Method and apparatus for controlling spatial resolution in a computer system
A computer implemented method of producing output pixels for display in a graphics system, in which the steps include performing rendering operations on one or more pixels, wherein the rendering operations includes the steps of using a POI analyzer to determine one or more of: (a) whether a pixel is a POI or a pixel not of interest (PNOI); (b) selecting different resolutions for a POI and for a PNOI.
1. A computer implemented method of producing output pixels for display in a graphics system, the steps comprising: performing rendering operations on one or more pixels, the rendering including the steps of using a Pixel of Interest (POI) Analyzer to determine:
(a) whether a pixel is a POI or a pixel not of interest (PNOI);
(b) selecting different resolutions for the POI and for the PNOI;
wherein the POI Analyzer is one of fixed or programmable;
wherein, if the POI Analyzer is fixed, one or more parameters from a list of parameters is invoked; and
if the POI Analyzer is programmable, a pixelresolutionshader is invoked.
2. The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the method is performed using a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program causing a graphics processor unit in the graphics system to execute the steps recited in claim 1 .
3. The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the method is performed using dedicated computer hardware units.
4. The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the steps are performed in a single pass.
5. The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the steps are performed in more than one pass.
6. A computer implemented method of producing output pixels for display in a graphics system, the steps comprising: performing rendering operations on one or more pixels, the rendering including the steps of using a Pixel of Interest (POI) Analyzer to determine:
(a) whether a pixel is a POI or a pixel not of interest (PNOI);
(b) selecting different resolutions for the POI and for the PNOI;
further comprising performing a stretcher-remapping step after rendering is completed; and
wherein the stretcher-remapping step is one of fixed or programmable.
7. The computer implemented method of claim 6 , wherein rendering is performed to a buffer in a desired final resolution prior to being displayed.