Patent Publication Number: US-8111934-B2

Title: Extension of two-dimensional variable length coding for image compression

Description:
RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS 
     The present invention is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/342,537 filed Jan. 15, 2003 to inventors Chen, et al. now U.S. Pat. No. 7,212,681. The content of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/342,537 are incorporated herein be reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates to image compression and in particular to variable length coding of quantized transform coefficients. 
     Variable length coding (□ is commonly used in digital video compression. Known transform based compression schemes, for example, divide an image into small blocks, e.g., 8×8 block, transform the blocks (interframe and/or intraframe) using a transform, e.g., the discrete cosine transform (DCT), quantize the resulting coefficients, order the quantized coefficients along a predefined path in the block to form a series of coefficients—sometimes called serializing the coefficients of the block, then statistically encode the series of coefficients using VLC to code the interframe and/or intraframe transform coefficients of each block. 
     Two-dimensional variable length coding (D-VLC) is a commonly used VLC technique. In 2D-VLC, each symbol—called an “event”—that is encoded by VLC is not a single coefficient, but combines a run of preceding zero-amplitude coefficients with a non-zero coefficient. That is, each event is a doublet that includes 1) the run length of zero-amplitude coefficients preceding any non-zero coefficient, and 2) the amplitude of that non-zero coefficient. The events are statistically encoded using a variable length code such that the most frequently occurring event is encoded with the shortest codeword, and the least frequently encoded events are encoded with the longest codeword. 
     2D-VLC is used, for example, in common coding schemes such as ISO/IEC JPEG, MPEG-1, and MPEG-2, and ITU H.261, H.262, and H.263. 2D-VLC is currently being considered for use in MPEG-4 and H.264. 
     With the advance of integrated circuit technology, computational power and memory are becoming more available. It is therefore becoming feasible to implement variable length coding schemes that provide for more compression than conventional two-dimensional VLC. 
     Because of the widespread use of image coding, many patents have been issued on different forms of VLC. U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,672 issued Oct. 6, 1987 to Wen-hsiung Chen, one of the inventors of the present invention, for example described one form of a two-dimensional variable length coding method. 
     Implementing 2D-VLC typically includes modifying the method, for example to reduce the complexity of a hardware implementation. According to one modification, only a subset of the events is encoded using a VLC. Each of a set of less frequently occurring events is encoded with a relatively long, fixed-length codeword, and the other, relatively more frequent events are each encoded with a variable length codeword. An escape code at the beginning of the codeword is used to indicate the fixed-length codewords of the relatively infrequent events. 
       FIG. 1  shows how a table lookup may be used to implement a 2D-VLC scheme. Prior to the table look up, the runlength of zero amplitudes preceding any non-zero amplitude and the non-zero amplitude are determined. The table look up uses a 2D table for those likely events encoded using variable length encoding. The escape code fixed length codes are used for a set of relatively less likely-to-occur combinations. 
     In typical 2D-VLC implementations, a short end of block (EOB) code indicates the last non-zero coefficient in the block has been encountered, i.e., that the remaining coefficients in the block are all zero. 
     Extensions and variations to the common 2D-VLC method are known. For example, the ITU H.263 compression standard defines one such variation sometimes called three-dimensional VLC (3D-VLC). See PCT patent publication WO 9318616 published Sep. 16, 1993 titled PICTURE DATA ENCODING METHOD and also the ITU-T H.263 standard. In 3D-VLC, each symbol (“event”) is a triplet (LAST, RUN, LEVEL) that includes: LAST, a binary flag that indicates whether or not the current non-zero amplitude-value is the last non-zero coefficient in the block, RUN, the run-length of zero-value coefficients that precede the current non-zero amplitude, i.e., the number of zeroes since the last non-zero coefficient amplitude, and LEVEL, the current non-zero coefficient amplitude value. Thus, there is no need for a separate EOB codeword; whether or not the non-zero coefficient is the last one is incorporated into the event. 
       FIG. 2  shows how a table lookup may be used to implement 3D-VLC. 
     The existence of patents on 2D-VLC and extensions thereof, and the resulting patent disputes has made a search for alternate VLC methods important. 
     Thus there is a need for an efficient VLC scheme that can be used as a replacement of known 2D-VLC. There further is a need for an efficient VLC scheme that can provide better compression performance than known 2D-VLC techniques. 
     SUMMARY 
     Described herein are a method and an apparatus for processing a series of digital signals that each has an amplitude from the amplitude set consisting a first subset of values and a second subset of values. The first subset of values includes the most common amplitude and at least one other amplitude. The processing is to reduce the amount of data used to represent the digital signals and to form codewords such that the more frequently occurring sequences of values signals are represented by relatively short codewords and the less frequently occurring sequences of values are represented by relatively long codewords. 
     The application of the method is for when the series of digital signals is a series of quantized coefficients of a transform of a block of image data. The transform is such that 0 is the most likely coefficient amplitude and 1 is the next most likely coefficient amplitude. The first subset of values is then of amplitudes 0 and 1, and the second set is of amplitudes of 2 or more. 
