Hardware-accelerated color data processing

Abstract

Methods for mapping color data having at least one color associated therewith to an output device based on an input device profile and an output device profile, each profile having a tone curve and a color matrix, are provided. In one embodiment, the method includes receiving color data from an input device and determining whether the color data is in a linear space. If it is determined that the color data is not in a linear space, the method further includes applying the tone curve of the input device profile to the color data to convert it into a linear space. The method further includes converting the color(s) associated with the color data from the input linear space to an output linear space by applying the color matrix of the input device profile and the inverse color matrix of the output device profile to create color-converted image data.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] Not Applicable. STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0002] Not Applicable. BACKGROUND [0003] Color management systems attempt to compensate for the different color capabilities of devices, viewing conditions, and subjective preferences. Different devices interpret and reproduce color differently and are often referred to as having disparate color capabilities. In particular, each device has a limited range of colors (e.g., as represented by lightness, chroma, and hue) that the device may detect and / or produce. This limited range is often referred to as the device color gamut. As a result of different device color capabilities, color data may appear visually different when displayed on two separate devices. For instance, a document displayed on a monitor may appear visually different when displayed on a different monitor or printed on a printer. Further, it should be noted that as opposed to being associated w...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a color management model which can exploit a color engine (e.g., a Color Management Module (CMM)) associated with a Central Processing Unit (CPU) to set up an accelerated Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) color management pipeline. In this way, a user experiences no significant reduction in performance or quality upon the mapping of color data, e.g., image data or media content, derived from a source device to their destination device.

Problems solved by technology

In particular, each device has a limited range of colors (e.g., as represented by lightness, chroma, and hue) that the device may detect and / or produce.

As more fully described below, such color management conversions are generally based on a color profile associated with the source device and a color profile associated with the destination device, each of which includes a tone curve and a color matrix, and are computationally intensive.

While CPUs can effectively process color data in most instances, such processing is typically rather slow leading to user frustration and overall dissatisfaction with the color data processing application.

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