Abstract: A type of an access to a server, which is assigned to a user terminal as a server which provides a service to the user terminal in accordance with an access from the user terminal, is acquired, and it is judged whether or not the type is a prescribed type. When a frequency of judgment of “prescribed type” in the judgment is higher than a prescribed frequency, an apparatus which executes the assignment is set so as not to assign the server to the user terminal from the next time.

Abstract: A local device obtains at least one instruction for execution by a remote device (e.g., instructions to render a game screen of a video game). A packet representing the at least one instruction is created, and released towards the remote device. Creation of the packet involves consulting a packet dictionary to determine whether a packet index has already been assigned to the at least one instruction. If this is the case, the packet is formulated so that it contains the packet index; otherwise, the packet is formulated to include a function identifier and a set of parameters, which are associated with the at least one instruction. Since fewer bits are needed to encode the packet index than to encode the function identifier and the set of parameters, transmitted packets can be condensed when they represent at least one instruction for which a packet had previously been transmitted.

Abstract: A first device generates, associates with a generated call, and transmits generation information for generating an object corresponding to identification information included in the call. On the other side, in a case where the received call includes unknown identification information, a second device generates and stores an object corresponding to unknown identification information based on generation information associated with the call. Next, the second device associates the unknown identification information with specification information that specifies the stored object in a memory space of the device and register that.

Abstract: A moving image distribution system for performing load balancing is provided. The system determines communication delay amounts between a user terminal and each of a plurality of moving image distribution servers. The system further determines whether a specified content, for distribution to the user terminal, requires a predetermined type of distribution. When the specified content requires the predetermined type of distribution, the system determines whether processing of the content requires a predetermined type of processing. The system specifies one of the plurality of moving image distribution servers for distributing the specified content to the user terminal based on a first determination of whether the specified content requires the predetermined type of distribution and a second determination of whether the content requires the predetermined type of processing.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes a central processing unit (CPU) and a graphics processing unit (GPU). The GPU obtains multiple blocks having a predetermined number of pixels. For each of the blocks, the GPU generates an intermediate block for which a spatial redundancy is removed. The GPU further outputs a portion of data of the intermediate block and specifying information corresponding thereto. The CPU reads the specifying information, and executes compression processing based on the specifying information. The CPU further reads the portion of the data corresponding to the specifying information.

Abstract: A moving image distribution system for performing load balancing is provided. The system determines communication delay amounts between a user terminal and each of a plurality of moving image distribution servers. The system further determines whether a specified content, for distribution to the user terminal, requires a predetermined type of distribution. When the specified content requires the predetermined type of distribution, the system determines whether processing of the content requires a predetermined type of processing. The system specifies one of the plurality of moving image distribution servers for distributing the specified content to the user terminal based on a first determination of whether the specified content requires the predetermined type of distribution and a second determination of whether the content requires the predetermined type of processing.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus acquires a rendering command used to cause a rendering apparatus to render a screen and records the acquired rendering command. The information processing apparatus outputs the recorded rendering command to the rendering apparatus for rendering the screen.

Abstract: Rendering processing is performed such that a distribution screen is rendered in rendering processing of a subsequent stage by referring to a Depth map generated by rendering processing of a preceding stage. A moving image distribution server selects the Depth map for coding determination during execution of rendering processing of the subsequent stage for a first screen, and determines for each set block whether to perform inter-frame coding by referring to a Depth map generated for a second screen rendered before the first screen. After rendering processing of the subsequent stage has ended for the first screen, the server performs coding in accordance with the determination result and sends the coded moving image data to an external device. The determination result is sent to the external device before generation of the coded moving image data of the first screen is completed.

Abstract: A first GPU of a rendering apparatus, after rendering by a second GPU that renders a second depth range that is closer to the viewpoint than a first depth range that the first GPU renders is performed, receives the image rendered by the second GPU and the identifying information that identifies the pixels for which rendering objects are rendered in the image. After the reception, the first GPU, when rendering a rendering object included in the first depth range in accordance with the viewpoint, performs rendering of pixels, from the image rendered by the second GPU, that are not identified by the identifying information, and does not perform rendering of pixels identified by the identifying information.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes a central processing unit (CPU) and a graphics processing unit (GPU). The GPU obtains multiple blocks having a predetermined number of pixels. For each of the blocks, the GPU generates an intermediate block for which a spatial redundancy is removed. The GPU further outputs a portion of data of the intermediate block and specifying information corresponding thereto. The CPU reads the specifying information, and executes compression processing based on the specifying information. The CPU further reads the portion of the data corresponding to the specifying information.

