Abstract: In an interface connecting a video camera to a host, a method and apparatus for storing video data received from a video camera in video data buffers in the host's memory. The method allows for a large number of video data buffers. Moreover, the video data buffers may be managed by an apparatus other than a processor on the host, thereby offloading the host's processor to perform other tasks. A linked list of commands in memory on the host contain control information, register addresses of registers in the apparatus, and data, which the apparatus utilizes to store received video data in the video data buffers.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for initializing and determining the topological configuration of a system for processing video information is described. The system has a master device and multiple slave devices for transmitting or receiving video information. The master and slave devices are coupled together in a daisy chain by a serial video link. The master device issues commands to the slave devices to selectively control the routing of a video data stream within each of the slave devices. The master transmits the video data onto the serial video link to the slave devices and assigns a unique address to each of the slave devices based on the responses of the slave devices to the commands and the transmitted data stream. The master device also determines the position in the daisy chain of each of the slave devices based on those responses.

Abstract: In a video interface coupling a video camera to a host for displaying a video image from the video camera on a graphics display device coupled to the host, a method for clipping an obscured region of a video image, i.e., a region of the video image covered up on the graphics display device by a window in accordance with a window manager. The video image is clipped prior to being buffered in the graphics memory so that only the portion of the video image that is visible on the graphics display device is actually stored in a buffer in graphics memory. The video interface reads a list in main memory on the host. The list comprises at least one strip descriptor and from 1 to 15 tile descriptors per strip descriptor. A strip descriptor comprises a strip start and a strip end. A tile descriptor comprises a tile start and a tile length. The video interface clips the video image according to the strips and tiles in the clip list.