     The method includes forming a codeword events that are a run of none or more signals having the most common amplitude—e.g., a run of 0&#39;s—followed by a run of one or more identical sequences of a predefined set of sequences. Each sequence in the predefined set of sequences is either a single signal having an amplitude from the second subset of amplitudes—e.g., an amplitude of 2 or more—or a sequence of one or more signals each having amplitude from the first subset of amplitudes, starting with an amplitude other than the most common amplitude, e.g., a sequence of coefficients having a sequence of 0&#39;s and 1&#39;s as amplitudes starting with a 1. The forming of codewords is such that relatively short codewords are formed to represent events that are relatively more likely to occur, and relatively long codewords are formed to represent events that are relatively less likely to occur. 
     In the application to coding a series of quantized transform coefficients, the method includes forming the symbols (called events) from the series of quantized transform coefficients. 
     In one implementation, each event is a run of none or more zero-valued coefficients followed by one of a predefined set of sequences, each sequence in the set being either a single coefficient of amplitude greater than one, or a sequence of 1&#39;s and 0&#39;s starting with a coefficient of amplitude 1. In another implementation, an event is a run of none or more zero-valued coefficients followed by a run of one or more non-zero-amplitude coefficients. In a variation, The events include runs of none or more zero-valued coefficients followed by a subset of all possible runlengths of non-zero-amplitude coefficients. In one implementation, the subset includes no runs of length  2  or more of coefficients of amplitude 3 or more. 
     Also described herein are a method and an apparatus to decode the encoded bitstream to produce a set of quantized transform coefficients. 
     Other embodiments, features, aspects, and advantages will be apparent from the description below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows how a prior art 2-D VLC method may be implemented by a table look-up. 
         FIG. 2  shows how a common prior art variation of 2-D VLC called 3D-VLC may be implemented by a table look-up. 
         FIG. 3  shows a 2D-VLC table that indicates the length of each codeword for a common 2-D VLC method used for the H.261 standard. 
         FIG. 4  shows a VLC table that indicates the length of each codeword for one embodiment of a VLC method implemented by a table look-up. 
         FIG. 5  shows a simplified block diagram of one embodiment of an apparatus to code a series of quantized transform coefficients. 
         FIG. 6A  shows a VLC table that according to one embodiment can be represented by a set of 2D coding tables. 
         FIG. 6B  shows another view of the VLC table of  FIG. 6A , showing how the table may be represented by a set of 2D coding tables in a different manner than shown in  FIG. 6A . 
         FIG. 7  shows a simplified block diagram of one embodiment of a coding apparatus that encodes using VLC. 
         FIG. 8  shows a simplified block diagram of an embodiment of a coding apparatus according to which each event includes information on whether or not the event is the last event in the block. 
         FIG. 9  shows a simplified block diagram of an embodiment of a decoding apparatus. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Conventional Two-Dimensional Variable Length Coding 
     Variable length coding (VLC) of a series of digital values, e.g., of a series of coefficients resulting by transforming a two-dimensional block of an image (interframe or intraframe) and quantizing the transform assigning variable length codes, e.g., Huffman codes or arithmetic codes, according to the statistics of the coefficients so that short codewords are assigned to relatively likely events and longer codewords to less likely events. The statistics may be known or assumed a-priori, or collected on-the fly. 
     In 2D-VLC, the events for which codewords are include both the quantized coefficient amplitude and the run-lengths of the most likely-to-occur coefficients—e.g., zero amplitude coefficients—that precedes any less than most likely-to-occur coefficient—e.g., a non-zero amplitude coefficient when the coefficients are ordered along a specified two-dimensional path, e.g., along a zig-zag path for an 8×8 coefficient block to form a series of coefficients. 
     In the discussion that follows, it is assumed that 0 amplitude is the most likely-to-occur, e.g., the most frequently encountered amplitude, and that 1 is the next most likely-to-occur—next most common—amplitude. The method however can work for other orders of likelihood, so that the most likely amplitude—the first amplitude—need not be 0, and the next most likely amplitude—the second amplitude—need not be 1. Furthermore, the discussion assumes that the likelihood-of-occurrence is indicated by the frequency of occurrence. Of course, the relative probability of occurrence need not correspond to the actual frequency of occurrence that occurs in any particular transformed image block or collection of transformed image blocks. 
     The occurrence information of the quantities being tracked may be tabulated in a two-dimensional table as shown in Table 1 below, where S ij , i, j=1, 2, . . . is the number of coefficients that both have amplitude i and are preceded by j consecutive zero amplitude coefficients. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 Statistics collected for 2D-VLC 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                 Coeff. 
                 Runlength of zero valued coefficients 
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Ampl. 
                 0 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 5 
                 6 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 1 
                 S 10   
                 S 11   
                 S 12   
                 S 13   
                 S 14   
                 S 15   
                 S 16   
                 . . . 
               
