Line Organized Videocompression

This paper deals with a new method for discrete digital signal generation and encoding. The generation method is based on the RO-algorithm which in general solves differential equations in a binary logical way without arithmetical operations. The encoding technique uses directly the RO-algorithm to construct a discrete digital approximation of the input video signal versus time. The RO-algorithm is a "rolling-out" of line segments of variable length and variable direction along a discrete digital signal in a discrete lattice. The code of the input video signal is a string of "roll-points" (2 bit sets) for the line segments in the encoded signal. Reconstruction of the output video signal is extremely simple by a line segment generator. The compression obtained in this way is proportional to the structural information content of the input video signal. Software simulations were carried out to investigate the compression results. Images can be compressed to 0.4...0.8 bit per pixel with subjective tolerable degradation. Because of the binary logical nature of the algorithm a very simple but very fast hardware implementation is straightforward. A line segment generator can be built with only 7 MSI TTL IC's and the point-by-point generation speed can be up to 20 Megapoints per second (real time videocompression).© (1980) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.