Image processor i/o unit

An image processor, comprising:

• an I/O unit comprising:
• a storage circuit configured to store segments of input image data received in a raster scan format, the storage circuit comprising multiple buffers, and
• a reformatting circuit configured to convert the segments of input image data stored in one or more of the multiple buffers into a block image format,
• wherein upon a block of image data becoming available in a particular buffer of the multiple buffers, the I/O unit is configured to forward segments of image data in the particular buffer in column ordering while filling a row of segments in the particular buffer in row ordering,
• a processor comprising a two-dimensional execution lane array and a two-dimensional shift-register array, wherein the two-dimensional shift-register array is configured to store the input image data that has been formatted into the block image format, and wherein the execution lane array is configured to execute instructions that operate on the image data from the two-dimensional shift-register array.