Patent ID: 7352811
Filing Date: 2008-04-01
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A data encoding apparatus operable to encode a plurality of data blocks to produce encoded data in accordance with at least one of a selectable target data quantity and a selectable target data quality, said apparatus comprising: a plurality of encoding processors each having a parameter controller operable to determine, for each of said data blocks, a value for an encoding parameter to be used in an encoding process, which encoding parameter has an effect of influencing the quantity of encoded data produced by said encoding process and the quantity of a decoded version of each said data block encoded using said encoding process, said value of said parameter being determined to satisfy at one of said target data quantity and said target data quality for each encoded data block, and an encoder operable to encode each of said data blocks in accordance with said encoding process to form encoded data blocks using the value of said encoding parameter determined for each block, and a selection processor operable, for each data block, to select one of the encoded blocks produced by each of said plurality of encoding processors in dependence upon which of said encoded data blocks provides at least one of the highest quality and the lowest data quantity, wherein the encoding process performed by one of said plurality of encoding processors is the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), said coded symbols produced by said encoding processor being DCT coefficients, the value of the encoding parameter providing a level of quantization of said DCT coefficients or said symbols of said data blocks, and the encoding process performed by another of said plurality of encoding processors is the Differential Pulse Code Modulation (DPCM) prediction process, said another encoding processor comprising,