Abstract: In a motion compensation engine, a number of blocks are provided for re-ordering motion vector (MV) reference positions prior to fetch. An MV Sort & Group block outputs MVs one at a time to a Decomposer block. The Decomposer block takes each MV and decomposes it into a series of DRAM read commands consisting of DRAM addresses. This rectangular region is divided into pixel words, which correspond to addressable DRAM words. The addresses are then sent to an Overlap Remover block, which comprises a bitmap corresponding to the DRAM addresses sent to it from the Decomposer block. Before a group is received, the bitmap is cleared by setting all coordinates to “0”. Each address received causes the Overlap Remover to set a bit to “1” in the bitmap which corresponds to a relative (x,y) coordinate within a small bounded rectangular region. Addresses received within a group, which are the same as previous addresses, are overlapping addresses and the corresponding bit will simply remain set to “1”.

Abstract: A “tag” is attached to streaming video data as it is streamed from the streaming layer to the presentation engine. Each frame containing a button or other user feature also has a “tag” associated with it. When the presentation engine processes a packet of data, it updates a state variable with the tag associated with the packet of data. The streaming layer can query this state variable at any point to get the tag associated with the currently rendered unit. When the user clicks on a button or feature, the streaming layer, rather than utilizing an associated operation in the data being streamed, instead uses the tag associated with the frame being displayed and then takes the appropriate action. The invention may also be used to provide frame-accurate editing features to allow streaming video data to be indexed or reversed to a frame-accurate level.

Abstract: An embedded digital versatile disk recording system operable to selectively record a menu with a user generated background image on a digital versatile disk.

Abstract: A data de-shuffler includes a buffer having a set of addressable locations for storing data and control circuitry for de-shuffling a sequence of shuffled data samples. The control circuitry stores a first data sample of the sequence of shuffled data samples at a first location in the buffer with a first address generated from an entry in a look up table and stores a second data sample at a second location in the buffer with a second address generated by incrementing from the first address by a selected incrementation value. The first and second locations in the buffer place the first and second samples in corresponding positions in an un-shuffled sequence of samples.

Abstract: A method of operating an electronic video device such as a DVD player, wherein video clock signals and audio clock signals are derived from a system clock signal using two phase-lock loops, and these video and audio clock signals are used to process encoded video data and encoded audio data, but digital-to-analog conversion of the audio data stream is controlled by the system clock signal rather than the audio clock signals. By using the system clock signal to control the audio digital-to-analog converter (DAC), the DAC avoids the poor performance issues that can arise from the jitter introduced into the audio clock signals by the PLL. The system clock signal may be divided by an integer to generate the sampling clock for the audio DAC. In the illustrative embodiment, the system clock signal has a rate which is not an integer multiple of the sample rate of the audio data stream. For example, the system clock rate might be 27 MHz while the sample rate of the audio data stream is 44.1 kHz.

Abstract: A Hard Disk Drive (HDD) is provided two FATs and two cluster sizes, a regular cluster and a “Supercluster”. In one example, each Supercluster is the size of four regular clusters. A second Supercluster FAT is added (FAT2) which works in a similar manner to the original FAT (hereinafter FAT1), but instead points to the next Supercluster in the chain. Since there are far fewer Superclusters than clusters, the Supercluster FAT (FAT2) can be stored in a cache memory. When data is streamed to and from the hard drive, it can be streamed to Superclusters and no seeks on the HDD to a FAT are required, as the FAT2 is cached in memory. Access time to and from the hard drive is decreased. The original cluster configuration is still supported. During lulls in system operation, the FAT2 data may be written to the drive and moreover, FAT1 data created and “flushed” to the hard drive.

Abstract: A method of deinterlacing includes generating a deinterlaced display frame including a reference field of lines of display pixels of a first parity and a generated field of lines of display pixels of a second parity. A frame motion map is generated which includes bits representing a presence of motion or an absence of motion at the display pixels of the reference and generated fields. Testing is performed for the presence of motion or the absence of motion at a selected display pixel of the reference field utilizing the frame motion map. In response to detecting a presence of motion at the selected display pixel of the referenced field, replacing a pixel value corresponding to the selected display pixel with a pixel value generated by interpolating between display pixel values corresponding to neighboring display pixels in the generated field.