               
                 2 
                 S 20   
                 S 21   
                 S 22   
                 S 23   
                 S 24   
                 S 25   
                 S 26   
                 . . . 
               
               
                 3 
                 S 30   
                 S 31   
                 S 32   
                 S 33   
                 S 34   
                 S 35   
                 S 36   
                 . . . 
               
               
                 4 
                 S 40   
                 S 41   
                 S 42   
                 S 43   
                 S 44   
                 S 45   
                 S 46   
                 . . . 
               
               
                 5 
                 S 50   
                 S 51   
                 S 52   
                 S 53   
                 S 54   
                 S 55   
                 S 56   
                 . . . 
               
               
                 6 
                 S 60   
                 S 61   
                 S 62   
                 S 63   
                 S 64   
                 S 65   
                 S 66   
                 . . . 
               
               
                 7 
                 S 70   
                 S 71   
                 S 72   
                 S 73   
                 S 74   
                 S 75   
                 S 76   
                 . . . 
               
               
                 8 
                 S 80   
                 S 81   
                 S 82   
                 S 83   
                 S 84   
                 S 85   
                 S 86   
                 . . . 
               
               
                 9 
                 S 90   
                 S 91   
                 S 92   
                 S 93   
                 S 94   
                 S 95   
                 S 96   
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     In 2D-VLC, the symbol (“event”) is assigned a variable length code according to the frequency of occurrence (the number S ij ) and the particular VLC scheme—e.g., Huffman code or arithmetic code—being used. The most frequently occurring event, i.e., the largest S ij —typically S 10  in transform coding—is assigned the shortest code while least occurred combination (S ij ) is assigned a code with the highest number of bits. The resulting 2D-VLC may then be represented by Table 2, where C ij  is the VLC assigned to the event (i,j): the combination of the coefficient having amplitude i that is preceded by j consecutive zero amplitude coefficients. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 2D-VLC 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 Coeff. 
                 Runlength of zero valued coefficients 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Ampl. 
                 0 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 5 
                 6 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 1 
                 C 10   
                 C 11   
                 C 12   
                 C 13   
                 C 14   
                 C 15   
                 C 16   
                 . . . 
               
               
                 2 
                 C 20   
                 C 21   
                 C 22   
                 C 23   
                 C 24   
                 C 25   
                 C 26   
                 . . . 
               
               
                 3 
                 C 30   
                 C 31   
                 C 32   
                 C 33   
                 C 34   
                 C 35   
                 C 36   
                 . . . 
               
               
                 4 
                 C 40   
                 C 41   
                 C 42   
                 C 43   
                 C 44   
                 C 45   
                 C 46   
                 . . . 
               
               
                 5 
                 C 50   
                 C 51   
                 C 52   
                 C 53   
                 C 54   
                 C 55   
                 C 56   
                 . . . 
               
               
                 6 
                 C 60   
                 C 61   
                 C 62   
                 C 63   
                 C 64   
                 C 65   
                 C 66   
                 . . . 
               
               
                 7 
                 C 70   
                 C 71   
                 C 72   
                 C 73   
                 C 74   
                 C 75   
                 C 76   
                 . . . 
               
               
                 8 
                 C 80   
                 C 81   
                 C 82   
                 C 83   
                 C 84   
                 C 85   
                 C 86   
                 . . . 
               