Abstract: In an information processing apparatus, a GPU obtains a plurality of blocks which have a predetermined number of pixels and are obtained by dividing an encoding target image, and intermediate blocks for which a spatial redundancy is removed are generated for each block. The GPU analyzes a data string of the intermediate blocks, and generates specifying information for specifying positions of data for which a value is included in a predetermined range in the data string, and for each of the blocks, outputs at least a portion of the data of the intermediate blocks, and corresponding specifying information to a storage apparatus. A CPU, for each of the plurality of blocks, executes compression processing by referencing corresponding specifying information, and reading at least a portion of the data corresponding to the specifying information from the storage apparatus.

Abstract: Rendering processing of a screen to be displayed is divided and performed between a first device and a second device. The first device generates a first screen, on which some rendering objects of rendering objects to be rendered on the screen to be displayed are rendered, based on information for determining rendered contents of the screen to be displayed. The second device generates a second screen on which rendering objects, excepting the some rendering objects from the rendering objects to be rendered on the screen to be displayed, are rendered. The first device receives the second screen from the second device, and generates the screen to be displayed by compositing the first and second screens.

Abstract: One device generates a first screen by executing some processes including a first process of rendering processing of the screen to be displayed in accordance with the information required to determine the rendered contents. On the other hand, devices except for the one device generates a second screen by executing some processes, which do not include the first process but include a second process different from the first process, of the rendering processing of the screen to be displayed in accordance with that information, and sends the second screen to the one device. Then, the one device receives the second screens generated by the respective devices except for the one device, and generates the screen to be displayed by compositing the first and second screens.

Abstract: For each of a plurality of rendering objects to be used to generate a screen to be provided for a client device, identification information and detailed information indicating data necessary for rendering are acquired. By referring to detailed information of each of the plurality of rendering objects, the rendering order of all the rendering objects is determined so as to allocate consecutive ordinal numbers to rendering objects having at least partial data indicated by detailed information in common. A rendering control apparatus transfers data, indicated by detailed information of a rendering object in accordance with the rendering order, to a GPU. In this process, among data indicated by detailed information of rendering objects which are continuous in the rendering order, only data which is not the same as data already transferred to the GPU is read out and transferred.

Abstract: A moving image distribution server sets an evaluation pixel for each of blocks that it divided a first screen into, and specifies a screen coordinate and a depth value, in a second screen acquired before the first screen, for a rendering object rendered on the evaluation pixel. It compares a depth value of the screen coordinate and a depth value of the rendering object rendered on the evaluation pixel, and determines that inter-frame coding will be performed with the second screen for a block for which the 2 depth values are considered to be the same. It transmits, to a external device, coding details information including the viewpoint information of the first screen, a depth buffer of the first screen, and information indicating whether or not blocks of the first screen are to be inter-frame coded.

Abstract: An information processing system that determines whether static data is already loaded into shared memory when a request is made to load static data into shared memory from a process out of a plurality of processes. When the information processing system determines that static data is not loaded into shared memory, after loading the data into shared memory, it notifies the requesting process with information identifying the static data. When the information processing system determines that the static data is already loaded into shared memory, it notifies the requesting process with information identifying the static data.

Abstract: A first GPU of a rendering apparatus, after rendering by a second GPU that renders a second depth range that is closer to the viewpoint than a first depth range that the first GPU renders is performed, receives the image rendered by the second GPU and the identifying information that identifies the pixels for which rendering objects are rendered in the image. After the reception, the first GPU, when rendering a rendering object included in the first depth range in accordance with the viewpoint, performs rendering of pixels, from the image rendered by the second GPU, that are not identified by the identifying information, and does not perform rendering of pixels identified by the identifying information.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus acquires a rendering command used to cause a rendering apparatus to render a screen and records the acquired rendering command. The information processing apparatus outputs the recorded rendering command to the rendering apparatus for rendering the screen.

Abstract: A server arrangement for controlling a video game viewable by game participants at a plurality of respective terminals. The server arrangement has a game engine to output graphical scenes collectively representing a virtual world with game characters, each graphical scene describing a portion of the virtual world. The server arrangement also has a shared-rendering engine for associating game participants with respective graphical scenes and for performing a shared-rendering operation on the graphical scenes to generate respective moving-image data streams, the shared-rendering operation being common for the game participants that are associated by the shared-rendering engine with the same graphical scene.

Abstract: In an information processing apparatus, a GPU obtains a plurality of blocks which have a predetermined number of pixels and are obtained by dividing an encoding target image, and intermediate blocks for which a spatial redundancy is removed are generated for each block. The GPU analyzes a data string of the intermediate blocks, and generates specifying information for specifying positions of data for which a value is included in a predetermined range in the data string, and for each of the blocks, outputs at least a portion of the data of the intermediate blocks, and corresponding specifying information to a storage apparatus. A CPU, for each of the plurality of blocks, executes compression processing by referencing corresponding specifying information, and reading at least a portion of the data corresponding to the specifying information from the storage apparatus.