Nvidia Corporation

Nividia Corporation

Rui Bastos

Matthew Nicholas Papakipos

John Erik Lindholm

David B Kirk

Harold Robert Feldman Zatz

Steven E Molnar

Walter E Donovan

Christian Rouet

Mark J Kilgard

Cass Watson Everitt

Daniel Elliott Wexler

Larry I Gritz

Jonathan Rice

Stephen Donald Lew

Michael J M Toksvig

John M Danskin

Matthew J Craighead

Shaun Ho

Nathan A Carr

Henry Packard Moreton

John Stephen Montrym

Eric Brian Lum

Rouslan Lyubomirov Dimitrov

Lei Yang

Chris Amsinck

Joseph E Demers

Curtis A Beeson

Steven E Moinar

One aspect of the current disclosure provides a method of upscaling an image. The method includes: rendering an image, wherein the rendering includes generating color samples of the image at a first resolution and depth samples of the image at a second resolution, which is higher than the first resolution; and upscaling the image to an upscaled image at a third resolution, which is higher than the first resolution, using the color samples and the depth samples.

HW-assisted upscaling and multi-sampling using a high resolution depth buffer

Digital Image compositing using a programmable graphics processor is described. The programmable graphics processor supports high-precision data formats and can be programmed to complete a plurality of compositing operations in a single pass through a fragment processing pipeline within the programmable graphics processor. Source images for one or more compositing operations are stored in graphics memory, and a resulting composited image is output or stored in graphics memory. More-complex compositing operations, such as blur, warping, morphing, and the like, can be completed in multiple passes through the fragment processing pipeline. A composited image produced during a pass through the fragment processing pipeline is stored in graphics memory and is available as a source image for a subsequent pass.

Digital image compositing using a programmable graphics processor

Multiple output buffers are supported in a graphics processor. Each output buffer has a unique identifier and may include data represented in a variety of fixed and floating-point formats (8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, 64-bit and higher). A fragment program executed by the graphics processor can access (read or write any of the output buffers. Each of the output buffers may be read from and used to process graphics data by an execution pipeline within the graphics processor. Likewise, each output buffer may be written to by the graphics processor, storing graphics data such as lighting parameters, indices, color, and depth.

Multiple data buffers for processing graphics data

Apparatuses and methods for detecting position conflicts during fragment processing are described. Prior to executing a program on a fragment, a conflict detection unit, within a fragment processor checks if there is a position conflict indicating a RAW (read after write) hazard may exist. A RAW hazard exists when there is a pending write to a destination location that source data will be read from during execution of the program. When the fragment enters a processing pipeline, each destination location that may be written during the processing of the fragment is entered in conflict detection unit. During processing, the conflict detection unit is updated when a pending write to a destination location is completed.

Methods of processing graphics data including reading and writing buffers

Multiple output buffers are supported in a graphics processor. Each output buffer has a unique identifier and may include data represented in a variety of fixed and floating-point formats (8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, 64-bit and higher). A fragment program executed by the graphics processor can access (read or write any of the output buffers. Each of the output buffers may be read from and used to process graphics data by a fragment shader within the graphics processor. Likewise, each output buffer may be written to by the graphics processor, storing graphics data such as lighting parameters, indices, color, and depth.

Hybrid sampling of pixels of an image involves generating shading values at multiple shading sample locations and generating depth values at multiple depth sample locations, with the number of depth sample locations exceeding the number of shading sample locations. Each shading sample location is associated with one or more of the depth sample locations. Generation and filtering of hybrid sampled pixel data can be done within a graphics processing system, transparent to an application that provides image data.

Antialiasing using hybrid supersampling-multisampling

Method and apparatus for graphics processing is described. More particularly, a graphics processing subsystem capable of multi-pass graphics data processing is described. The graphics processing subsystem includes a geometry processor and a fragment processor, where output from the fragment processor is input compatible with the geometry processor. Data produced in a pass through a graphics data-processing pipeline including the fragment processor and geometry processor may be used as an input to processing during a subsequent pass. Data read from a texture map may be used to define or modify data, including vertex data, being processed in the geometry processor or the fragment processor.

Systems and methods of multi-pass data processing

A method for synchronizing divergent samples in a programmable graphics processing unit is described. In one embodiment, the method includes the steps of determining that a divergence has occurred and detecting that a first sample of a group of samples has encountered a first synch token. The method also includes the steps of determining whether each of the other samples of the group has encountered a synch token and determining whether the synch token encountered by each of the other samples of the group is the first synch token.

System and method for synchronizing divergent samples in a programmable graphics processing unit

Jittered sub-pixel samples are used to reduce aliasing during rendering in a graphics pipeline. Sub-pixel samples are jittered using programmed sub-pixel offset values, permitting an application to select not only the number of sub-pixel samples within a pixel, but also the position of each sub-pixel sample within the pixel.

Generation of jittered sub-pixel samples using programmable sub-pixel offsets

A method for processing divergent samples in a programmable graphics processing unit is described. In one embodiment, the method includes the step of incrementing a subroutine depth of a first sample to designate that first call instructions are to be executed on the first sample. The method also includes the steps of pushing state data of a second sample upon which the first call instructions are not to be executed onto a global stack and executing the first call instructions on the first sample.

System and method for processing divergent samples in a programmable graphics processing unit

A system, method and computer program product are provided for programmable pixel processing in a computer graphics pipeline. In one embodiment of the present invention, arbitrary texture filtering is applied via a programmable shader.

System, method and computer program product for providing arbitrary texture filtering

System and method for reserving a memory space for multithreaded processing is described. Memory space within a memory resource is allocated responsive to thread type. Examples of thread types for graphics processing include primitive, vertex and pixel types. Memory space allocated may be of a predetermined size for a thread type. Memory locations within a first memory space may be interleaved with memory locations within a second memory space.

System and method for reserving and managing memory spaces in a memory resource

A graphics data-processing pipeline including a geometry processor and a fragment processor. The graphics data-processing pipeline being configured to render stencil data and to output the stencil data in a format compatible with input to the fragment processor. An output of the graphics data-processing pipeline is written to local memory and the output is subsequently read using the fragment processor without host processor intervening usage to format the stencil data or process the stencil data.

Growing community of inventors

Santa Clara, CA, United States of America

Rui Bastos