               
                 9 
                 C 90   
                 C 91   
                 C 92   
                 C 93   
                 C 94   
                 C 95   
                 C 96   
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     In practice, the statistics (likelihoods of occurrence of the events) are determined a priori—e.g., by experiments on likely sets of images—to form fixed VLC tables. Adaptive coding also may be used in which the encoding depends on statistics such as histograms collected from actual data. 
     In a typical transform encoding scheme that uses 2D-VLC, the transform blocks are identified as interframe (with motion compensated or not) or intraframe, and the series of quantized coefficients within each transformed block are coded using the 2D-VLC shown in Table 2 when ordered within the along a two-dimensional path. 
     In a typical implementation, a sign bit is added to identify whether the non-zero amplitude is positive or negative. Furthermore, some relatively non-frequent combinations are encoded by a fixed length code representing the combination of the runlength of zeros and the amplitude following the runlength. An escape code identifying that a fixed length code is being used also is used at the beginning (or end) of each such fixed length codeword. 
     The Chen et al. 2D-VLC method of U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,672 selects the variable length codes C ij  as follows: each runlength of zeroes followed by an amplitude 1 is encoded by a first type of variable length code for the runlength. The amplitude (1) that follows the runlength of zero amplitudes need not be encoded because any codeword encoded according to the first type of variable length code can be assumed at the decoder to have amplitude 1. Each runlength of zeroes followed by a non-zero amplitude other than 1 is encoded by a second type of variable length code for the runlength followed by a code for the amplitude. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,672 also describes the following extension. Suppose the series of signals, e.g., the series of transform coefficients to be encoded take on at least n+3 possible values, e.g., 0, 1, . . . , n, and at least two other values, e.g., n+1, n+2, . . . . The method uses n different types of runlength codes—a first, a second, . . . , an n&#39;th type—to respectively represent runs of none or zeros followed by a 1, a 2, . . . , an n, respectively. The method further uses a different type of runlength code—i.e., different from the first, second, . . . , n&#39;th type—to encode runs of zeros followed by any one of the other values. Amplitude encoding is also to encode the amplitude, i.e., the other value that follows the run of zeroes. When one of the first, second, . . . , n&#39;th type of code is used, the type of runlength code identifies which amplitude follows the run of zeroes. In such a case, there is no need to further amplitude encode the amplitude that follows the 0&#39;s. 
       FIG. 3  shows the length of each codeword for a common 2-D VLC used for the H.261 standard. The MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 2D-VLC tables are similar to that for H.261. Only the 113 most likely-to-occur symbols (runlength, amplitude-level) are represented. MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 use similar tables. In MPEG-1, the non-common events are encoded by 20 bits or 28-bits. The escape symbol is 6 bits, followed by a code for the runlength of zeroes followed by the amplitude level code. The 20-bit escape codewords describe levels in the range [−127,+127] while the 28 bit double escape codewords have a range of [−255,+255]. MPEG-2 increases the span to the full dynamic range of quantized inverse DCT coefficients, [+2047,+2047] and simplifies the escape mechanism with a single representation for such an event. The total length of the MPEG-2 escape codeword is 24 bits (6-bit escape code followed by a 6-bit runlength value and 12-bit amplitude level code). 
     Extending Two-Dimensional Variable Length Coding 
     One aspect of the invention extends the 2D-VLC method into a third dimension by not only exploiting the fact that consecutive zero values occur often, but also exploiting the consecutive appearances of non-zero-valued coefficients and of known likely-to-occur combinations, e.g., of zero and non-zero values. The extension described herein, for example, uses the fact that consecutive 0&#39;s, consecutive 0&#39;s that are followed by consecutive amplitude 1 coefficients, and consecutive 0&#39;s that are followed by patterns of l&#39;s and of 0&#39;s may be more probable, i.e., may occur more frequently than coefficients of amplitude 2 or higher, especially for interframe coded blocks, e.g., transformed blocks of motion compensated prediction residuals. Note that the third dimension of the extension described herein is different from that of common 3D-VLC in which the so-called third dimension is only a binary indication of whether or not a symbol is includes the last non-zero amplitude in the block. 
