Embedded image compression based on wavelet pixel classification and sorting

The method of modeling and ordering in wavelet domain is very important to design a successful algorithm of embedded image compression. In this paper, the modeling is limited to "pixel classification," the relationship between wavelet pixels in significance coding. Similarly, the ordering is limited to "pixel sorting," the coding order of wavelet pixels. We use pixel classification and sorting to provide a better understanding of previous works. The image pixels in wavelet domain are classified and sorted, either explicitly or implicitly, for embedded image compression. A new embedded image code is proposed based on a novel pixel classification and sorting (PCAS) scheme in wavelet domain. In PCAS, pixels to be coded are classified into several quantized contexts based on a large context template and sorted based on their estimated significance probabilities. The purpose of pixel classification is to exploit the intraband correlation in wavelet domain. Pixel sorting employs several fractional bit-plane coding passes to improve the rate-distortion performance. The proposed pixel classification and sorting technique is simple, yet effective, producing an embedded image code with excellent compression performance. In addition, our algorithm is able to provide either spatial or quality scalability with flexible complexity.