March 19, 2024. The application for this patent was filed on June 18, 2021, under application number US17/351,649. The inventors listed are Yunfei Zheng, Qian Xu, Xiaoan Lu, Peng Yin, Joel Sole Rojals, and Adeel Abbas.

Abstract:
The patent describes methods and apparatus for signaling intra prediction for large blocks in video encoders and decoders. This signaling involves selecting a basic coding unit size and assigning a single spatial intra partition type for that unit, chosen from multiple available types. The "large block" itself is defined as having a size greater than that of the basic coding unit. The intra prediction employed is hierarchical layer intra prediction, which can involve either splitting the large block into smaller basic coding units or merging basic coding units to form the large block.

Plain-language overview of independent claims:

• Independent Claim 1 (Method of Decoding): This claim describes a method for a video decoder to process large video blocks (32x32 pixels or larger) within a picture. The method involves:

  1. Determining that intra prediction should be used for the large block.
  2. Receiving and interpreting a special "binary split signaling syntax element" that indicates the large block should be divided into four equal sub-blocks.
  3. Receiving and interpreting an intra prediction mode for large blocks that are not split.
  4. If the split signal indicates division, the large block is then physically partitioned into its four equally sized sub-blocks.
  5. Receiving and interpreting a second signal (syntax element) for at least one of these basic coding unit-sized sub-blocks, which specifies its spatial intra partition type from a set of options.

• Independent Claim 5 (Apparatus for Decoding): This claim describes a video decoding apparatus, equipped with at least a memory and one or more processors, configured to perform the method steps outlined in Independent Claim 1 for decoding picture data.

• Independent Claim 11 (Method of Encoding): This claim describes a method for a video encoder to process large video blocks (32x32 pixels or larger) within a picture. The method involves:

  1. Determining that intra prediction should be used for the large block.
  2. Encoding and sending a "binary split signaling syntax element" that indicates the large block should be divided into four equal sub-blocks.
  3. Encoding and sending an intra prediction mode for large blocks that are not split.
  4. If the large block is to be split, it is then physically partitioned into its four equally sized sub-blocks.
  5. Encoding and sending a second signal (syntax element) for at least one of these basic coding unit-sized sub-blocks, which specifies its spatial intra partition type from a set of options.

• Independent Claim 15 (Apparatus for Encoding): This claim describes a video encoding apparatus, equipped with at least a memory and one or more processors, configured to perform the method steps outlined in Independent Claim 11 for encoding picture data.

Litigation Status:
As of April 26, 2026, there is a pending PTAB case, IPR2026-00193, filed against US11936876. There is no indication that this case has proceeded to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) yet.

One known litigation involving US patent 11936876 is an Inter Partes Review (IPR) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

Details of the case are as follows:

• Plaintiff(s): Unified Patents [cite: original patent text]
• Defendant(s): InterDigital VC Holdings Inc (current assignee of US11936876)
• Jurisdiction: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
• Case Number: IPR2026-00193
• Filing Date: The specific petition filing date for IPR2026-00193 is not explicitly provided in the available search results, beyond the fact that the case has been filed. Documents related to the case show activity as recent as May 13, 2026.
• Outcome or current status: Pending

Proceedings overview

One AIA trial proceeding has been filed against US patent 11936876. This Inter Partes Review is currently pending, meaning the patent claims are still undergoing review and their patentability has not yet been finally determined. This presents a dynamic defensive posture for a defendant, as the outcome of the IPR could significantly impact the scope and enforceability of the patent.

IPR2026-00193 — Amazon.com, Inc. et al. v. InterDigital VC Holdings Inc

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2026-01-09
• Status: Pending. The petition has been filed and is awaiting a decision on institution by the PTAB.
• Judge panel: Not yet publicly available as the institution decision is pending.
• Petition grounds: Specific claims, prior art references, and statutory bases (§ 102 / § 103 / § 112) for the petition are not publicly detailed at this stage without access to the full petition document.
• Institution decision: Pending. The deadline for the institution decision is typically six months from the filing date, which would be around 2026-07-09.
• Final Written Decision: Not yet issued.
• Settlement / termination: Not applicable at this pending stage.
• Appeal: Not applicable at this pending stage.
• Defensive value: This active IPR presents an opportunity for claims to be invalidated or narrowed. A defendant facing assertion should closely monitor this proceeding, as an institution decision in favor of the petitioner would significantly devalue the patent's asserted claims. If institution is granted, the claims will be subject to further challenge. If institution is denied, the claims are considered to have survived an initial challenge.