     The VLC method is typically applied to transform coefficients. That is, an image is divided into blocks, e.g., 8×8 blocks and transformed into a set of transform coefficients for the block. The transform coefficients are quantized and the quantized block transform coefficients are ordered by scanning the two-dimensional block along a predetermined path, e.g., a zig-zag path. The ordering forms a series of coefficients for the block. In one embodiment, the statistics of the number of contiguous zero-valued coefficients preceding a run of non-zero amplitudes are collected. The collection process results in a three-dimensional table that can be described as the set of two-dimensional tables Table 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 3-4, etc, shown below: 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 3-1 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 Statistics of repeated coefficient patterns ending with runs of 1&#39;s 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 Run 
                 Runlength of zero valued coefficients 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 of 1&#39;s 
                 0 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 1 
                 S1-1-0 
                 S1-1-1 
                 S1-1-2 
                 S1-1-3 
                 S1-1-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 11 
                 S1-2-0 
                 S1-2-1 
                 S1-2-2 
                 S1-2-3 
                 S1-2-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 111 
                 S1-3-0 
                 S1-3-1 
                 S1-3-2 
                 S1-3-3 
                 S1-3-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 3-2 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 Statistics of repeated coefficient patterns ending with runs of 2&#39;s 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 Run 
                 Runlength of zero valued coefficients 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 of 2&#39;s 
                 0 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 2 
                 S2-1-0 
                 S2-1-1 
                 S2-1-2 
                 S2-1-3 
                 S2-1-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 22 
                 S2-2-0 
                 S2-2-1 
                 S2-2-2 
                 S2-2-3 
                 S2-2-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 222 
                 S2-3-0 
                 S2-3-1 
                 S2-3-2 
                 S2-3-3 
                 S2-3-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 3-3 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 Statistics of repeated coefficient patterns ending with runs of 3&#39;s 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 Run 
                 Runlength of zero valued coefficients 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 of 3&#39;s 
                 0 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 3 
                 S3-1-0 
                 S3-1-1 
                 S3-1-2 
                 S3-1-3 
                 S3-1-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 33 
                 S3-2-0 
                 S3-2-1 
                 S3-2-2 
                 S3-2-3 
                 S3-2-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 333 
                 S3-3-0 
                 S3-3-1 
                 S3-3-2 
                 S3-3-3 
                 S3-3-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 3-4 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 Statistics of repeated coefficient patterns ending with runs of 4&#39;s 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 Run 
                 Runlength of zero valued coefficients 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 of 4&#39;s 
                 0 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 4 
                 S4-1-0 
                 S4-1-1 
                 S4-1-2 
                 S4-1-3 
                 S4-1-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 44 
                 S4-2-0 
                 S4-2-1 
                 S4-2-2 
                 S4-2-3 
                 S4-2-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 444 
                 S4-3-0 
                 S4-3-1 
                 S4-3-2 
                 S4-3-3 
                 S4-3-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     where the Si-j-k is the statistic for the “event” of a run of j consecutive coefficients of amplitude i preceded by a run of k consecutive coefficients of amplified 0. If N is the highest value coefficient then there are N 2D tables in the 3D table. An optimum variable length code is then derived for each of the Si-j-k above with the most frequently occurred statistics (usually S1-1-0 in transform coding) being assigned the shortest number of bits and the least occurred statistics being assigned the longest number of bits. The constructed VLC can then be summarized by Table 4: 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 4 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 Codes for repeated coefficient patterns 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 Runs 
                   
