Method and apparatus for rendering an object using texture variant information

A method for generating rendering elements, the method comprises the steps of:

• a) encoding at least one of a plurality of texture parameters to obtain a texture map;
• b) encoding each uniform portion of the texture map into a corresponding texture variant to produce a plurality of texture variants;
• c) selecting at least one of the plurality of texture variants based on texture coordinates of an object to be rendered to produce at least one selected texture variant;
• and
• d) processing the at least one selected texture variant and an object invariant parameter to produce the rendering elements.

A video processor comprises:

• an object invariant module operably coupled to the set-up module, wherein the object invariant module generates at least one object invariant parameter based on at least one object parameter;
• rendering element module operably coupled to the object invariant module, wherein the rendering element module computes a plurality of rendering elements based on the at least one object invariant parameter, texture coordinates of the object, and texture variant information;
• and
• a rendering module operably coupled to the rendering element module and the set-up module, wherein the rendering module renders the object, on a pixel by pixel basis, based on the plurality of rendering elements and coordinates of pixels of the object.

A video processor comprises:

• a processing module;
• and
• memory operably coupled to the processing module, wherein the memory stores programming instructions that, when read by the processing module, cause the processing module to:
• (a) determine at least one object invariant parameter based on at least one object parameter;
• (b) compute a plurality of rendering elements based on the at least one object invariant parameter, texture coordinates of the object, and texture variant information;
• and (c) render the object, on a pixel by pixel basis, based on the plurality of rendering elements and coordinates of pixels of the object.

A video processor comprises:

• a processing module;
• and
• memory operably coupled to the processing module, wherein the memory stores programming instructions that, when read by the processing module, cause the processing module to:
• (a) encode at least one of a plurality of texture parameters to obtain a texture map;
• (b) encode each uniform portion of the texture map into a corresponding texture variant to produce a plurality of texture variants;
• (c) select at least one of the plurality of texture variants based on texture coordinates of an object to be rendered to produce at least one selected texture variant;
• and (d) process the at least one selected texture variant and an object invariant parameter to produce the rendering elements.