Chapter 2

Overview of graphics
system
Basic Graphics System
Refresh Cathode-Ray Tube

Phosphor-
Vertical
Coated
Deflection
Focusing Screen
Plates
System

Electron
Horizontal Bean
Electron
Deflection
Gun
Plates
Refresh Cathode-Ray Tube
o Focusing system
o Electrostatic focusing
o Positively charged metal cylinder
o Deflection of electron beam
o Persistence
o How long phosphors continue to emit light
o Low persistence is useful for animation
o Resolution
o Number of points per centimeter can be
plotted horizontally and vertically
Refresh Cathode-Ray Tube
o Intensity distribution of a phosphor spot
oAdjacent spots appear distinct: 60%
o Spot size also depends on intensity
o Deflection of electron beam
o Resolution of a CRT depends
o Type of phosphor
o Intensity to be displayed
o Focusing and deflection system
o Aspect ratio
o The ratio of vertical points to horizontal points
necessary to produce equal-length lines
Video Display Devices

o Raster-scan displays
o Random-scan displays
o Color CRT Monitors
o Direct-view storage tubes
o Flat-panel displays
o Three-dimensional viewing devices
o Stereoscopic and virtual-reality systems
Raster-Scan Display

The electron beam is swept

across the screen, one row at
a time from top to bottom
 Raster-Scan Display
o Frame buffer (refresh buffer)
Picture definition is stored in the memory area
o Pixel Picture each screen point is referred as pixel or pel
o Scan line
o Pixmap (bitmap) Picture for black-and-white system
with one bit per pixel, the frame buffer is called a bitmap.
For systems with multiple bits per pixel the frame buffer is
called a pixmap
o Refreshing (60 - 80 frames/sec)
o Horizontal retrace
o Vertical retrace
o Interlacing each frame is displayed in two pass
o Scan conversion
Interlaced
refresh
Random-Scan Display

A CRT has the electron beam

directed only to the parts of
the screen where the picture
is to be drawn
draw a picture one line.
Random-Scan Display
o Random-scan (vector, stroke-writing,
calligraphic) displays
o Draw a picture one line at a time
o Refresh rate
o Depends on the number of lines to be displayed
o Picture definition
o A set of line-drawing commands
o Refresh display file
o Designed for line drawing applications
o Can not display realistic shaded scenes
 Color CRT Monitors

o Beam-penetration method
o Used with random-scan monitors
o Two layers of phosphor: red and green
o The displayed color depends on how far the electron beam
penetrates into the phosphor layers.
o Only four colors are possible: red, green, orange, and
yellow.
Color CRT Monitors
o Shadow-mask method
o Three phosphor color dots at each pixel position
o Three electron guns
o Color variations: Varying the intensity levels of the three
electron beams
o Full-color (true-color) system: 24 bits of storage per pixel
Direct-View Storage Tubes
o Store the picture information inside the CRT
o A charge distribution just behind the phosphor-coated
screen
o Two electron guns: primary gun and flood gun

o Advantage
o Very complex pictures can be displayed at very high
resolutions
o Disadvantages
o Do not display color
o Selected parts of a picture cannot be erased
Flat-Panel Displays
o Video devices have reduced
o volume,
o weight, and
o power requirements
o compared to a CRT.
o A significant feature - thinner than CRT
o Classified into two categories:
o Emissive displays
o Nonemissive displays
Three-Dimensional Viewing Devices

o Three-dimensional display system

o Reflects a CRT image from a vibrating, varifocal mirror.
o The mirror changes focal length to match the depth of
points in a scene.
o Genisco SpaceGraph System
o Project objects into a 25X25 X25 cm3 volume
o Applications
o Medical
o Geological
o Molecules
Stereoscopic and Virtual-Reality
Systems
o Stereoscopic view
o Present a different view to each eye of an
observer
o Need to obtain two views (left and right) of
a scene
o Shutter glasses
o Infrared synchronizing emitter
o Head-mounted displays
o Two LCD displays
o Tracking devices
o Earphone
Raster-Scan Systems
Architecture of a simple raster graphics system

