Time-synchronized graphics composition in a 2.5-dimensional user interface environment

摘要

Software interfaces are configured to enable functionality that is commonly implemented in special-purpose hardware for mixing AV content into a set of 2.5-D graphics planes to be exposed to high level processes executing in a computing environment in a fully portable manner. Illustratively, the interfaces include a planar mixer (named “IPlanarMixer”) that abstracts the mixing hardware, and a graphics plane interface (named “IPlane”) that abstracts individual instances of planes that are retrieved from, and handed off to the planar mixer as the 2.5-D graphics planes are built up and rendered in a computing environment to support interactive graphic experiences for a user.

主权项

1. A computer-implemented method for supporting interactive graphics composition in a rendering environment, operating as one or more processes or sub-processes programmed for execution on a computing platform, the method comprising the steps of:
allocating memory in which a graphics plane may be rendered, as a first process or sub-process performed by a mixing interface that exposes a method for supporting an interactive graphics composition process in a rendering environment, the graphics plane being rendered as a component of a 2.5-D stack and the mixing interface providing an abstraction of a hardware layer including mixing hardware operating on the device to the interactive graphics composition process; receiving an abstraction of the graphics plane at the mixing interface as a second process or sub-process performed by the mixing interface, the abstracted graphics plane being implemented by a graphics plane interface using a series of back buffers, each back buffer having an associated time stamp, representing a finished graphics frame generated by a hardware layer operating on the device into which interactive content is rendered; and applying business rules, as a third process or sub-process performed by the mixing interface, and using the associated time stamps, to compose the finished graphics frame into the 2.5-D stack in a time-synchronous manner.