Abstract: A method of adaptive deinterlacing of video data includes generating a selected pixel value at a given pixel position of a current interlaced field by either weaving a pixel value from another interlaced field, when no motion is detected at the pixel position, or by interpolating between other selected pixel values of the current field, when motion is detected at the pixel position. When the pixel value is generated by weaving, a test for feathering is performed. If feathering is detected, a further check is performed for motion at the pixel position over a selected number of preceding fields. In the absence of motion over the preceding fields, the weaved pixel value is utilized as the selected pixel value. If motion is detected over the preceding fields, interpolation is performed between selected pixel values of the current field to generate the selected pixel value.

Abstract: Progressive scan encoded JPEGS are decoded sequentially on a Minimum Coded Unit (MCU) basis and then the JPEG image is output one row at a time to a frame buffer. Since the entire image does not need to be decoded at once, a huge JPEG buffer is generally not required. The present invention reconstructs each MCU one scan at a time to produce complete lines of image data and thus provides an output using the image data on a line-by-line basis. This technique may require that each MCU be reconstructed scan-by-scan. This technique provides a modified entropy (Huffman) decoder in which data for different scans of an MCU of the progressively scanned JPEG image may be stored in a buffer, and a parsing and scan table element creates pointers to the memory buffer corresponding to the start of each scan level. Scan tables are also extracted for each level of scan or points to the same tables if some scan levels use the same table.

Abstract: A method of detecting a stream of video data generated utilizing a pull-down technique includes receiving a sequence of fields of interlaced video data. For each pair of a plurality of pairs of the fields of interlaced video in the sequence, pixel values corresponding to pixel positions of pixel lines of a first parity of a first field of the pair of fields are weaved with pixel values corresponding to pixel positions of pixel lines of a second parity of a second field of the pair of fields. For each pixel value corresponding to each pixel position of each pixel line of the second field of the pair of fields after weaving, a check is made for feathering at the corresponding pixel position due to motion.

Abstract: A method of detecting a change in a sequence of video data fields generated from a progressive scan source includes receiving first and second interlaced fields of a corresponding progressive scan frame from a sequence of interlaced fields generated from progressive scan source. Pixel values corresponding to pixel positions of pixel lines of a first parity of the first field are weaved with pixel values corresponding to pixel positions of pixel lines of a second parity of the second field. For each pixel value corresponding to each pixel position of each pixel line of the second field after weaving, a check is performed for the corresponding pixel position for feathering due to motion. A number of detected pixel positions with feathering due to motion is counted and compared against a threshold.

Abstract: A method interpolating pixel values includes calculating a difference value between pixel values corresponding to a first display pixel on a first display line and a second display pixel on a second display line, the first and second display pixels defining a possible edge angle of an object on a display. Another difference value is calculated between pixel values corresponding to a third display pixel of the first display line and a fourth display pixel of the second display line, the third and fourth display pixels defining a second angle on the display.

Abstract: A moving average filter with a weighting factor calculates a continuously programmable threshold to determine whether fields could be considered identical or not. This decision is used to detect the cadence of a TELECINE encoded video signal. This moving average filter is also used for detecting the presence of still images in the video data stream by detecting total difference in Y (luminance) of the fields and then calculating the average difference in luminance (Y) of the field. This average difference in luminance value indicates a degree of difference between fields. For two frames of data input to the system, each having two fields, a difference is calculated between the luminance values of the two top fields for each frame. From this difference value a maximum absolute difference history is stored, along with the Sum of Absolute Differences (SAD). The programmable threshold is then calculated by summing the saturated SAD history over time.

Abstract: In one embodiment of the present invention, a processing system for processing information efficiently and cost-effectively by switching between execution of time-critical and non-time-critical tasks includes a processing unit. The processing system further includes a first register group coupled to the processing unit and including a first set of registers, the processing unit reading the status of the first set of registers to execute time-critical tasks.

Abstract: A number of different subroutines or algorithms are provided for locating lost video data, reconstructing navigation data, and creating new navigation files or the like so that the DVD may be made readable by an ordinary DVD player. The present invention provides algorithms to recover video data for each of a number of different DVD formats, so that video data may be recovered regardless of which format DVD was being used at the time (e.g., DVD+RW, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD-R, or the like). In addition, the present invention provides a number of other algorithms that be used by one or more of the different recovery algorithms, to recover various aspects of data from a disc. The combination of these algorithms provides a complete package of data recovery techniques that allows for video data to be recovered in the event of a power loss or other interruption, and in most instances, creates recordable DVD which may be subsequently read by other DVD players and the like.