Embedded Block Coding in JPEG 2000

This paper describes the embedded block coding algorithm at the heart of the JPEG2000 image compression standard. The algorithm achieves excellent compression performance, usually somewhat higher than that of SPIHT with arithmetic coding, but in some cases substantially higher. The algorithm utilizes the same low complexity binary arithmetic coding engine as JBIG2. Together with careful design of the bit-plane coding primitives, this enables comparable execution speed to that observed with the simpler variant of SPIHT without arithmetic coding. The coder offers additional advantages including memory locality, spatial random access and ease of geometric manipulation.