Silicon Graphics, Incorporated

Charles F Tuffli, Iii

Henry Packard Moreton

Michael L Fuccio

Timothy J Van Hook

Mark W Troeller

David K Barnett

Robert W Pryor, Jr

A method and arrangement for separating interleaved luminance and chrominance color space components data in a single data stream with minimum CPU intervention is provided. In the separating circuit, the separating circuit receives as input a series of graphics/video image data composed of interleaved luminance and chrominance color space components at successive clock cycles. The separating circuit directs selected bytes of the graphics/video image data representing the luminance color space component to a first path wherein luminance component data received at two successive clock cycles are combined. Likewise, selected bytes of the graphics/video image data representing the chrominance color space component are directed to a second path wherein chrominance component data received at two successive clock cycles are combined. Then, the combined luminance and chrominance component data are output alternately. Conversely, a method and arrangement for interleaving luminance and chrominance color space components data in stored separately into a single data stream is also provided.

Circuit to separate and combine color space component data of a video

Instruction methods for moving data between memory and a vector register file while performing data formatting. The methods are processed by a processor having a vector register file and a memory unit. The methods are useful in the graphics art because they allow more efficient movement and processing of raster formatted graphics data. The vector register file has a number of vector registers (e.g., 32) that each contain multi-bits of storage (e.g., 128 bits). In one class of instructions, eight byte locations within memory are simultaneously loaded into eight separate 16 bit locations within a register of the register file. The data can be integer or fraction and signed or unsigned. The data can also be stored from the register file back to memory. In a second class of instructions, alternate locations of a memory qaudword are selected and simultaneously loaded in the register file. In a third class, data is obtained across a word boundary by a first instruction that obtains a first part and a second instruction that obtains the remainder part crossing the boundary. In a last class of instruction transfers, a block (e.g., 8 16-bit.times.8 16-bit) of data is loaded from memory, stored in the register file and stored back into memory causing a transposition of the data block (16 cycles). A block (e.g., 8 16-bit.times.8 16-bit) of data is stored from the register file to memory, and loaded back into the register file causing a transposition of the data block (16 cycles).

Instruction methods for performing data formatting while moving data

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Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Charles F Tuffli, Iii