System And Method of Processing Images into Sub-Image Portions for Output to A Plurality of Displays Such as a Network Video Wall

摘要

A system is disclosed for improving the flexibility and performance of video walls including a method for using a primary GPU for initial rendering to a GPU frame buffer, copying of this frame buffer to system memory for processing into multiple sub-frames then outputting the sub-frames via multiple secondary graphics controllers. This system enables the video wall server to leverage performance advantages afforded by GPU acceleration and maintaining performance while providing full flexibility of the CPU and system memory to apply the required transformations to the sub-images as well as flexibility in the selection of secondary graphics controllers (including network graphics approaches where the graphics controller is connected over a network) for outputting the multiple sub-images to a plurality of displays. This has applications generally in the field of real-time multiple display graphics processing as well as specific applications in the field of video walls and network video walls. A method and computer readable medium are also disclosed that operate in accordance with the system.

主权项

1. A system of processing real-time graphics by at least one video-server for synchronized output to a plurality of displays, the system comprising:
at least one graphical application being configured to render, via at least one primary GPU, its graphical source image data at a designated resolution to a GPU frame-buffer residing in GPU memory; a stored mapping of display placements from which sub-image portions of the graphical source image, corresponding to individual ones can be derived; a copying module being configured to read image data from the GPU frame-buffer residing in GPU memory and write it as a working-copy frame-buffer to system memory; an image processing module being configured to read and process image data from the working-copy frame-buffer into corresponding sub-image portions derived from the stored mapping; an output module being configured to transfer said sub-image portions for output to corresponding ones of said plurality of displays via a plurality of secondary graphics adapters.