Efficient embedded wavelet codec based on list structure

A new efficient image codec called embedded wavelet coding based on list structure (EWCBL) is proposed in this paper. By combining the techniques of morphological representation and quadtree partitioning, EWCBL effectively exploits both within-subband clustering and cross-subband similarity of wavelet coefficients. Based on the list structure, a fine fractional bit-plane coding is employed to achieve excellent rate-distortion performance. The patterned morphological dilation is introduced to greatly reduce the redundant test operations. Experimental results show that the proposed EWCBL outperforms state-of-the-art embedded codecs for both lossy and lossless compression. Moreover, the good performance and features of embeddedness and scalability are achieved with relatively low complexity.