Abstract: A system and method for calculating harmonizing colors based on a reference color. In a first embodiment, the invention includes (a) defining a reference color in a uniform color space, (b) converting the hue of the reference color from the uniform color space to an artists color wheel, (c) determining harmonizing colors for the reference color within the artists color wheel, (d) converting the hues of the harmonizing colors from the artists color wheel to the uniform color space, and (e) displaying the harmonizing color information. In a second embodiment, a brown region is defined for colors having red/orange/yellow hues and low chroma values. Additional harmonizing colors are determined when either the reference color or one of the harmonizing colors falls within the brown region.

Abstract: A system and method for rendering a polygon, such as a triangle. The method may comprise receiving geometry data (or vertex data) defining vertices of the polygon. The method may compute initial vertex x,y values at end points proximate to each of the vertices of the polygon, and a slope value along each edge of the polygon. The computed slope may be a quantized slope value having a first number of bits of precision. The first number of bits of precision may produce inaccuracies for interpolated x,y values computed at the end points of an edge of the polygon. The method may then interpolate x,y values along each respective edge of the polygon using the computed slope along the respective edge of the polygon. Finally the method may store final x,y values for each respective edge of the polygon. The final x,y values comprise the interpolated x,y values for non-end points of the respective edge, and the computed initial vertex x,y values for each of the end points of the respective edge.

Abstract: A method of approximation of the respective colors of pixels of a digital image by selecting, from a look-up table and successively for each pixel of the image, a color, the code of which comes close with the smallest error to the sum of the code of the current pixel color and of a correction term, in which the correction term is equal to the smallest error calculated upon approximation of a preceding pixel, assigned with a weighting coefficient depending on the position of the current pixel in the image.

Abstract: A method and a system for presenting Internet information to a user including providing to a user a visual image of a web page containing at least one hyperlink, and at least partially concurrently providing a visual image of another web page of at least one web site which is represented by the at least one hyperlink.

Abstract: Disclosed are a picture adjustment method and apparatus for a video display appliance that can prevent an unskillful user from deteriorating a picture display state due to misadjustment of picture adjustment menus that cannot be easily adjusted and retrieved to the original state among a plurality of picture adjustment menus. According to the method and apparatus, a specified user selects and determines whether a plurality of picture adjustment OSDs, each of which includes a small number of picture adjustment menus, are accessible. A command for picture adjustment inputted through the picture adjustment OSDs that have been determined to be accessible only is processed to be effective, but a command for picture adjustment inputted through the picture adjustment OSDs that have been determined to be unaccessible is ignored. Thus, the misadjustment of the picture adjustment menus by an unskillful user can be prevented.

Abstract: A method of processing images in images comprising three-dimensional objects, the method comprising a step of mapping a two-dimensional image on a face of a three-dimensional object, a step of interaction between a user and the two-dimensional image mapped on the three-dimensional image, intended to enable a user to displace the whole or part of the two-dimensional image on the face of the three-dimensional object. This method enables the user to map a fixed 2D image or a video image on a face of a 3D object, and to displace the image as he wishes on the face of the object he has selected. If the image is constituted by several parts, for example, the parts of a puzzle, the user can independently displace each part of this image, for example, so as to reconstitute the initial image of the puzzle.

Abstract: A screen display unit includes a display RAM to which a CPU writes palette codes corresponding to character codes, and a selector for selecting display color data read from one of two color palettes on a character code by character code basis in response to the palette codes read from the display RAM. The selector can select one of the two color palettes on a character code by character code basis, thereby making it possible to carry out display in a greater number colors on the same screen than the number of colors indicatable by the display color codes stored in the display RAM without increasing the capacity of a font data memory.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for rendering polygons. In some embodiments, parameter values may be rendered for only one sample position of multiple neighboring sample positions. The parameter values rendered for the one sample position may then be stored in multiple memory locations that correspond to the multiple neighboring sample positions. In some embodiments, storing parameter values in multiple memory locations may be achieved in a single write transaction. In some embodiments, utilization of a method for storage of a rendered sample to multiple memory locations may be subject to a specified test. The method may calculate a value needed for the specified test from vertex data and compare the calculated value with a specified limit. In some embodiments, a multiple storage mode may only be utilized for polygons greater than a certain size.

Abstract: A boundary macroblock of a video object is padded without significant synchronization overhead between a host processor and an existing coprocessor. The host processor determines horizontal and vertical graphics primitives as a function of shape data stored in a host memory. The shape data determine whether a dot, a line, or a rectangle primitive should be used to pad transparent pixels in the macroblock. The host processor communicates the primitives to a coprocessor, which renders the primitives in an interleaved pipeline fashion to pad transparent pixels of the macroblock based on texture data stored in video memory. The flow of primitives is in one direction from the host processor to the graphics coprocessor, and the texture data is not transferred back and forth between the host processor and coprocessor. This technique is especially useful for enabling acceleration of MPEG-4 video decoding utilizing existing coprocessors capable of accelerating MPEG-1/2 video decoding.

Abstract: A game system in which a game field is configured in a virtual three-dimensional space and a display image of said game field visible from a predetermined viewpoint is formed to thereby be displayed as a game picture. The system comprises a texture storing device for storing in advance a texture representing a three-dimensional configuration as a two-dimensional pattern, a mapping surface setting device for setting a mapping surface of the texture in the game field, a texture processing device for processing the texture readout from the texture storing device in accordance with a dispositional relationship between the viewpoint and the mapping surface, and a texture mapping device for mapping the processed texture on the mapping surface.

