The present invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for image compression and particularly to an improved block coding apparatus and method for compression for use with the JPEG2000 standard, although not limited to this. Methods for coding and decoding blocks and subbands samples derived from still images video frames or related media, involving three bit-streams and the partitioning of samples from the blocking to define groups, is provided. A first bit-stream encodes the significance of whole groups. A second bit-stream encodes the significance of individual samples within each group. The second bit-stream also encodes an unsigned residual value for each significant group. A third bit stream provides a sign bit and any additional magnitude bits required to represent the significant sample values. Exponent predictors are computal using both exponent bounds and the additional magnitude bits associated with previous samples in the block.

The present invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for image compression and particularly to an improved block coding apparatus and method for compression for use with the JPEG2000 standard, although not limited to this. Methods for coding and decoding blocks and subbands samples derived from still images video frames or related media, involving three bit-streams and the partitioning of samples from the blocking to define groups, is provided. A first bit-stream encodes the significance of whole groups. A second bit-stream encodes the significance of individual samples within each group. The second bit-stream also encodes an unsigned residual value for each significant group. A third bit stream provides a sign bit and any additional magnitude bits required to represent the significant sample values. Exponent predictors are computal using both exponent bounds and the additional magnitude bits associated with previous samples in the block.

Block-based, low latency rate control for an encoding system in which a wavelet transform decomposes pixel blocks into subbands stored as subbands in wavelet blocks (WBs) for encoding. Quantization parameters (QPs) for the subbands in each WB are estimated using a method that minimizes wavelet-inverse distortion given a rate bound. For each subband, a rate curve is generated based on an unquantized DCT histogram and bit count statistics for the subband, and a distortion curve is generated based on the unquantized DCT histogram and a distortion estimate for the subband that is estimated using a masked estimator. Once the rate-distortion curves for the subbands are generated, a bisection search may be used to find a point on each curve where the slope is the same for all the curves. The QPs associated with those equally sloped points are the global minimizing QPs for the wavelet block.

A method for processing information from an IR detector of an IR camera, for an embodiment, comprises receiving a series of frames of data from said IR detector being operable to detect IR radiation from a scene, said frames of IR data representing detected IR radiation; performing a compression of said frames of IR data; wherein each data value together with calibration data uniquely represents measured IR radiation from the scene.

A method for processing information from an IR detector of an IR camera, for an embodiment, comprises receiving a series of frames of data from said IR detector being operable to detect IR radiation from a scene, said frames of IR data representing detected IR radiation; performing a compression of said frames of IR data; wherein each data value together with calibration data uniquely represents measured IR radiation from the scene.

Described embodiments provide for recovering an error, which has occurred in video contents, by using hidden data. A video content providing server generates video contents, into which information for video error recovery is inserted. The server includes: a block segmentation unit that segments an original image into at least one block having a pre-set size; a block description information (BDI) generation unit that generates block description information (BDI) for each of the at least one block, each BDI including information necessary to recover each of the segmented blocks; a BDI insertion unit that inserts each of the generated BDI into a block that is different from a block to be recovered by using the generated BDI; and a provisional video generation unit that generates provision video contents by combining at least one block, into which the BDI has been inserted.

Described embodiments provide for recovering an error, which has occurred in video contents, by using hidden data. A video content providing server generates video contents, into which information for video error recovery is inserted. The server includes: a block segmentation unit that segments an original image into at least one block having a pre-set size; a block description information (BDI) generation unit that generates block description information (BDI) for each of the at least one block, each BDI including information necessary to recover each of the segmented blocks; a BDI insertion unit that inserts each of the generated BDI into a block that is different from a block to be recovered by using the generated BDI; and a provisional video generation unit that generates provision video contents by combining at least one block, into which the BDI has been inserted.

The invention provides an image encoding apparatus operable to encode data obtained by an image capturing sensor in which a filter for detecting a fourth color is periodically arranged in addition to filters of three primary colors, where the apparatus comprises a generating unit configured to generate data that approximates the fourth color using data of at least two colors among three colors, which represent three primary colors, obtained by the image capturing sensor and generate difference data that represents a difference between the generated data and data of the fourth color; and an encoding unit configured to encode data of the three colors which represent three primary colors and the difference data.

A method of representing image data comprising a spatial pyramid data structure of order L, said method comprising: providing an initial representation of said image data, said representation comprising a set of lattices of level 0; connecting each said lattices of level 0 to said image data; performing L reduction steps each comprising: for each one of at least one current lattice of the current level, optionally blurring said current lattice; providing a plurality of down sampled sub-lattices of said current optionally blurred lattice, said at least one current lattice being the parent lattice of said respective plurality of down sampled sub-lattices; and connecting said plurality of down sampled sub-lattices to said respective parent lattice, wherein said plurality of down sampled sub-lattices of the current level, comprise the set of current lattices for the next level.

A method for compressing display data is disclosed. The method comprises performing a wavelet transformation to obtain a general approximation coefficient and a plurality of detail coefficients for a group of pixels; determining whether to prioritise transmission of the general approximation coefficient over transmission of the detail coefficients based on whether there are sufficient resources available to enable a corresponding image frame to be ready for display and/or based on a time since the detail coefficients for a corresponding group of pixels were previously transmitted. If it is determined that transmission of the general approximation coefficient is to be prioritised over transmission of the detail coefficients, the method comprises either: transmitting only the general approximation coefficient, or compressing at least one detail coefficient so as to be more compressed than the general approximation coefficient and transmitting the general approximation coefficient and the at least one compressed detail coefficient.