Wireless display apparatus and method

• US 20030027517A1
• Filed: 08/06/2001
• Published: 02/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ATI Technologies ULC (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ATI Technologies ULC (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.)
• Inventors: Glen, David, Callway, Edward G.
• Granted Patent: US 9,544,523 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/3.01
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1454 involving copying of the display data of a local workstation or window to a remote workstation or window so that an actual copy of the data is displayed simultaneously on two or more displays, e.g. teledisplay
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/02 Handling of images in compressed format, e.g. JPEG, MPEG
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/125 wherein one of the images is motion video
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/16 Use of wireless transmission of display information
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/006 Details of the interface to the display terminal specific for a display terminal using a CRT G09G1/167; using a flat panel G09G3/2096; circuits for interfacing with colour displays G09G5/04
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/363 Graphics controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/61 for local area broadcast, e.g. instore broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/72 of terrestrial networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/40 Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41 Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4122 additional display device, e.g. video projector digital output for controlling a plurality of local displays G06F3/1423
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4126 The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42653 for processing graphics
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/436 Interfacing a local distribution network, e.g. communicating with another STB or one or more peripheral devices inside the home
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43637 involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/38 Transmitter circuitry for the transmission of television signals according to analogue transmission standards H04N5/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44504 : Circuit details of the additional information generator, e.g. details of the character or graphics signal generator, overlay mixing circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/20 : Adaptations for transmission via a GHz frequency band, e.g. via satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/641 : Multi-purpose receivers, e.g. for auxiliary information H04N9/642 takes precedence

Abstract

A wireless display system and method decompresses a compressed video stream, such as obtained from suitable video sources such as a cable modem, DVD player or other suitable source, to produce a decompressed video stream locally. The decompressed video stream, such as frames, is stored in a local frame buffer, such as an on-chip frame buffer, system memory, or any other suitable memory. The system and method then recompresses the stored frames and wirelessly transmits the recompressed frames using a short range wireless transmitter, such as a radio frequency-based short range transmitter, an infrared short range wireless transmitter, or any other suitable short range transmitter that may provide, for example, local area networking. Accordingly, full image frames are decompressed and then recompressed, such as via a software data encoder as executed by a central processing unit, or via a hardware data encoder, such as an MPEGII or MPEG4 encoder, or any other suitable encoder, and then modulated by a short range wireless transceiver and sent to a short range wireless unit having a local display.

Claims

1. A wireless display circuit comprising:

a graphics processing circuit operatively coupleable to a frame buffer and operative to render graphics data based on rendering commands and to store rendered graphics data in the frame buffer;

a video decoder operatively responsive to a compressed video stream and operative to produce decoded video from the compressed video stream for display on a local display;

a short range wireless transmitter operatively coupled to the graphic processing circuit;

a data encoder operatively coupled to the frame buffer and to the short range wireless transmitter, operative to encode the rendered graphics data stored in the frame buffer and to recompress the decoded video; and

wherein the short range wireless transmitter transmits the encoded rendered graphics data and the recompressed decoded video.

2. The circuit of claim 1 including a blending circuit operative to blend rendered graphics data and the decoded video, prior to the data encoder recompressing the decoded video to produce image frames containing recompressed video with encoded graphics data.

3. The circuit of claim 1 wherein the data encoder includes a suitably programmed processor operatively coupled to the frame buffer via a local bus.

4. The circuit of claim 3 wherein the suitably programmed processor carries out MPEG encoding on the rendered graphics data and on the decoded video to produce compressed image frames containing recompressed video with encoded graphics data that are wirelessly transmitted by the short range wireless transmitter.

5. The circuit of claim 1 wherein the data encoder includes a hardware based data encoder resident on at least one of a same printed circuit board and same integrated circuit die as the graphics processing circuit.

