Grouped zerotree wavelet image coding for very low bit rate

The zerotree wavelet coding is a very efficient image and video compression method using wavelet transform. In this paper, we introduce a grouped zerotree wavelet image coding technique with high performance that is independent on a scale of the wavelet transform. A key method that we employ is to merge the adjacent zerotrees and to transmit the merged zerotrees by one symbol. The basic idea of our algorithm can be easily applied to zerotree wavelet coders for video. Simulation results show that our algorithm outperforms previously reported zerotree wavelet coding at low bit rates and in all scales of the wavelet transform. It also preserves the advantages of the zerotree wavelet coding technique for multimedia applications.