Abstract: A display apparatus has a display unit for displaying, on a display screen, a display image containing a time axis formed so as to extend at least in a first direction. The display apparatus also has an input operation device for physically moving at least the time axis in the first direction. The display apparatus further has a controlling device for controlling the display screen based on an operational input given by an operation of the input operation device. The input operation device includes a rotational operating unit having an axis of rotation extending in second directions which cross the first direction. The rotational operating unit is arranged such that a rotational operation of the rotational operation unit by a first physical amount causes a physical movement of at least the time axis by a second physical amount corresponding to the first physical amount.

Abstract: Viewing angle characteristics of a liquid crystal display (LCD) are improved by reducing the number of subpixels in an image with mid-tone luminance values. In a preferred embodiment, a first table of entries associating subpixel intensity values and subpixel luminance values for a LCD in at least one viewing angle direction is provided. A target intensity value is determined from the first table, corresponding to the average subpixel luminance over a small number of adjacent subpixels. A second table of entries associates the target intensity values with intensity values above and below the target. The adjacent subpixel intensity values are modified according to the second table, thereby reducing the number of subpixels with mid-tone luminance values. The subpixel data is preferably processed within a portion of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), contained within the display module.

Abstract: Described is a method and system providing a dynamic, live (active) surface and/or model elements to complement and enhance what is being modeled or visualized, enabling the addition of new features and functionality to visualization and modeling tools. A dynamic surface is accomplished by extending traditional HTML, rendering APIs and/or components to enable visualization and modeling functionality. The surface background and model elements may comprise HTML elements, and the surface can include a Web site. The model elements are HTML elements layered dynamically atop the surface, as the user interacts with them, and completed designs may be saved in a non-proprietary format, (e.g., HTML). The live surface bases its services on HTML rendering engine services, and further provides a visualization and modeling engine that wraps and extends the rendering engine through multiple interfaces.

Abstract: A method and apparatus in a data processing system for processing graphics data in a processing element. A command is received. A determination is then made as to whether the command affects processing of current graphics data within the processing element. The command is sent to a subsequent processing element if the processing element is unaffected by the command. The command is held without affecting the processing element if the command affects processing of the current graphics data within the processing element until processing of the current graphics data has completed.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for generating a graphic fill includes selecting a tint curve and a tint vector for a graphical object; and applying a tint transform to the fill of the graphical object.

Abstract: Apparatus and method of providing textured surfaces for computer-generated images comprises embedding a procedural description corresponding to a bit-map representation of a texture in a hybrid file module that also includes the bit-map representation. The hybrid file module may be transmitted to a player over a data communications medium. Once received, the player extracts the procedural description from the hybrid file module, with the procedural description then being used to render the texture.

Abstract: A system for translating a portrait-oriented software address to a portrait-oriented yet landscape-configured display address. Based on the orientation of a display device, a address translation system either passes the software address “as is” or translates the address to represent a portrait-oriented display address.

Abstract: An improved surface shading method computes and stores light reflectance values as a texture map for a given light direction and view direction to an object in a scene during development of a computer graphics (CG) program, and uses the stored texture map later for shading during real-time rendering. A selected bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) is applied using a standard model for distribution of normal direction vectors for a given type of surface, and BRDF values are computed as a global texture map for the object's surface in the scene. The BRDF values are stored as a look-up table indexed to the sampled range of normal direction vectors. During real-time rendering, surface shading can be readily processed by using the normal direction vector for any given point to look up the stored BRDF value. Shading with BRDF light reflectance values can be combined in one or more passes with shading of other surface texture characteristics, e.g.

Abstract: A two-dimensional image is rendered from data for a three-dimensional model. This is done by rendering a shaded image based on the data and rendering an outline image, such as a wireframe image or a silhouette image, based on the data. The outline image is rendered with the shaded image to obtain the two-dimensional image.

Abstract: An embodiment of a graphics device that performs a vertical scale filter function using a single line buffer is disclosed. The graphics device includes a line buffer and a vertical scale filter function unit that produces an output of blended data. The line buffer stores the output of blended data and the vertical scale filter uses a next line of display data and a line of blended data stored in the line buffer to produce the output of blended data.