6. A wireless display system comprising:

a first unit having at least;

a first local display;

a first frame buffer;

a graphics processing circuit operatively coupleable to a frame buffer and operative to render graphics data based on rendering commands and to store rendered graphics data in the frame buffer;

a first video decoder operatively responsive to a compressed video stream and operative to produce decoded video from the compressed video stream for display on a first local display;

a short range wireless transmitter operatively coupled to the graphic processing circuit;

a data encoder operatively coupled to the frame buffer and to the wireless transmitter, operative to encode the rendered graphics data stored in the frame buffer and to recompress the decoded video; and

wherein the short range wireless transmitter transmits the encoded rendered graphics data and the recompressed decoded video;

a second unit having at least;

a second local display;

a second frame buffer;

a short range wireless receiver responsive to the encoded rendered graphics data and recompressed decoded video; and

a video decoder operatively coupled to the short range wireless receiver and to the second frame buffer and operative to produce decoded video from the received encoded rendered graphics data and recompressed decoded video for storage in the second frame buffer for display on the second local display.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the video decoder includes a suitably programmed processor operatively coupled to the second frame buffer via a local bus.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the suitably programmed processor carries out MPEG decoding on the received encoded rendered graphics data and recompressed decoded video to produce decompressed image frames.

9. The system of claim 6 where in the video decoder includes a hardware based video decoder resident on at least one of a same printed circuit board and same integrated circuit die as the frame buffer.

10. A method for providing image data for a wireless display comprising the steps of:

processing rendering commands to produce rendered graphics image data and storing the rendered graphics image to a frame buffer;

retrieving the rendered graphics image data from the frame buffer via a local bus;

encoding the retrieved rendered graphics image data to produce encoded graphics image data; and

sending the encoded graphics image data to a short range wireless receiver using a short range wireless transmitter.

11. The method of claim 10 including the steps of:

decompressing a compressed video stream to produce a decompressed video stream;

recompressing the decompressed video stream to produce a recompressed video stream; and

wherein the step of sending the encoded graphics image includes sending the recompressed video stream using the short range wireless transmitter.

12. The method of claim 11 including the steps of:

combining the rendered graphics image data [overlayed] with the decompressed video stream to produce frames of image data

storing the frames of image data in the frame buffer prior to the step of recompressing; and

retrieving the frames of image data for the step of recompression.

13. The method of claim 10 including the step of locally displaying the rendered graphics image data on a local display.

14. The method of claim 10 including the steps of:

receiving, via a short range wireless receiver, a compressed video stream containing graphics data and recompressed video;

decompressing the received compressed video stream and producing decompressed image frames; and

displaying the decompressed image frames on a local display.

15. A method for providing image data for a wireless monitor comprising:

processing rendering command using a first processor to produce rendered graphics image data and storing the rendered graphics image data to a frame buffer;

retrieving the rendered graphics image data from the frame buffer over a local bus using a second processor;

encoding, by the second processor, the retrieved rendered graphics image data to produce encoded graphics image data; and

sending the encoded graphics image data to a wireless monitor using a short range wireless transmitter.

16. The method of claim 15 including the steps of:

decompressing a compressed video stream to produce a decompressed video stream;

recompressing the decompressed video stream to produce a recompressed video stream; and

wherein the step of sending the encoded graphics image includes sending the recompressed video stream using the short range wireless transmitter.

17. The method of claim 16 including the steps of:

combining the rendered graphics image data [overlayed] with the decompressed video stream to produce frames of image data

storing the frames of image data in the frame buffer prior to the step of recompressing; and

retrieving the frames of image data for the step of recompression.

18. The method of claim 15 including the step of locally displaying the rendered graphics image data on a first local display.

19. The method of claim 15 including the steps of:

receiving, via a short range wireless receiver, a compressed video stream containing graphics data and recompressed video;

decompressing the received compressed video stream and producing decompressed image frames; and

displaying the decompressed image frames on a second local display.

20. The method of claim 15 including the step of wirelessly sending drawing commands to a short range wireless receiver.

21. A method for providing image data for a wireless monitor comprising;

decompressing a compressed video stream to produce a decompressed video stream from the compressed video stream;

storing frames from the video graphics stream in a frame buffer;

recompressing the stored frames; and

wirelessly transmitting the recompressed frames using a short range wireless transmitter.

22. The method of claim 21 including the step of locally displaying the frames on a first local display.

23. The method of claim 21 including the steps of:

receiving, via a short range wireless receiver, the recompressed frames;

decompressing the received recompressed frames and producing decompressed image frames; and

displaying the decompressed image frames on a second local display.