The U-VLC VLSI implementation of a universal variable length coder

The transform coding scheme is known as one of the most efficient image compression coding methods. The bit rate reduction of the quantified transformed blocks is processed by a variable length coder (VLC) in a reversible way. The paper outlines an implementation of a universal-VLC (U-VLC) based on the adaptive truncated run length coding (ATRL). The algorithm is defined as universal in the sense that it is not dependent on the source statistics and the output bit rate is close to the entropy of the quantified transformed coefficients. The U-VLC allows the coding of a large range of video pictures without any modification of the algorithm