Abstract: A method for producing an animation of an object includes displaying an object on a display of a computer system. A perspective system that has a predefined relationship with the object is created on the display. The perspective system defines different planes, and different portions of the object are associated with the different planes. Each of these different portions is stored as a different image file. The perspective system is rotated about the object to establish different frames of the animation. For each frame, the different portions of the object are manipulated to orient the object to establish the predefined relationship with the rotated perspective system. For each frame, script is created describing the manipulation of the different portions of the object.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for rendering a circle with a radius on a display device comprises (a) providing a set of vertex points; (b) selecting a subset of vertex points from the set of vertex points based on the radius of the circle; (c) scaling each vertex point in the subset of vertex points to produce scaled vertex points; and, (d) connecting the scaled vertex points to approximate the circle. The subset of vertex points may be utilized to determine scaled vertex points for all four quadrants of the circle. The subset of vertex points may be selected by determining the number of vertex points required to render the circle with an error less than a predetermined error threshold. The subset of vertex points is then selected so that the number of members in the subset of vertex points is equivalent to the number of vertex points required to render the circle with an error less than the predetermined threshold.

Abstract: A hardware-based graphics controller for processing video data in a computer system. Such graphics controller may include a video capture engine which captures fields of video data from a video source for storage in video buffers in sequential order, and generates video capture parameters from the video data for determining proper flipping operations of display contents of one image to another on a display monitor; and a video overlay engine coupled to the video capture engine, which determines proper flipping operations of display contents of one image to another from the video buffers and adjusts display settings of the display contents for a visual display on the display monitor based on the video capture parameters from the video capture engine.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for improving the quality of images that include aliased pixels is provided. For the method of the present invention, one or more portions of an image are selected for antialiasing. Each selected portion is rendered at a higher than normal resolution into a frame buffer and then read back into as a texture in to a cache or other memory. The texture is then filtered back to its original size. The filtering operation supersamples the texture. The resulting texture is antialiased and anisotropic to a degree that matches the resize. The antialiased texture is then applied to a quadrilateral in the frame buffer.

Abstract: A method for creating anti-aliased characters on a computer output device includes the steps of generating a call from a client process for a character to be rendered, selecting a best alignment grid from a set of alignment grids associated with the device grid, rendering the character at a high resolution, and aligning stems of the character with an alignment grid corresponding to the resolution of an output device. The step of aligning the high resolution rendered stems to the alignment grid provides for an anti-aliased output with balanced stems.

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: A configurable filter module for providing shared filter resource between an overlay engine and a texture mapping engine of a graphics system. The configurable filter may comprise a plurality of linear blend units each of which receives data input from one of the overlay engine and a mapping engine cache, and generates a linear blend filter output respectively; and a filter output multiplexer which receives data output from the linear blend units and selects a proper byte ordering output, wherein the linear blend units serve as an overlay interpolator filter to perform linear blending of the data input from the overlay engine during a linear blend mode, and serve as a texture bilinear filter to perform bilinear filtering of the data input from the mapping engine cache during a bilinear filtering mode.

Abstract: A position display device of this invention specifies a zone including at least two waypoints, and controls symbols expressing at least two waypoints and a symbol expressing a present invention of a movable object which moves to be displayed on a display screen of display means, based on waypoint information and the position of the movable object which are obtained by position obtaining means, such as a GPS, etc. The position obtaining means stores the position of the in advance a plurality of waypoints or a destination point which the movable object is estimated to pass and obtains position information representing the position of the movable object.

Abstract: A method for determining the optimal viewing angle of display, input, or output devices with limited viewing, output and/or sensing angle characteristics including a test pattern displayed on a display screen. Test pattern is displayed on display screen and includes one or more test elements having levels of gray different from the gray shown in background. Once initiated, viewer evaluates test pattern to determine if display screen is positioned at an optical viewing angle to the viewer. In particular, one set of test elements has a luminance just below background and the other set of test elements has a luminance just above background. To determine the optimal viewing angle, a viewer evaluates test pattern determine the difference in gray levels between test elements against background. The viewer then adjusts the position of display screen until test elements either blend in with background or provide the largest contrast with background.