Ati International Srl

Other

Ati Technologies Inc.

Michael T Wright

Steven Morein

Mark Fowler

Kin M Yee

John Edward DeRoo

Xiaolin Wang

Ajay C Mahagaokar

Ray Rajib

Paul Vella

Brian Favela

A configurable adaptive variable length data packet transmission output scheduler for enabling substantially simultaneous transmission on a common transmission link, as of fiber optics, of differentiated services for various different traffic types, executing different QOS algorithms while co-existing in a converged network environment, with simultaneous preserving of the different service characteristics for real-time or high-priority traffic and providing differentiated bandwidth allocation while achieving maximal link utilization&#x2014;all through a fine and balanced control as to which type of traffic is transmitted on the link for a given duration, and how much of that traffic is transmitted on the link.

Method of and apparatus for variable length data packet transmission with configurable adaptive output scheduling enabling transmission on the same transmission link(s) of differentiated services for various traffic types

A configurable buffer has two storage areas. Depending upon a state of a buffer control signal, the two storage areas are configured to buffer a single stream of data together or to buffer two streams of data separately. In an exemplary video graphics processing application, one stream of data includes pass-through values of fragments being rendered (e.g. color, location, and/or depth values) and the other stream of data includes corresponding displaced (or otherwise perturbed) texture coordinate pairs. Such a buffer may be used to reduce the amount of buffer storage needed to support both single-pass and multipass operations in a pixel pipeline.

Configurable buffer for multipass applications

A method and apparatus for managing compressed Z information in a video graphics system is described. Pixels in a display frame are grouped into a plurality of pixel blocks, where each pixel block includes a plurality of pixels. When possible, the Z information corresponding to the plurality of pixels in a pixel block is compressed and stored in a Z buffer in a compressed format. A Z mask value for each pixel block in the frame is stored in a Z mask memory, where the Z mask for each pixel block indicates a level of compression of the Z information for each of the pixel blocks. When Z information for a pixel block is required for processing operations, a cache is first examined to determine if the Z information for the pixel block is included in the cache. If the Z information is not included in the cache, the Z mask memory is consulted to determine the level of compression of the Z information for the particular pixel block. Based on the indication provided by the Z mask memory as to the level of compression, a predetermined amount of data is retrieved from the Z buffer, and when the Z information is in compressed format, it is decompressed. The fetched Z information is then stored in the cache for use in video graphics processing.

Method and apparatus for controlling compressed Z information in a video graphics system

A method and apparatus for compressing parameter values for pixels within a frame is accomplished by first grouping pixels in the display frame into a plurality of pixel blocks, where each pixel block includes a plurality of pixels. For at least one of the pixel blocks, the parameter values for the pixel block are translated into a column-wise differential slope representation that represents the parameter values as a plurality of reference points, a plurality of slopes, and a plurality of slope differentials. The column-wise differential slope representation is then transformed into a planar differential slope representation that reduces the representation of the plurality of reference points and the plurality of slopes to a single reference pixel value, two reference slopes, and a plurality of slope differentials. An output format representation of the planar differential slope representation is then generated, where encoding of the slope differentials allows the parameter values for the pixel block to be compressed. This compressed format representation of the parameter values can then be stored in and retrieved from memory.

Method and apparatus for compressing parameter values for pixels in a display frame

A method and apparatus for managing compressed Z information in a video graphics system that supports anti-aliasing is described. Each pixel in the display frame is represented with a primary Z value, a secondary Z value, a first and second color, and a pixel mask that indicates how the Z values and colors apply to the samples of the pixel. The primary Z values for the pixels in a pixel block are then compressed using a compression algorithm and stored in a Z buffer in a compressed format. A secondary mask that indicates which pixels in the pixel block have valid secondary Z values is also stored in the Z buffer, along with the secondary Z values and the pixel masks in an uncompressed format. A Z mask value for each pixel block in the frame is stored in a Z mask memory, where the Z mask for each pixel block indicates the level of compression of the Z information the corresponding pixel block. When Z information for a pixel block is required for processing operations, a cache is first examined to determine if the Z information for the pixel block is included in the cache. If the Z information is not included in the cache, the Z mask memory is consulted to determine the level of compression of the Z information for the particular pixel block. Based on the indication provided by the Z mask memory as to the level of compression, a predetermined amount of buffered Z information is retrieved from the Z buffer, and when the Z information is in compressed format, it is decompressed. The fetched Z information is then stored in the cache for use in video graphics processing.

Method and apparatus for controlling compressed Z information in a video graphics system that supports anti-aliasing

A method and apparatus for reducing memory bandwidth usage in video graphics texturing operations that utilizes caching of compressed textures is presented. Texture information for texturing operations is stored in a memory structure in a compressed format. When texture information is needed for a texturing operation, a local cache is first examined to determine if the texture information required for the texturing operation is present within the cache. If it is not, the texture information is retrieved from the memory in a compressed format and stored in the cache in the compressed format. The compressed texture information is then retrieved from the cache each time it is required for a texturing operation and decompressed prior to use in such texturing operations.

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Marlborough, MA, United States of America

Michael T Wright