Multidimensional quantizers for scalable video compression

Scalable video compression requires the creation of an encoded bit stream that may be decoded in part if channel bandwidth drops, decoder resources are limited, or a smaller image than the source is desired. A separable spatiotemporal subband decomposition is combined with vector and lattice quantizers modified so that the individual subbands may be decoded scalably. This results in finer bandwidth control and more flexibility than simply discarding entire subbands