Strategic summary

Currently, the patent US11936876 has all its claims (1-18) in an untested status regarding their patentability through an AIA trial, as the sole IPR (IPR2026-00193) filed against it is still pending institution. No claims have been canceled or sustained by the PTAB yet. The patent owner, InterDigital VC Holdings Inc, is facing a challenge from Amazon.com, Inc. et al.. The outcome of this IPR will be critical in determining the future landscape of this patent.

Regarding the estoppel landscape, if IPR2026-00193 is instituted and proceeds to a Final Written Decision, § 315(e)(2) of the AIA would bar the petitioner (Amazon.com, Inc. et al. and their privies) from raising any ground that was raised or reasonably could have been raised in the IPR. For other potential defendants, prior art grounds not asserted or adjudicated in this IPR, or those that could not have been reasonably raised, would still be available for challenging the patent. The presence of Amazon.com, Inc. et al. as a petitioner suggests a significant challenge to the patent.

Recommended next steps

For a defendant currently facing assertion of US11936876, the most critical next step is to closely monitor the progress of IPR2026-00193. The institution decision is anticipated around 2026-07-09. If the PTAB institutes the IPR, it will signal that the petitioner has demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on at least one claim, which would increase the defensive value against the patent. Information regarding this proceeding, including upcoming milestones, can be tracked on the USPTO PTAB E2E system.
A direct link to the IPR case on Unified Patents Portal is available for monitoring: https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/ptab/case/IPR2026-00193.

Inventors

• Yunfei Zheng
• Qian Xu
• Xiaoan Lu
• Peng Yin
• Joel Sole Rojals
• Adeel Abbas

No information is available regarding their employers at the time of filing within the patent document. There is no information to determine if unusual patterns of inventors departing the original assignee occurred.

Original assignee

The original assignee is InterDigital VC Holdings Inc.

Based on publicly available information, InterDigital, Inc. (the parent company of InterDigital VC Holdings Inc.) is an operating company involved in research and development, and licensing of wireless and video technologies. It is not clear from the patent text or readily available public information whether InterDigital VC Holdings Inc. specifically shipped a product embodying the claims of US11936876B2. The current status of InterDigital VC Holdings Inc. is operating, as it is listed as the current assignee.

Assignment timeline

• 2025-08-08 (executed) / recorded 2025-08-08 — Reel 064299/0410

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: THOMSON LICENSING
  • Assignee: INTERDIGITAL VC HOLDINGS, INC.
  • Correspondent: BLAIR W. CHEN, INTERDIGITAL, 200 DELAWARE AVENUE, 11TH FLOOR, WILMINGTON, DE 19801. This correspondent has not recurred in the provided patent information.
  • Context: Reassignment of interest.

• 2025-08-08 (executed) / recorded 2025-08-08 — Reel 064299/0409

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: XU, QIAN; ABBAS, ADEEL; LU, XIAOAN; SOLE, JOEL; YIN, PENG; ZHENG, YUNFEI
  • Assignee: THOMSON LICENSING
  • Correspondent: BLAIR W. CHEN, INTERDIGITAL, 200 DELAWARE AVENUE, 11TH FLOOR, WILMINGTON, DE 19801. This correspondent has not recurred in the provided patent information.
  • Context: Assignment of inventor interest.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11936876
    2021 : Application filed by InterDigital VC Holdings Inc
    2024 : Issued to InterDigital VC Holdings Inc
    2025 : Assigned from Inventors to Thomson Licensing
         : Assigned from Thomson Licensing to InterDigital VC Holdings Inc

