1. An apparatus for performing video coding, comprising: a computer configured for encoding and/or decoding of video; and programming executable on said computer for context adaptation by performing steps comprising: assuming a block within a video frame is piece-wise smooth; identifying that a discontinuity exists in the block with respect to its context of neighbors; extracting a context feature of said discontinuity having directionality and location of discontinuity within the block; and performing coding of said block as a context adaptive operation in response to said context feature.