System Video Monitor

CPU Memory Controller

System Bus

I/O Devices
Raster-Scan Systems
A fixed area of system reserved for frame buffer

System Frame Video Monitor

CPU Memory buffer Controller

System Bus

I/O Devices
Video Controller
o Coordinate system
o Frame-buffer locations are referenced in
Cartesian coordinates.
o Coordinate origin
o Lower left screen corner
o Upper left screen corner
o Refresh operations of video controller
o Top-to-bottom, left-to right
o x register ( initial value = 0)
o y register (initial value = ymax)
Video Controller

Horizontal and
Vertical Deflection
Raster-scan Generator
Voltages

X Y
Register Register

Pixel Intensity
Memory Address Register

Frame Buffer
Raster-Scan Display Processor

o Display processor (graphics controller,

display coprocessor)
o To free the CPU from the graphics chores
o Digitize a picture definition into a set of pixel-
intensity values
o Scan conversion: The digitization process is
called.
o Straight-line segments
o Curved lines and polygon outlines
o Characters
Raster-Scan Display Processor

Display Processor Frame Video Monitor

Memory buffer Controller

Display System
CPU Processor Memory

System Bus

I/O Devices
Raster-Scan Display Processor

o Display processor functions

o Generating various line styles
o Displaying color areas
o Performing certain transformations
o Manipulations on display objects
o Run-length encoding
o Reduce memory requirements
o Organizing the frame buffer as a linked list
o Store a scan line as a set of integer pairs
o An intensity value
o The number of adjacent pixels with the same intensity
Random-Scan Systems
Graphics commands are translated into a display file stored in the system memory

System Display Monitor

CPU Memory Processor

System Bus

I/O Devices
Advanced 3D Graphics Architecture
Object Geometric
Geometric
Object Transformation
Database
Database Transformation
Engine
Engine

Clipping
Clipping
perspective
perspective
scaling
scaling
Video
Video
Controler
Controler
Lighting
Lighting
Model
Model
Calculator
Calculator

Shading
Shading Frame
Rasterizer
Rasterizer buffer
Input/Output Devices
o Input Devices
o Keyboards
o Mouse/3D mouse
o Digitizer
o Trackball and Spaceball
o Joysticks
o Image scanner
o Data Glove
o Touch panels
o Light pens
o Output Devices
o Color graphics
display/Head mounted
display
o Photo-realistic color printer
o Film recorder
o Video output (Video tape,
LD recorder)
o Pen plotter
Graphics Software
o Classification
o General programming package
o Special-purpose applications package
o Standards Independent of any language
o GKS - Graphics Kernel System (ISO)
o PHIGS - Programmer’s Hierarchical Interactive Graphics
Standard (extension of GKS) PHIGS+
o Language Binding defined for particular programming
language
o OpenGL SGI (Silicon Graphics Inc.)
o Direct 3D Microsoft o VR Packages
o Animation Packages o Division
o ALIAS/WAVEFRONT (SGI) o Sense 8
o VRML
o 3D Studio Max
o Maya
Graphics Process: Overview
3DGeometric
3D Geometric
Models
Models

3Danimation
animation ImageStorage
Image Storage
3D
definition
rendering
rendering andDisplay
and Display
definition

Texture
Texture
Information
Information
Graphics Process: Geometric
Modeling

3D Scanning

Interactive 3D
3D
Geometric Geometric
Geometric rendering
rendering
Modeling Models
Models

Model
Libraries
Graphics Process: 3D Animation

Model design

Motion 3D
Computation 3D
Animation
Animation rendering
rendering
Definition
Definition
Motion
Capture

Dynamic
Deformations
Graphics Process:Texturing

Scanned
Images

Computed Texture
Texture
Information rendering
rendering
Images Information

Painted
Images
Graphics Process: Rendering

3DGeometric
3D Geometric
Models
Models
rendering

Transformation ImageStorage
Image Storage
Image andDisplay
Display
Clipping and
3Danimation
animation Generation
3D Perspective
definition
definition

Texture
Texture
Information
Information
Graphics Process: Image Storage
and Display
Coordinate Representations

o Modeling coordinates: (xmc, ymc, zmc)

o Any floating-point values
o World coordinates: (xwc, ywc, zwc)
o Any floating-point values
o Normalized coordinates: (xnc, ync, znc)
o 0 < xnc < 1, 0 < ync < 1, 0 < znc < 1
o Device coordinates: (xdc, ydc)
o Integers within the range (0,0) to (xmax, ymax)
Coordinate Representations

Modeling World Normalized

Coordinates Coordinates Coordinates