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — unclear. The transfers involve Thomson Licensing and InterDigital VC Holdings Inc. InterDigital is a known operating company, but the specific role of "VC Holdings Inc." and "Thomson Licensing" in product commercialization versus licensing-only activities is not fully clear from the provided patent information alone.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Neither Thomson Licensing nor InterDigital VC Holdings Inc. are listed as known NPEs in the common directories.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present. The correspondent, Blair W. Chen, appears twice in the assignment record, both for transfers recorded on 2025-08-08, but these are consecutive steps in the same chain of assignment of inventor interests to the ultimate assignee. This does not indicate a recurring pattern across unrelated chains or a flag for NPE activities in the given context.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. The two assignments are recorded on the same date and relate to the transfer of inventor interests to an operating company, not multiple consecutive transfers through chained LLCs to unknown entities.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The patent was granted on 2024-03-19, and the assignments occurred on 2025-08-08. There is a PTAB case IPR2026-00193 filed, which is pending. Without knowing the exact filing date of any infringement suits, it is unclear if these assignments occurred within 6 months prior to litigation.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings for the assignors.
7. Privateering — unclear. No SEC filings or other public coverage indicating privateering is available in the provided text.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Insufficient data. The available assignment records (Reel 064299/0409 and 064299/0410, both recorded 2025-08-08) show a transfer of inventor interests to Thomson Licensing and subsequently to InterDigital VC Holdings Inc., which is the original assignee on the patent. While there's an IPR pending (IPR2026-00193), there's no clear evidence of product commercialization by the ultimate assignee or any other strong NPE signals like shell-entity transfers or repeat NPE correspondents. More information would be needed to definitively determine an NPE pattern.

USPTO Assignment Center search for US11936876

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 11936876 and analyze its potential anticipation of claims under 35 U.S.C. § 102, I will use the patent's own cited references. The full patent text is explicitly provided and states, "The present principles relate generally to video encoding and decoding and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for signaling intra prediction for large blocks for video encoders and decoders." It further discusses prior art within its "BACKGROUND" section, which is crucial for an obviousness analysis, but also contains explicit citations.

The patent document itself provides a "References Cited" section. However, the provided text snippets do not explicitly list all external "References Cited" in a separate section. Instead, the "BACKGROUND" section discusses relevant prior art, and the patent mentions "MPEG-4 AVC Standard" and "first prior art approach" and "further inter coding proposals". Therefore, I will extract these and any other explicitly mentioned prior art within the text.

Based on the provided full patent text, here are the identified prior art references and an analysis of their potential anticipation:

Identified Prior Art References from US11936876:

1. MPEG-4 AVC Standard (ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding standard/International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector (ITU-T) H.264 Recommendation)

   • Full Citation: Not a formal patent citation, but a widely recognized video coding standard.
   • Publication/Filing Date: The patent indicates it is a "modern video coding standard" [cite: "BACKGROUND"]. The original MPEG-4 AVC Standard (H.264) was finalized in 2003. The priority date of US11936876 is 2009-07-01 [cite: "Priority date"]. Thus, this standard predates the patent.
   • Brief Description: Describes various coding modes to reduce spatial and temporal correlations in video. Specifically for intra pictures, all macroblocks are coded in intra modes, exploiting spatial correlations. It classifies intra modes into INTRA4×4, INTRA8×8, and INTRA16×16. It details the prediction modes for each (e.g., 9 for 4×4/8×8, 4 for 16×16, including vertical, horizontal, DC, and plane). It also describes the signaling for these modes using mb_type and transform_8x8_size_flag for 4x4/8x8, and mb_type values (1-24) for INTRA16x16. [cite: "BACKGROUND", "TABLE 1"]
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): The MPEG-4 AVC Standard anticipates aspects of intra prediction for smaller block sizes (4x4, 8x8, 16x16), including specific intra prediction modes and their signaling. It would directly anticipate any claim language broadly covering intra prediction for blocks up to 16x16, the concept of spatial intra partition types (sip_type), and basic prediction modes like DC, vertical, and horizontal. This standard directly teaches "intra prediction" and "spatial intra partition type" for block sizes up to 16x16. Claims 1, 5, 11, and 15, which describe determining/signaling intra prediction and a single spatial intra partition type, have elements directly found in the MPEG-4 AVC Standard, particularly when applied to basic coding unit sizes of 16x16 or smaller, which are explicitly mentioned in the standard.

