Method and apparatus for data preview

A method for displaying information on an oscilloscope, comprising the steps of:

• acquiring an input data stream;
• generating a version of the acquired input data to be displayed on a display of the oscilloscope in accordance with one or more display parameters;
• storing the version of the acquired input data generated in accordance with the one or more display parameters to a first waveform trace buffer;
• storing the to be displayed generated version of the acquired input data from the first waveform trace buffer to a display buffer;
• displaying the generated version of the received acquired data;
• receiving a requested change in one or more display parameters;
• implementing the requested change of the one or more display parameters on the data stored in the display buffer;
• displaying the changed data in the display buffer;
• processing further received input data in accordance with the requested change in the one or more display parameters;
• storing the further received and processed input data to a second waveform trace buffer;
• and
• updating the display buffer with the processed further received input data.

An oscilloscope for acquiring an input data stream, processing the input data stream, and displaying a version of the processed data stream on a display, the oscilloscope further comprising:

• an acquisition element for acquiring an input data stream;
• a waveform data producer for generating a version of the acquired input data to be displayed on a display of the oscilloscope in accordance with one or more display parameters;
• a first waveform trace buffer for storing a portion of the generated version of the acquired input data stream;
• a second waveform trace buffer for storing a portion of the acquired input data stream;
• a display buffer for storing the to be displayed version of the acquired input data;
• a display for displaying the generated version of the received acquired data in accordance with the display buffer;
• and
• a processor for receiving a requested change in one or more display parameters, implementing the requested change of the one or more display parameters on the data stored in the display buffer, processing the further received input data in accordance with the requested change in the one or more display parameters, and storing the processed further received input data to the second waveform trace buffer;
• and
• wherein the display is first updated with the updated data stored in the display buffer, and the display is later updated in accordance with the processed further received input data stored in the second waveform trace buffer.