Patent attributes
A block processing pipeline that includes a software pipeline and a hardware pipeline that run in parallel. The software pipeline runs at least one block ahead of the hardware pipeline. The stages of the pipeline may each include a hardware pipeline component that performs one or more operations on a current block at the stage. At least one stage of the pipeline may also include a software pipeline component that determines a configuration for the hardware component at the stage of the pipeline for processing a next block while the hardware component is processing the current block. The software pipeline component may determine the configuration according to information related to the next block obtained from an upstream stage of the pipeline. The software pipeline component may also obtain and use information related to a block that was previously processed at the stage.
