Display Pipe Idle Screen Detection and Compression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Digital systems consume excessive memory bandwidth and power when displaying static images over time, as they continuously fetch and composite frames despite no changes, leading to wasteful energy usage.
Innovation Solution
A display pipe is configured to detect static content by monitoring frames for consecutive changes, compressing static frames, and writing them to memory, allowing for reduced power consumption by displaying the compressed frame instead of recompositing frames when content remains unchanged.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the display continuously fetches and composites frames for display refresh, then the display can show updated content, but memory bandwidth consumption and power usage increase unnecessarily when content is static
Solution Approach 1:
The display system dynamically adjusts its operation mode based on content characteristics. When static content is detected, the system transitions from continuous frame compositing to a power-saving mode where the compressed frame is repeatedly displayed without recomposition, thereby reducing power consumption while maintaining display functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters of the display pipe based on whether content is static or dynamic. For static content, it enables frame compression and disables repeated compositing operations, effectively changing the processing parameters to reduce energy consumption while preserving the ability to restore full processing when content changes
2Loss of energy
If the display pipe composites and processes every frame, then image quality is maintained, but memory bandwidth is wasted when images are static
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential visual information from dynamic frames by compressing static frames into a compact representation. This compressed frame contains all necessary visual data for static content, allowing the system to eliminate redundant memory access and processing operations while preserving image quality
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of repeatedly fetching and processing identical frame data from memory, the system creates a compressed copy of the static frame and reuses this copy for multiple display refresh cycles. This copying approach eliminates the need for continuous memory access while maintaining accurate image reproduction
3Loss of energy
If the system detects static content and writes compressed frames to memory, then power consumption is reduced, but additional processing overhead is introduced for compression and detection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the frame compression functionality with the existing display pipe architecture, integrating the compression unit and detection logic into the current processing pipeline. This merging approach allows the system to leverage existing hardware resources while adding compression capability, reducing the need for separate dedicated circuits and minimizing overall system complexity
Data Source
AI summary
In an embodiment, a display pipe is configured to composite one or more frames of images and/or video sequences to generate output frames for display. Additionally, the display pipe may be configured to compress an output frame and write the compressed frame to memory responsive to detecting static content in the output frames. The display pipe may also be configured to read the compressed frame from memory for display instead of reading the frames for compositing and display. In some embodiments, the display pipe may include an idle screen detect circuit configured to monitor the operation of the display pipe and/or the output frames to detect the static content.