Systems and methods are provided for operating a decoder to decode a video frame in a multi-threaded environment. A first buffer ring state is detected based on a status of a first buffer ring, and a second buffer ring state is detected based upon a status of a second buffer ring. An adjustment of priorities of a parser thread, a decoder thread, and a renderer thread is requested based on the first buffer ring state and the second buffer ring state. The first buffer ring is interacted with to receive stream data from the parser, the stream data is decoded to generate frame data, and the second buffer ring is interacted with to provide the frame data to the renderer for display.