2. First Prior Art Approach (describing signaling for 32×32 or 64×64 blocks using a hierarchical coding structure)

   • Full Citation: Not a formal patent citation, but described as a "first prior art approach" in the patent's background. No specific document number is provided within the text.
   • Publication/Filing Date: The patent describes this as an "example of how large motion (Inter) partitions are signaled in extensions of the MPEG-4 AVC Standard" [cite: "BACKGROUND"]. This implies it predates the present patent, as it is presented as existing prior art that the current invention aims to improve upon for intra prediction. The priority date of US11936876 is 2009-07-01 [cite: "Priority date"].
   • Brief Description: This prior art addresses how signaling is performed for large motion (Inter) partitions, specifically for 32×32 or 64×64 blocks, utilizing a hierarchical coding structure. [cite: "BACKGROUND"]
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference anticipates the concept of hierarchical coding structures and signaling for large blocks (32x32, 64x64) in video coding, specifically within the inter prediction domain. While it is for inter prediction, the teaching of "hierarchical coding structure" for large blocks is present. This could potentially anticipate the structural elements of hierarchical splitting and merging described in the claims, though the application to intra prediction for these large blocks is explicitly stated as the gap addressed by the present patent. Claims 1, 5, 11, and 15 involve hierarchical layer intra prediction and splitting/merging from large block sizes to basic coding unit sizes. The underlying concept of hierarchical partitioning and signaling for large blocks, as described for inter prediction in this prior art, could be seen as anticipating the structural framework, even if the application domain (intra) is different.

3. Further Inter Coding Proposals (for an extension of the MPEG-4 AVC Standard using 32×32, 32×16, and 16×32 partitions)

   • Full Citation: Not a formal patent citation; described as a proposal for an "extension of the MPEG-4 AVC Standard." No specific document number is provided within the text.
   • Publication/Filing Date: The patent indicates this is an existing proposal ("inter coding has also been proposed for an extension of the MPEG-4 AVC Standard") [cite: "BACKGROUND"]. This implies it predates the present patent. The priority date of US11936876 is 2009-07-01 [cite: "Priority date"].
   • Brief Description: This describes proposed inter coding using larger partitions (32×32, 32×16, 16×32) and illustrates motion partitions for 32×32 blocks (FIG. 3). It details that 16×16 partitions can be further divided into 16×16, 16×8, 8×16, and 8×8, and 8×8 into 8×8, 8×4, 4×8, and 4×4. Crucially, it mentions signaling "SKIP mode or DIRECT mode... using an mb32_skip_flag in a way similar to that performed for other modes of the MPEG-4 AVC Standard." [cite: "BACKGROUND"] It also states, "If the mb32_type of a 32×32 indicates that a 16×16 partition is used, then the four 16×16 blocks are signaled in raster scan order by using the same syntax elements as macroblock_layer( ) in the MPEG-4 AVC Standard." [cite: "BACKGROUND"] For 64x64, "one more hierarchical layer is added." [cite: "BACKGROUND"]
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference directly anticipates the use of large block sizes (32x32, 64x64) and hierarchical partitioning for video coding. It explicitly teaches the splitting of blocks (e.g., 32x32 into 16x16s) and the signaling of these partitions using flags (mb32_skip_flag) and existing syntax elements (macroblock_layer()). [cite: "BACKGROUND"] Although applied to inter coding, the structural elements of "decoding a binary split signaling syntax element specifying that the large block is further split into four equally sized sub-blocks" (Claim 1), "partitioning the large block into the four equally sized sub-blocks" (Claim 1), and "decoding a second syntax element indicating a single spatial intra partition type for at least one basic coding unit sized sub-block" (Claim 1) are strongly anticipated. The patent itself notes that "macroblock_layer()" in H.264 includes mb_type for Intra_4x4, Intra_8x8, and Intra_16x16. [cite: "BACKGROUND", "TABLE 1"] Therefore, this prior art, in combination with the MPEG-4 AVC Standard, anticipates almost all structural aspects of the hierarchical partitioning and signaling, leaving only the explicit application to intra prediction for large blocks as the alleged novelty. Claims 1, 5, 11, and 15, particularly concerning the hierarchical splitting, the use of a binary split signaling syntax element, and the signaling of partition types for sub-blocks, are highly vulnerable to anticipation by this reference.

