Abstract: A system and a method for manipulating video data received over a media channels is disclosed herein. The method includes using an index table to reference stored video data, including motion vectors, so that they can be efficiently accessed by encoder and decoder portions of a transcoder, where the decoder generates source pixel images, and the encoder generates estimated motion vectors based on the motion vector data stored.

Abstract: A system and method for rate control of pre-encoded video content are disclosed herein. An local system encodes previously decoded video data using a transcoding quantization value based on a source quantization value provided by a previous encoder as part of the retrieved video data. The transcoding quantization value can be determined additionally based the fullness of the video buffer of a target system, where a measure of the fullness can be obtained directly from the target system or modeled by the local system. The video data is encoded by the local system and then provided to a target system for decoding and subsequent display and/or storage.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for controlling access to a video system based on bandwidth consumption include processing that begins as the server monitors bandwidth utilization of connections within the video system. The processing continues when the server receives a request to access a video program via the connection from a client device of the video system. The processing then continues as the server determines whether the bandwidth utilization exceeds a bandwidth threshold. If the bandwidth utilization exceeds the bandwidth threshold, the server provides an indication of viewing-cost options regarding access to the video program to the client device. The processing then continues as the client selects one of the viewing-cost options and provides the selected option to the server. The processing then continues as the server processes the request to access the video program based on the client response.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for remote control and/or monitoring of a multimedia system includes processing that begins when a hand held device transmits a remote control/monitoring request to a server. The processing continues once a communication path is established between the hand held device and the server by having the server determine remote control and monitoring privileges of the hand held device. If the hand held device has at least a minimum level of remote control and monitoring privileges, the processing continues as the server processes the remote control/monitoring request with respect to at least one client to produce operational monitoring data. The processing continues as the server provides the operational monitoring data to the hand held device via the communication path.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing multimedia services to a local area network includes processing that begins by receiving a plurality of channels from at least one multimedia source. The processing continues by receiving selection requests from at least one client module via a communication path. The processing continues by generating a set of channel select commands from the select request. The processing continues by selecting a set of channels from the plurality of channels based on the set of channel select commands. The processing continues by mixing the set of channels into a stream of channel data. The processing then continues by transmitting the stream of channel data via the communication path to the at least one client module such that each client associated with a client module receives the channel data for the respective channels that they had selected.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing accessing to applications in centralized application system includes processing that begins by having the server execute an application in response to a request and/or inputs by one of the clients to produce application data. The processing continues as the server provides an application interface for interfacing the application data for the requesting client to produce interface data. The processing continues when the server encodes the interface data to produce encoded data. The processing as the server provides the encoded data to the plurality of clients. The processing continues as the targeted client determines that it is being addressed by the encoded data. The processing continues as the targeted client decodes the encoded data to produce display data.

Abstract: A system and a method for simultaneous transmission of multiple media streams in a fixed bandwidth network are disclosed herein. The system is comprised of a central gateway media server and a plurality of client receiver units. The input media streams arrive from an external source and are then transmitted to the client receiver units in a compressed format. A state machine on the gateway media server detects if the network bandwidth is close to saturation. In one embodiment, the potential bandwidth saturation is measured by matching the time when the start of unit of media for each stream against the estimated transmission time for that unit. When any one actual transmission time exceeds its estimated transmission time by a predetermined threshold value, the network is deemed to be close to saturation, or already saturated, and the state machine executes a process of selecting at least one stream as a target for lowering total bandwidth usage.

Abstract: A graphics display command list handler and method requests allocation of memory, such as system memory, in the form of a circular FIFO which stores the display command list as a memory display list (MDL), such as a host memory display list. A processor, such as a graphics processor, communicates a host memory display list read pointer to the host processor to facilitate display list signaling by the graphics processor. The host processor (or other processor) maintains a write pointer which points to a last host memory entry in the display list. The read pointer is maintained by the graphics processor and written back to the host processor.

Abstract: An anti-aliasing technique for sampling an image for display on a pixel based display is presented. The image, or set of objects forming an image, is sampled at a resolution higher than the pixel spatial resolution. The resultant multiple sampled values for each pixel are accumulated, and the accumulated value is used to determine an average pixel value that is used for the display of the pixel. To minimize memory requirements, the rendering plane is used to temporarily store a portion of the accumulated value for each pixel. To minimize processing, the multiple of samples per pixel is a power of 2, and the portion of the accumulated value that is stored in the rendering plane is the most significant bits (MSB) of the accumulated value. Because of the use of a power of 2 as the number of samples, the MSB of the accumulated value is equal to the average of the accumulated value, and therefore the need for an explicit computation of an average for each pixel is eliminated.

Abstract: A video display apparatus and method for displaying decoded video frames from an encoded video stream utilizes a display time difference determinator that detects a frame display time difference, on a per frame basis if desired, between a refresh rate based frame display time, and a video playback frame rate display time to generate frame display time difference data. This is done on a continuous basis to detect synchronization problems between video data that is to be displayed simultaneously with non-video data on a display device such as a progressive display screen. A pixel blender blends pixel data from an adjacent frame, such as an already reconstructed previous frame or next frame, to create a temporally adjusted frame based on the determined frame display time difference data.

