Hardware Color Conversion Unit for Graphics Processor Performance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current graphics processors experience performance degradation when converting color data from a linear color space to a nonlinear color space due to the need for additional computational steps and multiple passes through the shader pipeline.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating hardware-specific color conversion units and driver-driven methods to convert color data between color spaces before storing in a frame buffer, allowing for optional conversion of each color component independently and improving shader program performance by eliminating the need for additional passes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If color conversion is performed using shader program instructions, then color space conversion is achieved, but graphics processor performance degrades due to additional computational steps and multiple passes through the shader pipeline
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the color conversion function from the general-purpose shader pipeline and implements it as a dedicated hardware unit within the graphics processor. This separation allows color conversion to be performed by specialized circuitry independent of the shader program execution path, eliminating the performance penalty of additional shader passes while maintaining the conversion capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a dedicated color conversion unit as an intermediary component between the shader pipeline and frame buffer. This unit acts as a mediator that handles color space conversions using specialized hardware, preventing the conversion operations from bottlenecking the main shader execution path and thus preserving graphics processor performance.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple passes through the shader pipeline are used for color conversion, then accurate color space transformation is achieved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the software-based shader program execution with hardware-based color conversion circuitry. This substitution eliminates the need for multiple sequential passes through the shader pipeline, achieving the same color conversion accuracy through dedicated hardware computation that operates in parallel with the main rendering pipeline, thus significantly reducing processing time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs color conversion as a preliminary operation within the graphics processor pipeline, using dedicated hardware to complete the transformation before data reaches the frame buffer. By preparing the color data in advance through specialized circuitry rather than requiring post-processing shader passes, the system achieves accurate conversion without the time loss of multiple pipeline traversals.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method for converting color data from one color space to another color space. A driver determines that a set of shader program instructions perform a color conversion function and the set of shader program instructions are replaced with either a single shader program instruction or a flag is set within an existing shader program instruction to specify that output color data is represented in a nonlinear color format. The output color data is converted to the nonlinear color format prior to being stored in a frame buffer. Nonlinear color data read from the frame buffer is converted to a linear color format prior to shading, blending, or raster operations.