An apparatus configured to code (e.g., encode or decode) video information includes a memory unit and a processor in communication with the memory unit. The memory unit is configured to store video information associated with a video layer comprising one or more temporal sub-layers. The processor is configured to determine presence information for a coded video sequence in a bitstream, the presence information indicating whether said one or more temporal sub-layers of the video layer are present in the bitstream. The processor may encode or decode the video information.