Method and device for overlaying 3D graphics over 3D video

Abstract

A method of decoding and outputting video information suitable for three-dimensional [3D] display, the video information comprising encoded main video information suitable for displaying on a 2D display and encoded additional video information for enabling three-dimensional [3D] display, the method comprising: receiving or generating three-dimensional [3D] overlay information to be overlayed over the video information; buffering a first part of the overlay information to be overlayed over the main video information in a first buffer; buffering a second part of overlay information to be overlayed over the additional video information in a second buffer; decoding the main video information and the additional video information and generating as a series of time interleaved video frames, each outputted video frame being either main video frame or additional video frame; determining a type of an video frame to be outputted being either a main video frame or an additional video frame; overlaying either first or second part of the overlay information on an video frame to be outputted in agreement with the determined type of frame outputting the video frames and the overlayed information.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The invention relates to a method of decoding and outputting video information suitable for three-dimensional [3D] display, the video information comprising encoded main video information suitable for displaying on a 2D display and encoded additional video information for enabling three-dimensional [3D] display, 3D overlay information being overlayed onto the video information.[0002]The invention further relates to a device for decoding and outputting video information suitable for three-dimensional [3D] display, the video information comprising encoded main video information suitable for displaying on a 2D display and encoded additional video information for enabling three-dimensional [3D] display, the device adapted to overlay 3D overlay information onto the video information.[0003]The invention relates to the field playback of 3D video information and 3D overlay information by a playback device, the information to be displayed onto a 3D enabled display...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]The invention is also based on the following recognition. 3D Overlay graphics can no longer simply be composited with the 3D video output in systems outputting frames corresponding tot Left or 2D information interleaved with Right or DOT frames, since the 3D video output switches between the two different video streams each frame. As an example, at time T the video output could contain the 2D frame, and at time T+1 the video output contains accompanying depth information for the frame at time T. The graphics that need to be composited with the video at time T (the 2D graphics) greatly differ from the graphics that need to be composited with the video at time T+1 (the depth graphics or the R graphics). The graphics unit present in 2D video player devices is not fast enough to frame accurately update its graphics plane with these different graphics every frame. The solution according to the invention is to implement two buffers in the graphics unit. Each buffer is assigned to one of the output video streams. For example, for 2D+depth drawing, one buffer could be assigned for graphics overlay over the 2D frame and one buffer could be assigned for the graphics overlay over the depth frame. For L+R, similarly, one buffer could be used for graphics overlay over the L frame, and one buffer could be assigned for overlay over the R frame. The advantage of this solution is that the slow graphics are decoupled from the frame accurate overlaying engine, so that the processing requirements are significantly reduces.

[0013]Advantageously, the graphics control unit further comprises a controller is adapted to copy parts of a first overlay frame in the first buffer or parts of a second overlay frame in the second buffer at frame frequency for generating an overlay frame. When the player device handles 2D+DOT depth streams, this enables fast generation of occasion data, by copying the relevant areas from the buffered frames.

Problems solved by technology

The graphics unit present in 2D video player devices is not fast enough to frame accurately update its graphics plane with these different graphics every frame.

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