| Metric | Traditional Copy Method | Registered Frame Buffer8 New | |--------|------------------------|------------------------------| | CPU Usage (per frame) | ~5-8% (memcpy heavy) | ~1-2% (signaling only) | | GPU Upload Bandwidth | 100% of frame data | 0% (write-combined directly) | | Frame Latency | 2-3 frames behind | <1 frame behind | | Memory Usage | System + GPU memory | GPU memory only |
Instead of letting Bink allocate memory, you create a texture in your graphics API (e.g., OpenGL, DirectX 11/12, Vulkan). For an 8-bit frame buffer:
RAD Game Tools designed this API specifically to bridge the gap between video decoding and GPU rendering. The New variant future-proofs your engine for dynamic resolution changes and modern asset pipelines. By registering an 8-bit frame buffer directly, you tell Bink: "Skip the middleman. Write straight to video memory."
HBINK bink = BinkOpen("cutscene.bik", BINK_CPU_DECODE); if (!bink) // Error handling