Abstract: A game system, program and image generating method which can effectively generate an image of an edge line in a more natural manner are provided. The image of an edge line EDL of an object OB is drawn in an inside area of an edge of the object OB. The object is translucent-synthesized with the edge line with a translucency determined depending on the distance from the viewpoint or the size of the perspectively transformed object. A Z-value of the object in a position where the edge line is to be drawn is set as the Z-value of the edge line. A mapping image is mapped on a virtual polygon through the bi-linear filtering method while shifting a texture coordinate in the first or second direction, thereby drawing the edge line of the object. A virtual polygon is generated such that it encloses the image of the perspectively transformed object and has a size variable depending on the size of the perspectively transformed object.

Abstract: Color space conversion from a first image definition scheme to a second image definition scheme is realized by utilizing only one step of matrix multiplication and by determining whether determined RGB values are in a valid RGB region and, if not, generating a first modification factor to bring the RGB vector onto or in close proximity to the boundary of the valid RGB region. Then, the first modification factor is employed to modify in a prescribed manner the converted chroma values. In a specific embodiment of the invention, only a single matrix multiplication is employed and the otherwise additional required multiplication and/or division steps are realized by additions and/or subtractions and by employing a prescribed iterative process to bring the RGB values into or close to the valid RGB color space region. The converted chroma values are also modified by associated second modification factors also generated in the iteration process.

Abstract: A variable number of textures are blended together using a single texture as a mask. At least four textures are received. Masks are extracted from one of the received textures and used to blend together the remaining textures. In an embodiment, N masks are extracted from a single texture and used to blend N+1 additional textures. In this embodiment, two of the N+1 textures are initially blended together in accordance with one of the N masks to form an image. Another texture of the N+1 textures is then blended with the image in accordance with another one of the N masks. This iterative blending process continues until all of the N+1 textures have been blended together. In another embodiment, N textures are blended together by multiplying each of the N textures by one of the N masks and adding together the results of the N multiplications.

Abstract: In one aspect and form of the invention, a converter receives first visual information from a computer system. The first visual information is conventionally used for generating an image for a first display element. The converter receives first selection data from the computer system identifying at least a first portion of the image, and generates second visual information for generating a second image for a second display element. The second image corresponds to the first portion of the first image. The size of the second image relative to the second display element is controllable by a user and may be selected to be different than the size of the selected portion of the first image relative to the entire first image or relative to the first display element. For example, the second image may be of a size corresponding to the size of substantially the entire second display element.

Abstract: A system, method and article of manufacture are provided for converting color data into floating point values in a graphics pipeline. First, color data is received. Next, the color data is separated into a plurality of components each including an integer. The components of color data are then converted into floating point values by dividing at least a portion of the components by predetermined numbers.

Abstract: A technique is provided for aligning and formatting multi-operand pixel data, for example, within a pixel formatter of a graphics engine for a set-top box system. The technique includes, in one embodiment, obtaining pixel data of a first alignment and a first format for conversion to a second alignment and a second format. The pixel data undergoes pre-alignment where the first alignment of the pixel data is changed to a bit zero alignment, after which the pixel data is reformatted from the first format to the second format. The reformatted pixel data is post-aligned to change from bit zero alignment to the second alignment. In one embodiment, the pixel data is source pixel data or pattern pixel data, while the second alignment and the second format are alignment and format of destination pixel data.

Abstract: A video and graphics system has an input for receiving compressed video data and an input for receiving graphics data. The compressed video data may include HDTV video and/or SDTV video, and may be included in compressed data streams such as an MPEG-2 Transport stream. The video and graphics system also includes a video decoder for processing the compressed video data to generate a video for displaying, a display engine for processing the graphics data to generate graphics for displaying, and an overlaying system for compositing the video and the graphics to generate an output video. The display engine includes a memory used during conversion of a graphics format from a first format to a second format to be in a format compatible with a video format The memory may be implemented in a single-port SRAM configured to simulate a dual-port SRAM. The system may be integrated on an integrated circuit chip.

Abstract: An image filling method for reducing filling process in producing animation. The image filling method includes the steps of separating a reference line drawing and a line drawing into first and second closed regions; extracting at least one feature amount of the first and second closed regions; calculating variations of feature amounts between every combination of the first and second closed regions, sorting the first closed regions in ascending order by the variation of the feature amount for each of the second closed regions; generating color candidate lists for each of the second closed regions, wherein duplication of the color information is eliminated; filling each of the second closed regions with a color which is on the top of the color candidate list.

Abstract: The present invention involves a new system and method for synthesizing textures from an input sample. A system and method according to the present invention uses a unique accelerated patch-based sampling system to synthesize high-quality textures in real-time using a small input texture sample. The patch-based sampling system of the present invention works well for a wide variety of textures ranging from regular to stochastic. Potential feature mismatches across patch boundaries are avoided by sampling patches according to a non-parametric estimation of the local conditional Markov Random Field (MRF) density function.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for improved two pass resampling in a computing system. The systems and methods address both bottleneck problem(s) and aliasing problem(s) to improve upon prior art two pass resampling techniques. In view of both bottleneck problem(s) and aliasing problem(s), for each of four possibilities associated with two pass resampling, the four possibilities being (1) pre-rotating the 2-D data and performing row-first processing (2) pre-rotating the 2-D data and performing column-first processing, (3) not pre-rotating the 2-D data and performing row-first processing and (4) not pre-rotating the 2-D data and performing column-first processing, the bottleneck error and the aliasing error associated with the possibility are calculated. Also, for each possibility, a value is computed based upon the bottleneck error and the aliasing error. The choice of the four possibilities is then selected in accordance with a comparison of the values.