System and method for transferring transparency information in a video environment

• US 8,786,631 B1
• Filed: 04/30/2011
• Issued: 07/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Collins, Eddie
• Primary Examiner(s): Tung, Kee M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wilson, Nicholas R
• Application Number:
  US13/098,430
• Time in Patent Office: 1,179 Days
• US Class Current: 345/629
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/10 Mixing of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of an operation, e.g. adding, on the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/12 Use of DVI or HDMI protocol in interfaces along the display data pipeline
• 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 5/393 Arrangements for updating the contents of the bit-mapped memory
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/395 Arrangements specially adapted for transferring the contents of the bit-mapped memory to the screen G09G5/399 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/75 Chroma key

Abstract

A method is provided in one example and includes receiving overlay data at a dual frame buffer module, which interacts with a video data buffer and an alpha data buffer. The method can also include storing the overlay data as a first video data in the video data buffer if an indicator is not present in the overlay data; and storing the overlay data as a second video data in the alpha data buffer if the indicator is present. In more specific implementations, the indicator is a pixel in a non-viewable area of the overlay data.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving overlay data at a dual frame buffer module, which interacts with a video data buffer and an alpha data buffer;

storing the overlay data as a first video data in the video data buffer if an indicator in the overlay data is not present in the overlay data;

storing the overlay data as a second video data in the alpha data buffer if the indicator is present, wherein the second video data includes a plane of alpha values; and

combining last written data in the video data buffer with last written data in the alpha data buffer to create a video output that contains transparency information, wherein the last written data in the alpha data buffer was stored prior to the last written data in the video data buffer being stored.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicator is a pixel in a non-viewable area of the overlay data.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the indicator is identified as present if the pixel in the non-viewable area of the overlay data is a selected one of a group of elements, the group consisting of:

a) black;

b) red;

c) green; and

d) blue.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicator is identified as present if pixel 0,0 of the overlay data is black and the indicator is not present if pixel 0,0 of the overlay data is not all black.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving third video data at a mixer;

receiving the first video data at the mixer;

receiving the second video data at the mixer; and

combining the first video data, the second video data, and the third to produce a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) output, wherein the first video data and the second video data are combined such that a pixel transparency value in the second video data is applied to each corresponding pixel in the first video data.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

combining the first video data with the second video data, wherein combining the first video data and the second video data includes combining Y, Cb, and Cr components of pixels in the first video data with the plane of alpha values in the second video data to produce a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) output.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the overlay data is received using a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI).

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the last written data in the video data buffer allows an output video frame to be inconsistent such that if a new video frame is not stored, then the last written data in the video data buffer is read out.

9. Logic encoded in non-transitory media that includes code for execution and when executed by a processor operable to perform operations comprising:

receiving overlay data at a dual frame buffer module, which interacts with a video data buffer and an alpha data buffer, wherein the dual frame buffer module includes buffers, which have two or more ranks provisioned therein;

storing the overlay data as a first video data in the video data buffer if an indicator in the overlay data is not present in the overlay data;

storing the overlay data as a second video data in the alpha data buffer if the indicator is present, wherein the second video data includes a plane of alpha values; and

combining last written data in the first video data buffer with last written data in the alpha data buffer to create a video output that contains transparency information, wherein the last written data in the alpha data buffer was stored prior to the last written data in the video data buffer being stored.

10. The logic of claim 9, wherein the indicator is a pixel in a non-viewable area of the overlay data.

11. The logic of claim 10, wherein the indicator is identified as present if the pixel in the non-viewable area of the overlay data is a selected one of a group of elements, the group consisting of:

a) black;

b) red;

c) green; and

d) blue.

12. The logic of claim 9, wherein the indicator is identified as present if pixel 0,0 of the overlay data is black and the indicator is not present if pixel 0,0 of the overlay data is not all black.

13. The logic of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving third video data at a mixer;

receiving the first video data at the mixer;

receiving the second video data at the mixer; and

combining the first video data, the second video data, and the third to produce a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) output, wherein the first video data and the second video data are combined such that a pixel transparency value in the second video data is applied to each corresponding pixel in the first video data.

14. The logic of claim 13, wherein the indicator is identified as present if pixel 0,0 of the overlay data is black and the indicator is not present if pixel 0,0 of the overlay data is not all black.

15. An apparatus, comprising:

a memory element configured to store electronic code;

a processor operable to execute instructions associated with the electronic code; and

a mixing module configured to interface with the processor such that the apparatus is configured for;

receiving overlay data at a dual frame buffer module, which interacts with a video data buffer and an alpha data buffer, wherein the dual frame buffer module includes buffers, which have two or more ranks provisioned therein;

storing the overlay data as a first video data in the video data buffer if an indicator in the overlay data is not present in the overlay data;

storing the overlay data as a second video data in the alpha data buffer if the indicator is present, wherein the second video data includes a plane of alpha values; and

combining last written data in the video data buffer with last written data in the alpha data buffer to create a video output that contains transparency information, wherein the last written data in the alpha data buffer was stored prior to the last written data in the video data buffer being stored.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the indicator is a pixel in a non-viewable area of the overlay data.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the indicator is identified as present if the pixel in the non-viewable area of the overlay data is a selected one of a group of elements, the group consisting of:

a) black;

b) red;

c) green; and

d) blue.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving third video data at a mixer;

receiving the first video data at the mixer;

receiving the second video data at the mixer; and

combining the first video data, the second video data, and the third to produce a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) output, wherein the first video data and the second video data are combined such that a pixel transparency value in the second video data is applied to each corresponding pixel in the first video data.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

combining the first video data with the second video data, wherein combining the first video data and the second video data includes combining Y, Cb, and Cr components of pixels in the first video data with the plane of alpha values in the second video data to produce a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) output.