A hybrid wavelet-based compression system

The recent trend in picture messaging via mobile devices is producing a new demand for highly effective colour image compression. Current techniques favors wavelet filters that process the image as a whole. While this offers many advantages, it can lead to some inefficiency for mobile devices. A hybrid compression system, based on wavelet filters, is discussed in this paper, in which a number of sub-images are created and processed separately before transmission and subsequent reassembly. Initial results indicate that savings of approximately 20% can be achieved while maintaining an acceptable output image quality.