New intra planar modes are introduced for predicting digital video data. As part of the new intra planar modes, various methods are offered for predicting a first sample within a prediction unit, where the first sample is needed for referencing to when processing the new intra planar modes. And once the first sample is successfully predicted, the new intra planar modes are able to predict a sample of video data within the prediction unit by processing a bi-linear interpolation of four previously reconstructed reference samples.