METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING A DISPLAY STREAM EMBEDDED WITH NON-DISPLAY DATA

• US 20140344650A1
• Filed: 05/20/2014
• Published: 11/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ATI Technologies ULC (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ATI Technologies ULC (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.)
• Inventors: Au, Dennis
• Granted Patent: US 10,185,621 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/776
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/10 Adding special bits or symbols to the coded information, e.g. parity check, casting out 9's or 11's
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/00 Arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received correcting synchronisation H04L7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0041 Arrangements at the transmitter end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0045 Arrangements at the receiver end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0083 Formatting with frames or packets; Protocol or part of protocol for error control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 17/00 Diagnosis, testing or measuring for television systems or their details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 17/004 for digital television systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/10 Adaptations for transmission by electrical cable H04N7/12 takes precedence

Abstract

A video device having data lanes and a method of operating the video device includes obtaining a stream of debug data in response to a test operation, framing the stream of debug data independent of establishing a video blanking period, and transmitting the framed stream of debug data across one or more data lanes of the video link for operation between a video source device and a video sink device. The method also includes generating a stream of video data related to the test operation, framing the stream of video data to establish a video blanking period, and transmitting the framed stream of debug data concurrently with the framed stream of video data across the one or more data lanes of the video link.

Claims

1. A method of operating a video device comprising:

obtaining a stream of debug data in response to a test operation;

framing the stream of debug data independent of establishing a video blanking period; and

transmitting the framed stream of debug data across one or more data lanes of a video link.

2. The method according to claim 1, further including:

generating a stream of video data related to the test operation; and

framing the stream of video data to establish a video blanking period;

wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting the framed stream of debug data concurrently with the framed stream of video data across the one or more data lanes of the video link.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the framed stream of debug data and the framed stream of video data are transmitted on a common data lane of the video link.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of framing the stream of debug data includes:

receiving the stream of debug data into a debug buffer;

inserting a blank start frame into the stream of debug data at a predefined interval; and

inserting a fill start frame to occupy each empty frame between a blank start frame and the stream of debug data.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the step of framing the stream of debug data includes:

generating error correction code based on a line of debug data between an adjacent pair of blank start frames; and

inserting an error correction frame with the generated error correction code into the stream of debug data before the blank start frame of the corresponding line.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting the framed stream of debug data include:

generating a stream of video data related to the test operation;

framing the generated stream of video data to establish a video blanking period; and

encoding the framed stream of debug data with the framed stream of video data for multi-stream transport across a common data lane of the video link.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the framed stream of debug data is transmitted in real time across the one or more data lanes of the video link.

8. A method of operating a video device comprising:

receiving a framed stream of debug data across one or more data lanes of a video link for operation between a video source device and a video sink device, the stream of debug data being framed independent of a video blanking period;

decoding the framed stream of debug data independent of the framing; and

supplying the decoded stream of debug data to a debug sink device.

9. The method according to claim 8, further including:

receiving a framed stream of video data and the framed stream of debug data concurrently across the one or more data lanes of the video link;

decoding the framed stream of video data; and

supplying the decoded stream of video data to a video sink device.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the framed stream of debug data and the stream of video data are received on a common data lane of the video link.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein the step of decoding the stream of debug data includes:

removing blank start frames from the stream of debug data; and

removing each fill start frame occupying each empty frame between a blank start frame and the stream of debug data.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein the step of decoding the framed stream of debug data include:

decoding a multi-stream transport across a common data lane of the video link into a separate stream of framed debug data and a separate framed stream of video data; and

supplying the stream of video data to a video sink device and the stream of debug data to a debug sink device.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the step of decoding the stream of debug data includes:

receiving an error correction frame inserted into the stream of debug data before each inserted blank start frame, the error correction frame being associated with an error correction code generated based on a line of debug data between the corresponding blank start frame and a directly preceding blank start frame;

determining an error correction code of the corresponding line of debug data; and

comparing the determined error correction code and the received error correction code.

14. The method according to claim 8, wherein the framed stream of debug data is received in real time across the one or more data lanes of the video link.

15. A video device comprising:

a circuit configured to obtain a stream of debug data in response to a test operation;

a debug data encoder configured to frame a stream of debug data independent of establishing a video blanking period; and

a multi-stream transmitter configured to transmit the framed stream of debug data across one or more data lanes of a video link.

16. The video device according to claim 15, further including:

a video source configured to generate a stream of video data related to the test operation; and

wherein the multi-stream transmitter is configured to receive the stream of video data, frame the stream of video data to establish a video blanking period, and transmit the framed stream of debug data concurrently with the framed stream of video data across the one or more data lanes of the video link.

17. The video device according to claim 16, wherein the framed stream of debug data and the framed stream of video data are transmitted on a common data lane of the video link.

18. The video device according to claim 15, wherein the debug data encoder is configured to frame the stream of debug data by:

receiving the obtained stream of debug data into a debug buffer;

inserting a blank start frame into the stream of debug data at a predefined interval; and

inserting a fill start frame to occupy each empty frame between a blank start frame and the stream of debug data.

19. The video device according to claim 18, wherein the debug data encoder is further configured to frame the stream of debug data by:

generating error correction code based on a line of debug data between an adjacent pair of blank start frames; and

inserting an error correction frame with the generated error correction code into the stream of debug data before the blank start frame of the corresponding line.

20. The video device according to claim 15, wherein the multi-stream transmitter is configured to transmit the framed debug data by:

receiving a stream of video data related to the test operation;

framing the received stream of video data to establish a video blanking period; and

encoding the framed stream of debug data with the framed stream of video data for multi-stream transport across a common data lane of the video link.

21. The video device according to claim 15, wherein the debug data encoder is configured to frame the stream of debug data and the multi-stream transmitter is configured to transmit the framed stream of debug data in real time across the one or more data lanes of the video link.

22. A video device comprising:

a multi-stream receiver configured to receive a framed stream of debug data across one or more data lanes of a video link for operation between a video source device and a video sink device, the framed stream of debug being independent of an established video blanking period; and

a debug data decoder configured to decode the framed stream of debug data independent of the framing and supply the stream of debug data to a debug data sink device.

23. The video device according to claim 22, wherein the multi-stream receiver is further configured to receive a framed stream of video data and the framed stream of debug data concurrently across the one or more data lanes of the video link, decode the framed stream of video data according to an established video blanking period, and supply the decoded stream of video data to a video sink device.

24. The video device according to claim 23, wherein the framed stream of debug data and the framed stream of video data are received on a common data lane of the video link.

25. The video device according to claim 22, wherein the debug data decoder is configured to decode the framed stream of debug data via:

removing any blank start frames from the stream of debug data; and

removing each fill start frame occupying each empty frame between a blank start frame and the stream of debug data.

26. The video device according to claim 22, wherein the multi-stream receiver is configured to decode the framed stream of debug data via:

decoding a multi-stream transport across a common data lane of the video link into a separate framed stream of debug data and a separate framed stream of video data;

decoding a framed stream of video data into a stream of video data according to an established video blanking period; and

supplying the decoded stream of video data to a video sink device and the framed stream of debug data to a debug data decoder.

27. The video device according to claim 26, wherein the debug data decoder is configured to decode the framed stream of debug data via:

receiving an error correction frame inserted into the stream of debug data before each inserted blank start frame, the error correction frame being associated with an error correction code generated based on a line of debug data between the corresponding blank start frame and a directly preceding blank start frame;

determining an error correction code of the corresponding line of debug data; and

comparing the determined error correction code and the received error correction code.

28. The video device according to claim 22, wherein the framed stream of debug data is received in real time across the one or more data lanes of the video link.