Color image pipeline

An image pipeline or video pipeline is the set of components commonly used between an image source (such as a camera, a scanner, or the rendering engine in a computer game), and an image renderer (such as a television set, a computer screen, a computer printer or cinema screen), or for performing any intermediate <a href="/facts/Digital_image_processing/zenalNCf">digital image processing</a> consisting of two or more separate processing blocks. An image/video pipeline may be implemented as computer <a href="/facts/Software/RP79lVSW">software</a>, in a <a href="/facts/Digital_signal_processor/YuBXweos">digital signal processor</a>, on an <a href="/facts/FPGA/M8LSGcAU">FPGA</a>, or as fixed-function <a href="/facts/Application-specific_integrated_circuit/YGUXpX50">ASIC</a>. In addition, <a href="/facts/Analog_circuits/Bnlnfwwv">analog circuits</a> can be used to do many of the same functions.
Typical components include <a href="/facts/Image_sensor/j3GNrRln">image sensor</a> corrections (including <a href="/facts/Debayering/sbtIMmN6">debayering</a> or applying a <a href="/facts/Bayer_filter/yC8UPoVU">Bayer filter</a>), <a href="/facts/Noise_reduction/9jrDQnAN">noise reduction</a>, <a href="/facts/Image_scaling/qNoeujzm">image scaling</a>, <a href="/facts/Gamma_correction/cApBLTYj">gamma correction</a>, image enhancement, <a href="/facts/Colorspace/zFvEyfHv">colorspace</a> conversion (between formats such as <a href="/facts/RGB/3Be0zwCj">RGB</a>, <a href="/facts/YUV/w8hA6xnh">YUV</a> or <a href="/facts/YCbCr/gfQaSqUA">YCbCr</a>), <a href="/facts/Chroma_subsampling/8UYHAKI2">chroma subsampling</a>, <a href="/facts/Framerate/sbRkc9xa">framerate</a> conversion, <a href="/facts/Image_compression/q9bfesUr">image compression</a>/<a href="/facts/Video_compression/gMFuY4FT">video compression</a> (such as <a href="/facts/JPEG/HQ8QS3uB">JPEG</a>), and <a href="/facts/Computer_data_storage/wPHKFpdx">computer data storage</a>/<a href="/facts/Data_transmission/1yAhaANd">data transmission</a>.
Typical goals of an imaging pipeline may be perceptually pleasing end-results, <a href="/facts/Colorimetric/CuchJjFL">colorimetric</a> precision, a high degree of flexibility, low cost/low CPU utilization/long battery life, or reduction in <a href="/facts/Bandwidth_(computing)/lY6Tb4gX">bandwidth</a>/<a href="/facts/File_size/nd3d84MN">file size</a>.
Some functions may be algorithmically linear. Mathematically, those elements can be connected in any order without changing the end-result. As digital computers use a finite approximation to numerical computing, this is in practice not true. Other elements may be non-linear or time-variant. For both cases, there is often one or a few sequences of components that makes sense for optimum precision and minimum hardware-cost/CPU-load.

Color image pipeline open-in-new

Color image pipeline