United States Patent
US Patent 7868901: Method and system for reducing memory bandwidth…
US 7868901 · granted 2011-01-11
Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention sets forth a method and system for reducing memory bandwidth requirements for an anti-aliasing operation. The first virtual coverage information for a pixel involved in an anti-aliasing operation is maintained in memory. If a certain operating condition of the anti-aliasing operation deterministically implies the second virtual coverage information for this pixel, the second virtual coverage information, as opposed to the first virtual coverage information, is used in the anti-aliasing operation. In such situations, since the virtual coverage information is implied, it does not have to be accessed from memory, thereby improving overall system performance.
| Patent Number | 7868901 |
|---|---|
| Title | Method and system for reducing memory bandwidth requirements in an anti-aliasing operation |
| Filed | 2006-11-06 |
| Granted | 2011-01-11 |
| Inventor(s) | Edmondson; John H., Molnar; Steven E., Olaf, King; Gary C., Toksvig; Michael J. M., Holmqvist; Peter B., Connor; James M. |
| Assignee | NVIDIA Corporation |
| CPC Classification | G09G 5/00 |
| Number of Claims | 49 |
Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention sets forth a method and system for reducing memory bandwidth requirements for an anti-aliasing operation. The first virtual coverage information for a pixel involved in an anti-aliasing operation is maintained in memory. If a certain operating condition of the anti-aliasing operation deterministically implies the second virtual coverage information for this pixel, the second virtual coverage information, as opposed to the first virtual coverage information, is used in the anti-aliasing operation. In such situations, since the virtual coverage information is implied, it does not have to be accessed from memory, thereby improving overall system performance.
Claim 1
A method for performing an anti-aliasing operation, comprising: storing first virtual coverage information for a pixel in memory; determining that an operating condition of saidanti-aliasing operation deterministically implies second virtual coverage information for said pixel; constructing the second virtual coverage information for said pixel without accessing the first virtual coverage information stored in said memory; and applying said second virtual coverage information, instead of applying said first virtual coverage information stored in said memory, to said anti-aliasing operation.
Claims
49 totalA method for performing an anti-aliasing operation, comprising: storing first virtual coverage information for a pixel in memory; determining that an operating condition of saidanti-aliasing operation deterministically implies second virtual coverage information for said pixel; constructing the second virtual coverage information for said pixel without accessing the first virtual coverage information stored in said memory; and applying said second virtual coverage information, instead of applying said first virtual coverage information stored in said memory, to said anti-aliasing operation.