pctechguide.com

  • Home
  • Guides
  • Tutorials
  • Articles
  • Reviews
  • Glossary
  • Contact

Talisman

Unveiled at Siggraph 1996, Talisman was a Microsoft initiative to improve the quality, performance and integration of audio and video media technologies on the PC. Its eventual aim was a single PCI expansion board which integrated audio, video, 2D and 3D graphics and MPEG-2 decoding. Rather than being a refinement of existing technologies, the graphics element of Talisman was an attempt to define a new, fundamentally different architecture, which solved the problems of bandwidth limitations, low frame rates and high latency/low interaction which had previously held PC-based 3D graphics back.

Microsoft described it as the replacement of image synthesis with image processing, based on specialist DSPs. Instead of the usual graphics pipeline, with the images created from primitives, rasterised and sent to the frame buffer as a whole, the Talisman architecture created a series of separate image layers that could be rendered and manipulated independently. Instead of updating the entire image for each frame, each layer was capable of being updated as required, based on priorities set up by software. For example, hazy objects in the background of a 3D scene could be updated less regularly and less accurately than clearly visible objects in the foreground. Since not all image layers needed to be updated at any one time, a significant saving on processing time and bandwidth could be achieved. The rendering of objects into layers also allowed 3D transformations to be substituted for by 2D image operations, as long as there was not enough distortion to warrant a complete re-rendering.

Talisman also used a process called chunking, involving the breaking down of each image layer into 32×32 pixel regions called chunks. All the geometry in one chunk was rendered before proceeding onto the next. As the Z-buffer only had to deal with one chunk at a time, it needed only to be as large as a single chunk, and as a result it was small enough to be implemented directly on the chip. Chunking enabled a block-oriented image compression: once rendered and anti-aliased to remove jagged artefacts or pixelisation, each chunk could be compressed, saving further on resources.

Initially, Microsoft was supported by Samsung, Fujitsu and Cirrus Logic, all of whom pledged silicon to implement the technology. However, it was not long before Talisman found itself was overtaken by events. Intel boosted CPU and RAM speeds and announced the AGP bus, the chip vendors that had previously supported the project dropped out one by one, and the 3D graphics companies seized the initiative and started to do what they do best.

The result was that rendering philosophy was in fact defined by the likes of 3Dfx, and not by Microsoft’s somewhat myopic vision of the future. In the end the Talisman technology was licensed by 3D semiconductor company Trident Microsystems, and Microsoft subsequently migrated some of its simpler features to its DirectX technology.

  • How Do Computers Make Pictures?
  • Graphic Card Resolution
  • Graphic Card Colour Depth
  • Graphic Card Components
  • Graphic Card Memory
  • Graphic Card Driver Software
  • 3d Accelerated Graphic Cards
  • Graphic Card Geometry
  • 3D Rendering
  • FSAA Graphic Card Technology
  • Digital Graphic Cards
  • DVI Graphic Cards
  • HDCP Technology
  • Graphic Card HDMI Ports
  • Graphic Card Display Port
  • Unified Display Special Interest Group
  • DirectX
  • OpenGL technology
  • Direct3D
  • Talisman
  • Fahrenheit Graphic Cards
  • SLI Technology
  • CrossFire Graphic Cards

Filed Under: Graphics Cards

Latest Articles

11 alternatives to Movie Maker for editing videos in Windows 10

We bring you a short list with the top 11 alternatives to Movie Maker so you can edit your videos in Windows 10. Even today, we all remember with nostalgia the mythical Movie Maker, a simple editor that you can still install on Windows 10, although it has been years since it stopped receiving … [Read More...]

What Equipment Do You Need for Twitch and YouTube Streaming?

Streaming YouTube and Twitch video games is becoming more popular and the number of players continues to multiply. While Twitch is obviously still the strong leader in the industry, it is now possible to transition to other platforms that offer more or less interest. TWITCH Twitch is the … [Read More...]

Keep your Computer free from Viruses and More

Computer technology is advancing at a blistering pace, with each new year bringing stunning leaps and bounds over the previous year's already amazing software and hardware. But there is one problem that plagues computers no matter how advanced they are: Viruses. Viruses come in many forms, … [Read More...]

20 Cool Creative Commons Photographs About the Future of AI

AI technology is starting to have a huge impact on our lives. The market value for AI is estimated to have been worth $279.22 billion in 2024 and it … [Read More...]

13 Impressive Stats on the Future of AI

AI technology is starting to become much more important in our everyday lives. Many businesses are using it as well. While he has created a lot of … [Read More...]

Graphic Designers on Reddit Share their Views of AI

There are clearly a lot of positive things about AI. However, it is not a good thing for everyone. One of the things that many people are worried … [Read More...]

Redditors Talk About the Impact of AI on Freelance Writers

AI technology has had a huge impact on our lives. A 2023 survey by Pew Research found that 56% of people use AI at least once a day or once a week. … [Read More...]

11 Most Popular Books on Perl Programming

Perl is not the most popular programming language. It has only one million users, compared to 12 million that use Python. However, it has a lot of … [Read More...]

10 Exceptional Books on ChatGPT that Will Blow Your Mind

ChatGPT is a powerful new AI tool that is taking the world by storm. You are going to find a lot of amazing books that will teach you how to make the … [Read More...]

Guides

  • Computer Communications
  • Mobile Computing
  • PC Components
  • PC Data Storage
  • PC Input-Output
  • PC Multimedia
  • Processors (CPUs)

Recent Posts

University of Minnesota Report Highlights AI Advances in Facial Recognition

Big data is leading to massive changes in our daily lives. The University of Minnesota has published a study on the advances in facial recognition … [Read More...]

Why VoIP Is Better than Plain Old Telephone Systems

If you have been following the blog lately, you know we have been talking about VoIP a bit lately. We have talked about if you should cut your … [Read More...]

LP to CD Clean Up

Audacity includes many built-in effects and also lets you use plug-in effects. In general, the way these are applied is to simply select part or … [Read More...]

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2025 About | Privacy | Contact Information | Wrtie For Us | Disclaimer | Copyright License | Authors