               
               
                 of non- 
                 Runlength of zero valued coefficients 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 zeroes 
                 0 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 1 
                 C1-1-0 
                 C1-1-1 
                 C1-1-2 
                 C1-1-3 
                 C1-1-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 11 
                 C1-2-0 
                 C1-2-1 
                 C1-2-2 
                 C1-2-3 
                 C1-2-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 111 
                 C1-3-0 
                 C1-3-1 
                 C1-3-2 
                 C1-3-3 
                 C1-3-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 2 
                 C2-1-0 
                 C2-1-1 
                 C2-1-2 
                 C2-1-3 
                 C2-1-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 22 
                 C2-2-0 
                 C2-2-1 
                 C2-2-2 
                 C2-2-3 
                 C2-2-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 222 
                 C2-3-0 
                 C2-3-1 
                 C2-3-2 
                 C2-3-3 
                 C2-3-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 3 
                 C3-1-0 
                 C3-1-1 
                 C3-1-2 
                 C3-1-3 
                 C3-1-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 33 
                 C3-2-0 
                 C3-2-1 
                 C3-2-2 
                 C3-2-3 
                 C3-2-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 333 
                 C3-3-0 
                 C3-3-1 
                 C3-3-2 
                 C3-3-3 
                 C3-3-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 4 
                 C4-1-0 
                 C4-1-1 
                 C4-1-2 
                 C4-1-3 
                 C4-1-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 44 
                 C4-2-0 
                 C4-2-1 
                 C4-2-2 
                 C4-2-3 
                 C4-2-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 444 
                 C4-3-0 
                 C4-3-1 
                 C4-3-2 
                 C4-3-3 
                 C4-3-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     In one embodiment the coding table, e.g., Table 4 is fixed determined according to statistics are determined a priori, e.g., by experiments on likely sets of images. In an alternate embodiment, the coding table is changeable according to data collected on the fly, e.g., according to statistics such as histograms collected on the fly, e.g., in the form of tables such as Tables 3-1, 3-2, . . . and so forth. 
     Table 4 can be rewritten as a three-dimensional look-up table  400  shown in  FIG. 4 . The three dimensional lookup table  400  can be considered a set of two-dimensional tables  402 - 1 ,  402 - 2 , . . . ,  402 -N, where N is the largest amplitude that can appear. The tables  402 - 1  and  402 - 2  are repeated as Tables 5-1, 5-2, . . . , below. The code denoted by Ci-j-k means the code for an event of k consecutive zero amplitudes followed by j consecutive amplitudes of value i, where i can vary from 1 through N. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 5-1 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 VLC of repeated coefficient patterns ending with runs of 1&#39;s 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 Runlength 
                 Runlength of zero valued coefficients 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 of 1&#39;s 
                 0 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 1 
                 C1-1-0 
                 C1-1-1 
                 C1-1-2 
                 C-1-1-3 
                 C1-1-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 2 
                 C1-2-0 
                 C1-2-1 
                 C1-2-2 
                 C-1-2-3 
                 C1-2-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 3 
                 C1-3-0 
                 C1-3-1 
                 C1-3-2 
                 C-1-3-3 
                 C1-3-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 5-2 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 VLC of repeated coefficient patterns ending with runs of 2&#39;s 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 Runlength 
                 Runlength of zero valued coefficients 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 of 2&#39;s 
                 0 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 1 
                 C2-1-0 
                 C2-1-1 
                 C2-1-2 
                 C2-1-3 
                 C2-1-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 2 
                 C2-2-0 
                 C2-2-1 
                 C2-2-2 
                 C2-2-3 
                 C2-2-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 3 
                 C2-3-0 
                 C2-3-1 
                 C2-3-2 
                 C2-3-3 
                 C2-3-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 5-N 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 VLC of repeated coefficient patterns ending with runs of N&#39;s 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 Runlength 
                 Runlength of zero valued coefficients 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 of N&#39;s 
                 0 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 1 
                 CN-1-0 
                 CN-1-1 
                 CN-1-2 
                 CN-1-3 
                 CN-1-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 2 
                 CN-2-0 
                 CN-2-1 
                 CN-2-2 
                 CN-2-3 
                 CN-2-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 3 
                 CN-3-0 
                 CN-3-1 
                 CN-3-2 
                 CN-3-3 
                 CN-3-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
       FIG. 5  shows one embodiment of an apparatus for encoding according to the VLC of  FIG. 4 . One embodiment uses a three-dimensional lookup table such as lookup table  400  ( FIG. 4 ). An event recognizer  502  determines the runlength of preceding zero amplitude and the runlength of the non-zero amplitude following the run of 0&#39;s. Thus, a symbol (an “event”) of three ordered values is determined for the run of 0&#39;s followed by the run of non-zeroes. The three values are the runlength of zeroes, the amplitude of the run following the 0&#39;s, and the runlength the non-zeroes. The output(s) of the event recognizer  502  are input to an encoder  504  that in one embodiment includes a lookup device to look up the three-dimensional lookup table. In one embodiment, the three dimensional lookup is stored in a memory  506  coupled to the lookup device as a set of two-dimensional lookup tables, each 2-D table for a run of a different amplitude. With such an embodiment, the encoder  504  looks up by using the amplitude of non-zeroes as an index to index the appropriate 2D table. This ascertains which 2D table to lookup. That 2D table is then looked up. The actual lookup may include fetching that 2D table from memory. For some of the events, a fixed length codeword with an escape code is formed (see below). 
     While the embodiment shown in  FIG. 5  has the memory  506  that stores the lookup table separate from the lookup device, in another embodiment, the memory is part of the lookup device of encoder  504 . 
