Abstract: A method for selectively adjusting the resolution levels or the quality levels of digital images stored in a memory of a digital camera having a predetermined memory space includes capturing a first image and storing the captured first image at a specific resolution level or quality level. The resolution level or quality level of the stored first image is adjusted based on the available memory space in the digital camera memory so that a subsequent captured image can be stored. A subsequent image is then captured, and the captured subsequent image is stored with the adjusted first image.

Abstract: A method for producing a compressed digital image from an input digital image is disclosed, wherein the compressed digital image is organized into layers having information that can be extracted in accordance with different desired viewing conditions and resolutions. The input digital image is decomposed to produce a plurality of subbands, each subband having a plurality of subband coefficients. The plurality of subband coefficients of each subband of the decomposed input digital image are quantized to produce a quantized output value for each subband coefficient of each subband. At least one bit-plane is formed from the quantized output values of subband coefficients of each subband. Each bit-plane of each subband in at least one pass is entropy encoded to produce a compressed bit-stream corresponding to each pass, wherein each subband is entropy encoded independently of the other subbands.

Abstract: A method for securely transacting a transaction based on a transaction document having an image contained within the document, the method includes the steps of compressing an image on the document; scrambling the structure of the compressed image according to a permutation; obtaining the inverse permutation; applying the inverse permutation to the scrambled image for obtaining an unscrambled image; and decompressing the unscrambled image.

Abstract: A method for producing a compressed digital image from an input digital image is disclosed, wherein the compressed digital image is organized into layers corresponding to increasing visual quality levels. The input digital image is decomposed to produce a plurality of subbands, each subband having a plurality of subband coefficients. The plurality of subband coefficients of each subband of the decomposed input digital image are quantized to produce a quantized output value for each subband coefficient of each subband. At least one bit-plane is formed from the quantized output values of the subband coefficients of each subband. Each bit-plane of each subband in at least one pass is entropy encoded to produce a compressed bit-stream corresponding to each pass, wherein each subband is entropy encoded independently of the other subbands.

Abstract: A method for encoding a digital image in a visually progressive manner comprises decomposing the digital image into two or more subbands; quantizing the subbands of the decomposed digital image to create quantized output values for each subband wherein each subband is quantized with a specific quantizer step size and forming bit-planes from the quantized output values of each subband and calculating an effective quantizer step size for each bit plane. Then a threshold viewing distance is computed for each bit-plane from the effective quantizer step size associated with that bit plane. The method further includes ordering the bit-planes in decreasing order to the corresponding threshold viewing distances; entropy coding the ordered bit-planes to produce a compresed bit-stream; and combining the compressed bit-stream with bit-plane ordering information to produce an encoded representation of the digital image.

Abstract: A digital image processing method determines the extent of blocking artifacts in a digital image by first forming a column difference image and averaging the values in the columns in the column difference image to produce a column difference array. The average of the values in the column difference array that are separated by one block width are computed to produce a block averaged column difference array. Then, the peak value in the block averaged column difference array is located, and the mean value of the block averaged column difference array (excluding the peak value) is calculated to produce a column base value, and the ratio between the peak value and the base value are computed to produce a column ratio. The foregoing steps are repeated in the row direction to produce a row ratio. Finally, the column and row ratios are employed as a measure of the extent of blocking artifacts in the digital image.

Abstract: A digital image processing method reduces noise and blocking artifacts in a digital image by first converting the RGB values of the digital image pixels to Y, Cb and Cr components, then detecting the block boundaries in the Y, Cb and Cr image components, and estimating the noise in the Y, Cb and Cr image components. One or more noise tables are constructed for the Y, Cb and Cr image components. An adaptive Huber-Markov-random-field-model-based filter (HMRF) is applied to the Y, Cb and Cr image components, wherein the adaptive feature of the HMRF employs the detected block boundaries and the noise tables to produce filtered Y, Cb and Cr image components. Finally, the filtered Y, Cb and Cr image components are converted to RGB components.

Abstract: A method for encoding rate-distortion information associated with the compression of an input digital image includes the steps of: computing rate and distortion-reduction values associated with each coding pass of each compressed codeblock bit-stream, and encoding rate and distortion-reduction values associated with coding passes contained in the final compressed bit-stream. A method for using encoded rate-distortion information associated with a compressed digital image bit-stream during transcoding of said compressed digital image bitstream includes the steps of: parsing the compressed digital image bitstream to obtain compressed codeblock bit-streams, decoding the encoded RD information to obtain rate and distortion-reduction values associated with codeblock coding passes, and using such rate-distortion information to optimally transcode such compressed digital image bit-stream to form a new compressed digital image bit-stream at a given bit-rate, resolution, and for given visual weights.

Abstract: A method for generating an enhanced compressed digital image, including the steps of: capturing a digital image; generating additional information relating to the importance of photographed subject and corresponding background regions of the digital image; compressing the digital image to form a compressed digital image; associating the additional information with the compressed digital image to generate the enhanced compressed digital image; and storing the enhanced compressed digital image in a data storage device.

Abstract: A method for producing a compressed bit-stream from a digital image includes the steps of a) processing the digital image to produce a main subject belief map containing a continuum of belief values relating to the importance of subject and background regions in the image, b) performing a spatio-frequency transformation on the digital image to produce an array of transform coefficients, c) deriving a distortion-weighting factor for each transform coefficient from the belief map, and d) producing a compressed bit stream using an image compression system that is responsive to the distortion-weighting factors. The specific image compression system may be selected from a variety of image compression systems, including JPEG compression, JPEG2000 compression or vector quantization.

Abstract: A method for representing a digital image having color values with an extended color gamut in a storage color space having a limited color gamut comprising the steps of: adjusting the color values of the extended color gamut digital image to fit within the limited color gamut to form a limited color gamut digital image; representing the limited color gamut digital image in the storage color space; determining a clipped limited color gamut digital image in which highly quantized regions in the limited color gamut digital image have been clipped; determining a residual image representing a difference between the extended color gamut digital image and the clipped limited color gamut digital image; and associating the residual image with the limited color gamut digital image in the storage color space such that the associated residual image and the limited color gamut digital image in the storage color space are adapted to be used to form a reconstructed extended color gamut digital image.