Abstract: A video processing device and method receives data from a common data source, such as a frame buffer and outputs first overlay information in a first color space from a first port and outputs second overlay information in a second color from a second port to facilitate output of multiple overlay images in different color spaces from common memory through different ports. In one embodiment a bidirectional port is used to allow a set of common signal pads or a bus to function as a flexible bidirectional video data port.

Abstract: A method for determining a position at which a polygon to be clipped is situated with respect to a clipping plane to perform clipping processing, includes the steps of selecting a bounding volume sufficiently enclosing the polygon, and judging a position at which the bounding volume is situated with respect to the clipping plane to be the position at which the polygon is situated.

Abstract: An image displaying processing method, a medium including an image displaying processing program stored thereon, and an image displaying processing apparatus are disclosed which allow a menu bar or the like to be displayed in a semi-transparent fashion such that an image and/or a character in an underlying layer can be seen through the menu. A client computer acquires first visual information and second visual information with a particular degree of transparency from a desired server via a network.

Abstract: A rendering system pipeline includes a memory storing shape and shade attributes of a surface of the object. The attributes are arranged as an octree in the memory. The octree includes a plurality of nodes arranged at a plurality of levels, each node storing a plurality of zero-dimensional n-tuples, each n-tuple locally approximating the shape and shade attributes of a portion of the surface of the graphic object, and the n-tuples having a sampling resolution of an image space. A plurality of parallel processing pipelines are connected the memory. The pipelines project the shape and shade attributes of the octree to an image plane having a selected orientation by traversing the n-tuples of the nodes of the octree from a lowest resolution level to a highest resolution level.

Abstract: A handheld device has a display for presenting an image to a user, a processor electrically connected to the display, memory electrically connected to the processor, and an input panel electrically connected to the processor. The input panel has a number of keys for generating key signals, and a zoom control device for generating a zoom control signal. The display is used to present both text and iconic information to the user. A display program, held in the memory, will change the font size of displayed text or icons according to the zoom control signal. When doing so, the display program selects a proper amount of text or icons to be displayed within the boundary of the display, and arranges the selected text or icons within the display.

Abstract: A system performs refraction mapping for an image having an object, the object being viewed along at least one line of sight and at least partially through a boundary of first and second at least semi-transparent media. The boundary defines at least one normal vector at one or more intersections of the line of sight and the boundary. The system includes: a perspective transformation unit operable to project a three-dimensional version of the object on a two-dimensional texture plane using a perspective view transformation algorithm to obtain texture addresses of the object, the texture plane being perpendicular to the line of sight and the transformation being performed without regard to refraction; and a refraction determination unit operable to obtain at least one refraction vector for at least one of the texture addresses, a given refraction vector being a function of a component of the at least one normal vector that is parallel to the texture plane.

Abstract: The present invention is a method and apparatus to generate an anti-flickered pixel from a source pixel having a source pixel value in a display memory. The apparatus comprises a plurality of storage elements, a filter, a comparator, and an output selector. The plurality of storage elements store a sequence of pixels in the display memory which includes the source pixel. The filter is coupled to the plurality of storage elements to filter the sequence of pixels. The filter generates a filtered pixel corresponding to the source pixel. The comparator is coupled to the plurality of storage elements to compare the source pixel value with a threshold value. The comparator generates a comparison result. The output selector is coupled to the filter and the storage elements to select one of the source and filtered pixels according to the comparison result. The selected one of the source and filtered pixels is the anti-flickered pixel.

Abstract: A method traces rays through graphical data. The method partitions the graphical data into a plurality of blocks according to a scheduling grid. For each block, a ray queue is generated. Each entry in the ray queue representing a ray to be traced through the block. The ray queues are ordered spatially and temporally using a dependency graph. The rays are traced through the blocks according to the ordered list.

Abstract: The present invention is drawn to a method for performing view volume clip-check. Until the present invention, view volume clip-check has been performed within the context of a clip space with its clip coordinates. However, the present invention performs view volume clip-check within an object space with its object coordinates. In one embodiment of the present invention, a frustum in a clip space is back projected into an object space as the back projected frustum. Within the object space, a regularized volume approximates the back projected frustum such that the regularized volume occupies the maximal volume possible within the back projected frustum. Within the object space, geometry of graphics objects is then clip-checked against this regularized volume. In the present embodiment, the above steps of back projection, approximation and clip-checking are performed by the CPU rather than by the graphics pipeline.

Abstract: Disclosed is a system, method, and program for displaying data. A program receives first input graphics commands from a first application program to display first output on a display monitor and second input graphics commands from a second application program to display second output on the display monitor. The second output is graphically blended with an overlapping portion of the first output. Output graphics commands are generated from the first and second input graphics commands to display the graphically blended second output superimposed over an overlapping portion of the first output and the first output non-overlapping with the second output. This allows the content of the secondary output to be displayed without affecting user operations with respect to the primary application window.

Abstract: A method and apparatus in a data processing system for updating a buffer used to display pixels from a first layer and a second layer in the data processing system, wherein identification display information for pixels from the first layer and the second layer are stored in the buffer. Pixels are identified for the second layer having opaque pixel types to form a selected set of pixels. Overwriting of display information is prevented for the selected set of pixels in the buffer when updating the buffer.