It is important to note that while the patent identifies a gap regarding how "large intra mode is signaled," [cite: "BACKGROUND"] the prior art discussed in its background appears to establish a strong basis for an obviousness argument (35 U.S.C. § 103) by teaching the individual components (intra prediction for small blocks, hierarchical partitioning and signaling for large inter blocks) and suggesting their combination. However, for direct anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102, each and every element of a claim must be present in a single prior art reference. The detailed description of "Further Inter Coding Proposals" comes closest to anticipating the structural elements of hierarchical partitioning and signaling, leaving the specific intra prediction for the large block itself (when not split) as a potentially distinguishing feature.

Under 35 U.S.C. § 103, the claims of US Patent 11936876 would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) based on a combination of the prior art explicitly described within the patent's own background section. The core inventive step claimed by the patent is the application of hierarchical block partitioning and signaling, previously established for inter prediction in large blocks, to intra prediction for large blocks.

Identified Prior Art References:

1. MPEG-4 AVC Standard (H.264 Recommendation): This standard, referred to in the patent, describes intra coding for macroblocks of sizes 4×4, 8×8, and 16×16. It details various intra prediction modes (e.g., vertical, horizontal, DC, diagonal, plane) and their signaling mechanisms, including mb_type and transform_8x8_size_flag for differentiating between INTRA4×4 and INTRA8×8, and specific mb_type values for INTRA16×16. [cite: "BACKGROUND", "TABLE 1"]
2. Hierarchical Inter Prediction for Large Blocks: This refers to two related prior art discussions in the patent:
   • "First prior art approach": Describes how signaling is done for 32×32 or 64×64 blocks using a hierarchical coding structure for large motion (Inter) partitions. [cite: "BACKGROUND"]
   • "Further inter coding proposals": Mentions inter coding proposals for extensions of the MPEG-4 AVC Standard using 32×32, 32×16, and 16×32 partitions. It illustrates motion partitions for 32×32 blocks, including further partitioning into 16×16, 16×8, 8×16, and 8×8, and even down to 4×4. Crucially, it states that "SKIP mode or DIRECT mode is signaled using an mb32_skip_flag in a way similar to that performed for other modes of the MPEG-4 AVC Standard." [cite: "BACKGROUND"] Furthermore, it teaches that if a 32×32 inter partition uses 16×16 sub-partitions, "the four 16×16 blocks are signaled in raster scan order by using the same syntax elements as macroblock_layer( ) in the MPEG-4 AVC Standard." [cite: "BACKGROUND"] It also notes that for 64×64 macroblocks, "one more hierarchical layer is added in the macroblock partition above block size 32×32." [cite: "BACKGROUND"]

Obviousness Combination and Motivation:

A PHOSITA in video compression, aiming to enhance the efficiency of video codecs, would have been motivated to combine the intra prediction techniques of the MPEG-4 AVC Standard with the hierarchical block partitioning and signaling methods taught by the Hierarchical Inter Prediction for Large Blocks prior art.

Motivation to Combine:
The MPEG-4 AVC Standard established effective intra prediction for smaller block sizes. [cite: "BACKGROUND"] Simultaneously, extensions to this standard, as described in the "Hierarchical Inter Prediction for Large Blocks" prior art, clearly demonstrated the advantages of using larger block sizes (32×32, 64×64) and hierarchical partitioning for inter prediction, enabling better compression in homogeneous regions and adaptive coding. [cite: "BACKGROUND"] A PHOSITA would naturally recognize that similar benefits could be achieved by applying these large block structures and hierarchical signaling to intra prediction, particularly for high-resolution video where large, uniform areas are common. Extending a successful technique from one prediction domain (inter) to another (intra) within the same block-based coding framework would be a logical and predictable step for improving overall compression efficiency. The patent itself identifies that "the existing literature does not address how large intra mode is signaled," [cite: "BACKGROUND"] but this gap merely highlights an area where a PHOSITA would apply known analogous solutions.

