Abstract: A multi-layer display system for displaying images including a compressed image, in multiple planes, in a single frame, includes a compressed image decoder for decoding the compressed image, multiple arbiters for reading the decoded image data, and a decoder arbitration and semaphore control unit for splitting the compressed image into segments, assigning the segments to ones of the multiple planes, and allowing at least one arbiter to access the compressed image decoder to read the decoded data of the segment assigned to a plane mapped with the arbiter when the segment is being decoded.