Decoupled Shading Pipeline for Variable Frame Rates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern graphics processing systems face inefficiencies in power consumption and performance due to fixed shading rates across entire frames, which do not account for varying visibility and blur conditions, leading to potential aliasing issues and unnecessary computational load.
Innovation Solution
Implementing decoupled pixel shading with adjustable shading rates by resizing shading quads and using scale factors to interpolate grid cell sizes, allowing for flexible shading rates based on visibility and focus, while maintaining full visibility sampling for sharp features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If fixed shading rates are used across entire frames, then implementation is simple, but power consumption increases and performance deteriorates due to unnecessary computational load in areas with reduced visibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the frame into multiple regions (e.g., depth-based zones, focus zones, or blur zones) and applies different shading rates to each region. This segmentation allows the system to reduce shading computations in areas with reduced visibility while maintaining full shading in areas with sharp features, thereby reducing overall power consumption without sacrificing visual quality where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by applying different shading rates to different regions of the frame based on visibility conditions. Regions with reduced visibility (e.g., out-of-focus areas, peripheral regions) use lower shading rates, while regions with sharp features maintain full shading rates. This local differentiation optimizes power consumption while preserving visual quality where it matters most.
2Ease of manufacture
If fixed shading rates are used across entire frames, then implementation is simple, but aliasing issues arise due to insufficient shading in areas with reduced visibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the frame into regions with different visibility characteristics and applies appropriate shading rates to each. By segmenting based on depth, focus, or blur information, the system can ensure sufficient shading in regions where aliasing is likely to occur while using reduced shading rates in regions where visibility is already limited, thereby controlling aliasing issues without oversimplifying the entire frame.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating shading rates across regions based on visibility conditions. In regions with reduced visibility (e.g., blurred or out-of-focus areas), the system adjusts shading rates to prevent aliasing while avoiding unnecessary computations. This localized approach ensures reliable aliasing control where needed without imposing uniform shading rates across the entire frame.
3Use of energy by moving object
If shading rates are reduced in areas with reduced visibility, then power consumption decreases, but image detail may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the frame into regions based on visibility characteristics such as depth, focus status, or blur level. By segmenting in this manner, the system can reduce shading rates in regions with reduced visibility while maintaining full shading rates in regions with sharp features, thereby preserving image detail where it matters most while reducing power consumption overall.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by applying different shading rates to different regions based on their visibility characteristics. Regions with sharp features maintain full shading rates to preserve image detail, while regions with reduced visibility use lower shading rates to reduce power consumption. This localized differentiation ensures that image quality is not compromised in critical areas while achieving power savings where visibility is already limited.
4Productivity
If uniform shading rates are applied to all regions, then computational load is consistent, but performance deteriorates due to unnecessary computations in blur or motion areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the frame into regions with different visibility characteristics (e.g., in-focus vs. out-of-focus, sharp vs. blurred) and applies different shading rates to each segment. This segmentation enables the system to reduce computational load in regions where visibility is reduced, thereby improving processing performance without sacrificing consistency in regions where full shading is necessary.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamics by making shading rates adjustable rather than fixed. The system dynamically adapts shading rates based on region-specific visibility conditions, depth information, or motion detection. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to optimize processing performance by reducing computations in regions with reduced visibility while maintaining full shading rates where image quality is critical.
Data Source
AI summary
In some embodiments, a given frame or picture may have different shading rates. In one embodiment in some areas of the frame or picture the shading rate may be less than once per pixel and in other places it may be once per pixel. Examples where the shading rate may be reduced include areas where there is motion and camera defocus, areas of peripheral blur, and in general, any case where the visibility is reduced anyway. The shading rate may be changed in a region, such as a shading quad, by changing the size of the region.