Patent ID: 6909836

Claim:
Apparatus for processing image data comprising storage means for storing image processing instructions, memory means for storing said image processing instructions during their execution and image data in the form of scene data for one or a plurality of animated scenes, and processing means; said image processing instructions include player instructions for generating graphics requests to render an animated scene, and said processing means is configurable by said image processing instructions to instantiate a plurality of players, each of which comprises player data and at least one pointer to said player instructions, such that each player may operate asynchronously; said processing means is configurable by said player instructions such that graphics requests are generated by each said player in response to the scene data associated with each respective player; and said image processing instructions include scheduling instructions such that said processing means is configurable to supply graphics requests generated by said players to a graphics rendering process; wherein said scheduling instructions include steps of: (a) identifying existing conditions of said graphics rendering process; (b) comparing required conditions of graphics requests from a plurality of said players with said existing conditions; and (c) scheduling a preferred graphics request in response to comparisons performed at step (b).