Abstract: A method and apparatus include processing which allows a graphics controller to extend its memory by receiving a client address and determining which of a plurality of system bus interfaces (e.g., AGP, PCI, ISA) is enabled. When a first type of system bus interface is enabled (e.g., PCI, ISA), a first system bus table index is generated based on the client address. The first system bus table index is used to access a first system bus table to retrieve a physical address of memory. The processing continues by obtaining data from the memory, wherein the data is stored at the physical address.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for improved concurrency within a video graphics process by generating culling information from geometry information. The geometry information corresponds to an image to be rendered, and the culling information indicates the triangles of the objects of the image that are in a front-facing or back-facing position. Having generated the culling information, set-up information is generated therefrom. The set-up information provides rendering data for the triangles of the object of the image being rendered. Next, pixel data is generated for a triangle based on the set-up information. To improve the concurrency, the queuing and the retrieval of the culling information and the set-up information from non-local memory are controlled such that the generating of the culling information, the set-up information, and the pixel data is done with improved concurrency.

Abstract: To minimize CPU processing requirements for preparing and transferring data to a graphics processor, a graphics command processor is provided that supports application-level commands and references to the data associated with these commands. The graphics command processor parses the application command and data reference parameters, and subsequently fetches the appropriate graphics data from memory directly, without requiring additional CPU resources. To optimize performance, the graphics command processor fetches the data in parallel with the parsing and processing of the application commands from the CPU. The graphics command processor also includes a processing unit that converts the data from the format used by the application program to the format used for rendering. The graphics command processor creates the commands and data sequences used by a graphics engine to render each object of the image.

Abstract: A rasterizer is used with a processor capable of providing raster data indicative of a pattern of pixels to be formed on a display. Each pixel has an attribute represented by a data value. The rasterizer has a replicator connected to form at least two copies of the raster data. A graphics engine is connected to use the at least two copies to store the data values in a memory. An output circuit is connected to use the data values stored in the memory to form the pattern on the display.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for a processing system to utilize a ring buffer includes a host processor, memory, and at least one co-processor. The host processor generates a plurality of data blocks that relates to a particular application (e.g., word processing application, drafting application, presentation application, spreadsheet application, video game application, etc.). The host processor writes data elements of the data blocks into the memory, which is organized in a ring buffer manner. As the host processor enters the data elements into the ring buffer, it updates a head pointer, which indicates the most current address of a data element entered into the ring buffer, in its local cache. The co-processor retrieves the data elements from the ring buffer and performs a co-processor function in support of the particular application.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for improved double buffering within a computing system begins when a series of data blocks are received from a central processing unit at a rate independent of a processing rate of a recipient engine. For example, a video graphics circuit receives a series of data blocks representing video frames from the central processing unit at a rate independent of the refresh rate of the display. As the data blocks are received, the video graphics circuit queues commands of the data blocks. Typically, the commands include processing commands and a processing rate synchronize command. To process the data blocks, the co-processor pulls commands from the queued list and processes them to produce recipient data. As the co-processor is producing the recipient data, it is utilizing a first buffer. The co-processor continues to process the commands and storing the results into the first buffer until the processing rate synchronize command is detected.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for co-processing multi-formatted data which begins when a host processor writes data blocks, in a substantially continuous manner, into memory. Each of the data blocks includes a plurality of data elements and each data element has one of a plurality of data formats. As the data block is being stored in memory, a co-processor retrieves selected data elements from the memory. Upon retrieving the selected data elements, the co-processor interprets them to identify the data format. If the data format is consistent with the data format of the co-processor, the co-processor processes the data element without conversion. If, however, the data format of the selected data element is not consistent with the data format of the co-processor, the co-processor converts the format of the selected data element into the format consistent with the co-processor.

Abstract: A method of converting video data from a YUV format to an RGB format comprising (a) performing a matrix transformation of Y, U and V pixel data of a set of possible Y, U and V parameters into corresponding R, G and B parameters, (b) determining whether the set of R, G and B parameters forms a first lookup table whose size exceeds the size of a particular memory space, (c) in the event the lookup table is too large for the memory space, truncating least significant bits of at least the U and V parameters, (d) repeating steps (a), (b) and (c) until the first lookup table fits the memory space, and then storing the first lookup table in the memory space, and (e) using the first lookup table to provide RGB pixel data using the YUV data as addresses thereto.

Abstract: A rasterizer is used with a system capable of furnishing raster data representative of a string of characters to be formed on a display. The rasterizer has an input interface that is connected to receive the raster data from the system. A graphics engine is connected to use the raster data to simultaneously store representations of portions of at least two of the characters in a memory. An output interface is connected to use the representations stored in the memory to form an output signal which is used by the display to form the characters.

Abstract: A method of drawing moving images on a graphics display comprising (a) receiving data defining an input image in a predetermined resolution, (b) commanding a graphics processor to draw a corresponding image frame on a display having a number of scanning lines which is a multiple m of a number of scanning lines of the input image and a multiple n of a number of pixels in a horizontal line of the input image, (c) drawing successive lines of the input image on a first and on each m.sup.th scanning line of the graphics display, while stretching each pixel on each drawn line over n pixels, (d) copying each drawn line on respective immediately following m-1 lines, and (e) repeating steps (b)-(d) for successive frames of the input image.