Computer system and method having a dedicated multimedia engine and including separate command and data paths
US5692211A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 11, 1995 |
| Grant date | Nov 25, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 11, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F13/4027
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention comprises a computer system and method optimized for real-time applications which provides increased performance over current computer architectures. The system includes a dedicated multimedia engine and dedicated multimedia memory coupled directly to the main memory. The computer system includes a data path to the main memory and the multimedia memory, and includes a separate command path to the multimedia engine. In one embodiment, the CPU includes a separate command path through the chipset logic to the multimedia engine. In an alternate embodiment, the CPU includes a separate command path to the multimedia engine through the PCI bus. In this alternate embodiment, the multimedia engine includes a PCI interface which couples to the PCI bus. The multimedia engine executes commands and data from the multimedia memory to perform a number of real-time operations, including audio and video functions, as well as others. Thus the computer system of the present invention provides greater performance for real-time applications than prior systems.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.