Analysis of Claims 1 and 11 (Representative Independent Claims):

Taking Independent Claim 1 (Decoding Method) as representative, the combination of the prior art renders its elements obvious:

1. Determining that intra prediction is to be performed for the large block (block size equal to or larger than 32×32, greater than basic coding unit size): The MPEG-4 AVC Standard teaches intra prediction. [cite: "BACKGROUND"] The "Hierarchical Inter Prediction for Large Blocks" prior art teaches using and partitioning large blocks (32×32, 64×64). [cite: "BACKGROUND"] A PHOSITA would find it obvious to apply intra prediction to these larger block sizes, recognizing their efficiency for smooth image areas.
2. Decoding a binary split signaling syntax element specifying that the large block is further split into four equally sized sub-blocks: The "Hierarchical Inter Prediction for Large Blocks" prior art explicitly teaches hierarchical coding structures and signaling splits for large inter blocks, using flags like mb32_skip_flag. [cite: "BACKGROUND"] It would be an obvious design choice for a PHOSITA to adapt this known signaling mechanism to indicate splits for intra-predicted large blocks. The use of a binary flag to signal a split decision is a fundamental concept in tree-based coding structures.
3. Decoding an intra prediction mode for the large block that is not further split into four equally sized sub-blocks: The MPEG-4 AVC Standard provides various intra prediction modes for 16×16 blocks (e.g., vertical, horizontal, DC, plane). [cite: "BACKGROUND"] For a large block (e.g., 32×32 or 64×64) that is not split, a PHOSITA would obviously extend or adapt these existing intra prediction modes to operate on the larger block size. The patent's own detailed description confirms this, stating that "For INTRA32×32/INTRA64×64, the same modes as INTRA16×16 are used." [cite: "DETAILED DESCRIPTION"]
4. Partitioning the large block into the four equally sized sub-blocks in response to the decoded binary split signaling syntax element: The physical partitioning of a large block into four equally sized sub-blocks (e.g., 64×64 into four 32×32s, or 32×32 into four 16×16s) is explicitly taught and illustrated in the "Hierarchical Inter Prediction for Large Blocks" prior art (e.g., FIG. 3 and the description of motion partitions). [cite: "BACKGROUND", "FIG. 3"] This step is a direct consequence of the decoded signaling.
5. Decoding a second syntax element indicating a single spatial intra partition type for at least one basic coding unit sized sub-block, the single spatial intra partition type being determinable from among a plurality of spatial intra partition types: The "Hierarchical Inter Prediction for Large Blocks" prior art explicitly states that when inter 32×32 blocks are partitioned into 16×16 sub-blocks, "the four 16×16 blocks are signaled in raster scan order by using the same syntax elements as macroblock_layer( ) in the MPEG-4 AVC Standard." [cite: "BACKGROUND"] Since macroblock_layer() in the MPEG-4 AVC Standard includes signaling for mb_type which, in turn, specifies Intra_4x4, Intra_8x8, and Intra_16x16 [cite: "BACKGROUND", "TABLE 1"] (which the patent defines as sip_type or "spatial intra partition types" [cite: "DETAILED DESCRIPTION"]), it would be obvious for a PHOSITA to apply these existing intra partition types and their associated signaling to the resulting intra-predicted sub-blocks within the hierarchical structure.

Independent Claim 11, which describes the encoding method, is the counterpart to Claim 1 and would be rendered obvious for the same reasons, as it involves performing the analogous encoding steps for the same hierarchical intra prediction signaling scheme. Claims 5 and 15, describing the apparatuses, would likewise be obvious as they simply claim hardware configured to perform the obvious methods.

Therefore, the claims of US11936876 are rendered obvious by the combination of the MPEG-4 AVC Standard and the "Hierarchical Inter Prediction for Large Blocks" prior art.