     In one alternate embodiment, the three-dimensional lookup table is stored as a set of 2 lookup tables differently, with a different table for each different length of runs of non-zeroes. The first three 2D tables are shown below as Tables 6-1, 6-2, and 6-3, respectively: 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 6-1 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 VLC of runs of 0&#39;s ending with a single amplitude 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 Runlength of zero valued coefficients 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Ampl. 
                 0 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 1 
                 C1-1-0 
                 C1-1-1 
                 C1-1-2 
                 C1-1-3 
                 C1-1-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 2 
                 C2-1-0 
                 C2-1-1 
                 C2-1-2 
                 C2-1-3 
                 C2-1-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 3 
                 C3-1-0 
                 C3-1-1 
                 C3-1-2 
                 C3-1-3 
                 C3-1-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 N 
                 CN-1-0 
                 CN-1-1 
                 CN-1-2 
                 CN-1-3 
                 CN-1-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 6-2 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 VLC of runs of 0&#39;s ending with a run of 2 non-zero amplitudes 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 Ampl. 
                 Runlength of zero valued coefficients 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 of run 
                 0 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 1 
                 C1-2-0 
                 C1-2-1 
                 C1-2-2 
                 C1-2-3 
                 C1-2-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 2 
                 C2-2-0 
                 C2-2-1 
                 C2-2-2 
                 C2-2-3 
                 C2-2-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 3 
                 C3-2-0 
                 C3-2-1 
                 C3-2-2 
                 C3-2-3 
                 C3-2-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 N 
                 CN-2-0 
                 CN-2-1 
                 CN-2-2 
                 CN-2-3 
                 CN-2-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 6-3 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 VLC of runs of 0&#39;s ending with a run of 3 non-zero amplitudes 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 Ampl. 
                 Runlength of zero valued coefficients 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 of run 
                 0 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 1 
                 C1-3-0 
                 C1-3-1 
                 C1-3-2 
                 C1-3-3 
                 C1-3-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 2 
                 C2-3-0 
                 C2-3-1 
                 C2-3-2 
                 C2-3-3 
                 C2-3-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 3 
                 C3-3-0 
                 C3-3-1 
                 C3-3-2 
                 C3-3-3 
                 C3-3-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 N 
                 CN-3-0 
                 CN-3-1 
                 CN-3-2 
                 CN-3-3 
                 CN-3-4 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Referring back to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , in one implementation, sign information is added to the codeword resulting from the lookup to indicate the sign of any non-zero amplitudes in the event. 
     In practice, including all the possible runs of 0&#39;s followed by all the runs of non-zero amplitudes may lead to a table that is too large. For a transform block size of 8×8 coefficients, there could be 63 consecutive amplitudes with the value of k (k=1, 2, 3, . . . , 32) for a size of 8×8 coefficient block, which makes the code table as large as 127,008 entries. Therefore, in one embodiment, the table includes some of the possible events, e.g., only the most likely-to-occur events. For example, long runs of larger amplitudes are much less likely than runs 1&#39;s and possibly runs of 2&#39;s. Therefore, in one embodiment, the table includes runs of 0&#39;s followed by a subset of all possible runlengths of non-zero amplitudes, the subset being of the most likely-to-occur runlengths of non-zero amplitudes. In one implementation, the subset of runlengths excludes runlengths of two or more of amplitudes of 3 or more. In a further refinement, only very short runlengths of amplitude 2 are included. In yet another refinement, only a subset of the runlengths of amplitude 1 are included. 
     In addition, in one embodiment, some relatively non-frequent events are encoded by a fixed length code representing the combination of the runlength of zeros and the amplitude following the runlength. An escape code identifying that a fixed length code is being used also is used at the beginning of each such fixed length codeword. In one implementation, a single representation is used for the less likely-to-occur events that are encoded by a fixed length codeword. The total length of the escape codeword is 30 bits consisting of a 6-bit escape code followed by a 6-bit runlength value for the run of zeros, 6-bits for the runlength of non-zeroes, and a 12-bit amplitude level code. Other embodiments use a different structure for the escape codeword. 
     Another embodiment considers events other than just runs of 0&#39;s followed by runs of identical non-zero amplitudes. According to such an embodiment, a set is defined of amplitude sequences likely to follow a run of the most likely-to-occur amplitude coefficients—0&#39;s. In one embodiment, a first subset of amplitudes is defined, including the most common amplitude and one or more of the next most common amplitudes. The other amplitudes are defined as a second subset of amplitudes. In one implementation, the first subset of amplitudes consists of 0 and 1, the two most likely-to-occur amplitudes, and the second subset consists of those amplitudes larger than 1. Each sequence in the predefined set of sequences is either a single coefficient from the second subset of amplitudes or a sequence of at least one coefficient from the first subset of amplitudes, starting with amplitude other than the most likely-to-occur. That is, the set of sequences is either a single amplitude 2, 3, . . . , or a sequence starting with 1 and including only 0&#39;s and 1&#39;s. Once the set of sequences is defined, in one embodiment, statistics are gathered for the symbols (events) that include a run of 0 amplitudes followed by a run of one of the set of sequences of the predefined set. Table 4 shows one such set of statistics. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 6 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 Statistics for coeff. ampl. patterns preceded by zero coeff. amplitudes 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 Coeff. Ampl. 
                 Runlength of zero valued coefficients 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Pattern 
                 0 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 1 
                 S1-1-0 
                 S1-1-1 
                 S1-1-2 
