Joint space-frequency segmentation using balanced wavelet packet trees for least-cost image representation

We examine the question of how to choose a space varying filterbank tree representation that minimizes some additive cost function for an image. The idea is that for a particular cost function, e.g., energy compaction or quantization distortion, some tree structures perform better than others. While the wavelet tree represents a good choice for many signals, it is generally outperformed by the best tree from the library of wavelet packet frequency-selective trees. The double-tree library of bases performs better still, by allowing different wavelet packet trees over all binary spatial segments of the image. We build on this foundation and present efficient new pruning algorithms for both one- and two-dimensional (1-D and 2-D) trees that will find the best basis from a library that is many times larger than the library of the single-tree or double-tree algorithms. The augmentation of the library of bases overcomes the constrained nature of the spatial variation in the double-tree bases, and is a significant enhancement in practice. Use of these algorithms to select the least-cost expansion for images with a rate-distortion cost function gives a very effective signal adaptive compression scheme. This scheme is universal in the sense that, without assuming a model for the signal or making use of training data, it performs very well over a large class of signal types. In experiments it achieves compression rates that are competitive with the best training-based schemes.