Abstract: Disclosed are a method and a device for converting interlace system picture signal into non-interlace system picture signal. The method and device are configured to conduct the interpolation of scanning line while varying coefficient to weight scanning lines of interlace system picture signal to each of interpolation scanning lines to be inserted into the interval of the scanning lines of interlace system picture signal and simultaneously varying the coefficient to weight scanning lines of interlace system picture signal to each of fields.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for enabling the creation of authorable, dynamic software objects. An apparatus made in accordance with the present invention comprises a computer and an attached monitor, stream means, display property means, display representation means, and display configuration means. The stream means is performed by the computer and accepts at least one graphic primitive into the software object. The display property means is performed by the computer and stores at least one quality associated with each graphic primitive in the software object. The display representation means is performed by the computer and graphically represents a selected set of display properties of the software object. The display configuration means is performed by the computer and selectively displays one of the sets of graphical representations of the software object on the monitor of the computer.

Abstract: A graphics processing system includes an initial processing system that receives a command to render an image component polygon and generates parameters for calculating image values for the image component polygon. The graphics processing system also includes a backtrack register capable of storing a pixel location. A rasterization engine scans a pixel span in a selected direction and determines whether the pixel span is to be scanned in a direction opposite the selected direction. The rasterization engine stores a backtrack location in the backtrack register in response to a determination that the pixel span is to be scanned in a direction opposite the selected direction, and stores a location to begin scanning a subsequent pixel span in the backtrack register in response to a determination that a backtrack location is not stored in the backtrack register. The rasterization engine also calculates image values for each pixel in the pixel span in the current scan direction.

Abstract: A system to render a color image using a binarized image representing the color image and a hierarchical tree structure representing the color image, the hierarchical tree structure including nodes representing respective blocks of image data within the color image, the nodes containing color information for respective blocks. The system includes a defining step to define, in a memory, a color image rendering area corresponding to a block of image data in the color image, an obtaining step to obtain foreground color information from a node corresponding to the block of image data, a detecting step to detect black pixel locations in the binarized image within an area of the binarized image corresponding to the block of image data, and an assigning step to assign the foreground color to pixels at locations in the color image rendering area corresponding to the detected black pixel locations.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods, apparatus (1) and computer readable media for rendering at least one graphic object (80, 90) described by at least one edge (82-86, 92-98) into a raster pixel image (78) having a plurality of scan lines and a plurality of pixel locations on each scan line. For each scan line, coordinates of intersection of those edges of the objects that intersect the scan line are determined in a predetermined order. This is preferably achieved by processing edge records (418) using a number of buffers (402, 404,406, 412,420, 422) thereby enabling efficient sorting of edge intersections into order. For each adjacent pair of edge intersections, information (530) associated with the corresponding object is examined to determining a set of active objects (508, 510) for a span of pixel locations between the corresponding pair of edge intersections. For each span of pixel locations, the corresponding set of active objects is used to determine (600) a value for each of the locations within the span.

Abstract: An integrated graphic and character combining circuit for driving a display device, for example an LCD panel, allows for a configuration by which an external ROM is not necessary, reduces processing burden on the data-supplying processor, and provides a system wherein both graphic images and complete character fonts can be combined and simultaneously displayed on an LCD panel. The circuit includes a character font ROM, a character display data RAM, a graphic image data RAM, a property register, a character/graphic mixed display control circuit, an interface circuit, and a common/segment LCD driver. The character font ROM stores font data pertaining to complete characters. The character display data RAM stores addresses corresponding to the font data stored in the character font ROM. The graphic image data RAM stores graphic image data. The property register stores selection information pertaining to the graphic and character data.

Abstract: Information on ambient light (viewing environment information) input from ambient light input section 101 is fed to viewing environment converting section 100a, which determines measured color values of monitor 103, and then fed to profile updating section 100b and contrast correcting section 100d. The contrast correcting section 100d corrects the contrast according to the measured color values. Information on the setting of the monitor 103 fed from monitor control section 102 is supplied to monitor setting values converting section 100c, where TRCs and a matrix are generated according to the modified setting information and supplied to the profile updating section 100b. The profile updating section 100b updates the profiles stored in memory 104a by means of newly generated profiles.

Abstract: A method and system compensates for the line width growth or shrinkage in an image rendering system that supports high-addressability. The amount of width adjustment can be a function of the line width. The method is applied after rendering, to the sub-pixel, bit patterns and is compatible with antialiasing and other sub-pixel rendering techniques such as half-bitting. The method and system also require less scan buffering for marker line width compensation than conventional methods. More specifically, the method and system require N+3 scans to detect and adjust widths up to N pixels for leading edges or trailing edges rather than the 2N+3 necessary conventionally. Moreover, the detection and adjustment of widths up to N pixels may be performed for both leading edges and trailing edges using a buffer that can handle 2N+3 scans.

Abstract: In this method for viewing multiple images (or movies), the images can be thought of as being piled up and a grid of tiles is placed on top. Each tile functions like a window onto one of the images. One or more view screens are placed over some of the tiles, and one or more input devices are provided. Cursors are moved around the view screens and over the tiles. When a cursor remains within the borders of one of the tiles for longer than a predetermined amount of time, the image displayed in the tile changes. Should the user click the tile, a “spreading” process is initiated whereby the number of tiles displaying the image clicked on begins to increase. Pressing a keyboard button causes the same spreading to be initiated beneath the cursor but with the image associated with that button rather than the one in the tile beneath the cursor.