Method of operating a video decoding system

摘要

A system and method for decoding a digital video data stream. In one aspect, a plurality of hardware acceleration modules are used together with a core processor. The accelerators operate in a decoding pipeline wherein, in any given stage, each accelerator operates on a particular macroblock of video data. In the subsequent pipeline stage, each accelerator works on the next macroblock in the data stream, which was worked on by another one of the accelerators in the previous stage. The core processor polls all of the accelerators during each stage. When all accelerators finish their tasks for a given stage, the core processor initiates the next stage. In another aspect, two variable-length decoders are employed to simultaneously decode two macroblock rows of a video frame. Each variable-length decoder works to decode an assigned row and the rows are variable-length decoded in parallel. The variable-length decoders operate as part of a pipeline wherein the variable-length decoders alternate, stage-by-stage, decoding macroblocks.

主权项

1. A method of decoding an encoded digital data stream, comprising:
(a) executing a first stage comprising:
(i) performing a first decoding function on an nth data element of the data stream; and(ii) performing at least a portion of a second decoding function on an n+1st data element of the data stream within a time during which the first decoding function is performed on the nth data element; and (b) when the first function is completed with respect to the nth data element and the second function is completed with respect to the n+1st data element, executing a second stage comprising:
(i) performing the first decoding function on the n+1st data element; and(ii) performing at least a portion of the second decoding function on an n+2nd element in the data stream within a time during which the first decoding function is performed on the n+1st data element.