+/**
+ * This function will create a new picture.
+ * The picture created will implement a default release management compatible
+ * with picture_Hold and picture_Release. This default management will release
+ * picture_sys_t *p_sys field if non NULL.
+ */
+VLC_EXPORT( picture_t *, picture_New, ( vlc_fourcc_t i_chroma, int i_width, int i_height, int i_aspect ) );
+
+/**
+ * This function will force the destruction a picture.
+ * The value of the picture reference count should be 0 before entering this
+ * function.
+ * Unless used for reimplementing pf_release, you should not use this
+ * function but picture_Release.
+ */
+VLC_EXPORT( void, picture_Delete, ( picture_t * ) );
+
+/**
+ * This function will increase the picture reference count.
+ * It will not have any effect on picture obtained from vout
+ */
+static inline void picture_Hold( picture_t *p_picture )
+{
+ if( p_picture->pf_release )
+ p_picture->i_refcount++;
+}
+/**
+ * This function will release a picture.
+ * It will not have any effect on picture obtained from vout
+ */
+static inline void picture_Release( picture_t *p_picture )
+{
+ /* FIXME why do we let pf_release handle the i_refcount ? */
+ if( p_picture->pf_release )
+ p_picture->pf_release( p_picture );
+}
+
+/**
+ * Cleanup quantization matrix data and set to 0
+ */
+static inline void picture_CleanupQuant( picture_t *p_pic )
+{
+ free( p_pic->p_q );
+ p_pic->p_q = NULL;
+ p_pic->i_qstride = 0;
+ p_pic->i_qtype = 0;
+}
+
+/**
+ * This function will copy all picture dynamic properties.
+ */
+static inline void picture_CopyProperties( picture_t *p_dst, const picture_t *p_src )
+{
+ p_dst->date = p_src->date;
+ p_dst->b_force = p_src->b_force;
+
+ p_dst->b_progressive = p_src->b_progressive;
+ p_dst->i_nb_fields = p_src->i_nb_fields;
+ p_dst->b_top_field_first = p_src->b_top_field_first;
+
+ /* FIXME: copy ->p_q and ->p_qstride */
+}
+
+/**
+ * This function will copy the picture pixels.
+ * You can safely copy between pictures that do not have the same size,
+ * only the compatible(smaller) part will be copied.
+ */
+VLC_EXPORT( void, picture_CopyPixels, ( picture_t *p_dst, const picture_t *p_src ) );
+VLC_EXPORT( void, plane_CopyPixels, ( plane_t *p_dst, const plane_t *p_src ) );
+
+/**
+ * This function will copy both picture dynamic properties and pixels.
+ * You have to notice that sometime a simple picture_Hold may do what
+ * you want without the copy overhead.
+ * Provided for convenience.
+ *
+ * \param p_dst pointer to the destination picture.
+ * \param p_src pointer to the source picture.
+ */
+static inline void picture_Copy( picture_t *p_dst, const picture_t *p_src )
+{
+ picture_CopyPixels( p_dst, p_src );
+ picture_CopyProperties( p_dst, p_src );
+}
+
+/**
+ * This function will export a picture to an encoded bitstream.
+ *
+ * pp_image will contain the encoded bitstream in psz_format format.
+ *
+ * p_fmt can be NULL otherwise it will be set with the format used for the
+ * picture before encoding.
+ *
+ * i_override_width/height allow to override the width and/or the height of the
+ * picture to be encoded. If at most one of them is > 0 then the picture aspect
+ * ratio will be kept.
+ */
+VLC_EXPORT( int, picture_Export, ( vlc_object_t *p_obj, block_t **pp_image, video_format_t *p_fmt, picture_t *p_picture, vlc_fourcc_t i_format, int i_override_width, int i_override_height ) );
+
+