An embedded wavelet video coder using three-dimensional set partitioning in hierarchical trees (SPIHT)

The SPIHT (set partitioning in hierarchical trees) algorithm by Said and Pearlman (see IEEE Trans. on Circuits and Systems for Video Technology, no.6, p.243-250, 1996) is known to have produced some of the best results in still image coding. It is a fully embedded wavelet coding algorithm with precise rate control and low complexity. We present an application of the SPIHT algorithm to video sequences, using three-dimensional (3D) wavelet decompositions and 3D spatio-temporal dependence trees. A full 3D-SPIHT encoder/decoder is implemented in software and is compared against MPEG-2 in parallel simulations. Although there is no motion estimation or compensation in the 3D SPIHT, it performs measurably and visually better than MPEG-2, which employs complicated motion estimation and compensation.