Abstract: A system that includes a pixel processing stage decoupled from an entropy coding stage is disclosed. The pixel processing results comprise quantized transform coefficients that are divided into component blocks. The component blocks including non-zero data are identified. An optimized version of the pixel processing results for storage in a buffer storage is generated. The optimized version includes an identification of which of the component blocks include non-zero data, and the optimized version includes contents of one or more of the component blocks that include non-zero data, without including contents of one or more of the component blocks that only include zero data. The optimized version of the pixel processing results is provided for storage in the buffer storage. The optimized version of the pixel processing results from the buffer storage is received and processed to generate an unpacked version of the pixel processing results for use in entropy coding.