                 S1-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 11 
                 S1-2-0 
                 S1-2-1 
                 S1-2-2 
                 S1-2-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 111 
                 S1-3-0 
                 S1-3-1 
                 S1-3-2 
                 S1-3-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 101 
                 S101-1-0 
                 S101-1-1 
                 S101-1-2 
                 S101-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 1001 
                 S1001-1-0 
                 S1001-1-1 
                 S1001-1-2 
                 S1001-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 1101 
                 S1101-1-0 
                 S1101-1-1 
                 S1101-1-2 
                 S1101-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 1011 
                 S1011-1-0 
                 S1011-1-1 
                 S1011-1-2 
                 S1011-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 10001 
                 S10001-1-0 
                 S10001-1-1 
                 S10001-1-2 
                 S10001-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 11001 
                 S11001-1-0 
                 S11001-1-1 
                 S11001-1-2 
                 S11001-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 10101 
                 S10101-1-0 
                 S10101-1-1 
                 S10101-1-2 
                 S10101-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 10011 
                 S10011-1-0 
                 S10011-1-1 
                 S10011-1-2 
                 S10011-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 11101 
                 S11101-1-0 
                 S11101-1-1 
                 S11101-1-2 
                 S11101-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 10111 
                 S10111-1-0 
                 S10111-1-1 
                 S10111-1-2 
                 S10111-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 101101 
                 S101-2-0 
                 S101-2-1 
                 S101-2-2 
                 S101-2-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 2 
                 S2-1-0 
                 S2-1-1 
                 S2-1-2 
                 S2-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 22 
                 S2-2-0 
                 S2-2-1 
                 S2-2-2 
                 S2-2-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 222 
                 S2-3-0 
                 S2-3-1 
                 S2-3-2 
                 S2-3-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 3 
                 S3-1-0 
                 S3-1-1 
                 S3-1-2 
                 S3-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 33 
                 S3-2-0 
                 S3-2-1 
                 S3-2-2 
                 S3-2-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 333 
                 S3-3-0 
                 S3-3-1 
                 S3-3-2 
                 S3-3-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 4 
                 S4-1-0 
                 S4-1-1 
                 S4-1-2 
                 S4-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 44 
                 S4-2-0 
                 S4-2-1 
                 S4-2-2 
                 S4-2-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 444 
                 S4-3-0 
                 S4-3-1 
                 S4-3-2 
                 S4-3-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The quantity Si-j-k in this case is the statistic for a run of k 0&#39;s to be followed by j repeats of the sequence i. Therefore, S131-2-4 is the sequence of coefficient amplitudes 0000101101 which is four 0&#39;s followed by two repeats of the sequence 101. A variable length code is then derived for each of the Si-j-k to provide a VLC table as shown in Table 7. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 7 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 VLC for coeff. ampl. patterns preceded by zeroes 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 Coeff. Ampl. 
                 Runlength of zero valued coefficients 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Pattern 
                 0 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 1 
                 C1-1-0 
                 C1-1-1 
                 C1-1-2 
                 C1-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 11 
                 C1-2-0 
                 C1-2-1 
                 C1-2-2 
                 C1-2-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 111 
                 C1-3-0 
                 C1-3-1 
                 C1-3-2 
                 C1-3-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 101 
                 C101-1-0 
                 C1-1-1 
                 C1-1-2 
                 C1-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 1001 
                 C1001-1-0 
                 C1001-1-1 
                 C1001-1-2 
                 C1001-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 1101 
                 C1101-1-0 
                 C1101-1-1 
                 C1101-1-2 
                 C1101-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 1011 
                 C1011-1-0 
                 C1011-1-1 
                 C1011-1-2 
                 C1011-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 10001 
                 C10001-1-0 
                 C10001-1-1 
                 C10001-1-2 
                 C10001-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 11001 
                 C11001-1-0 
                 C11001-1-1 
                 C11001-1-2 
                 C11001-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 10101 
                 C10101-1-0 
                 C10101-1-1 
                 C10101-1-2 
                 C10101-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 10011 
                 C10011-1-0 
                 C10011-1-1 
                 C10011-1-2 
                 C10011-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 11101 
                 C11101-1-0 
                 C11101-1-1 
                 C11101-1-2 
                 C11101-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 10111 
                 C10111-1-0 
                 C10111-1-1 
                 C10111-1-2 
                 C10111-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 101101 
                 C101-2-0 
                 C101-2-1 
                 C101-2-2 
                 C101-2-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 2 
                 C2-1-0 
                 C2-1-1 
                 C2-1-2 
                 C2-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 22 
                 C2-2-0 
                 C2-2-1 
                 C2-2-2 
                 C2-2-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 222 
                 C2-3-0 
                 C2-3-1 
                 C2-3-2 
                 C2-3-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 3 
                 C3-1-0 
                 C3-1-1 
                 C3-1-2 
                 C3-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 33 
                 C3-2-0 
                 C3-2-1 
                 C3-2-2 
                 C3-2-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 333 
                 C3-3-0 
                 C3-3-1 
                 C3-3-2 
                 C3-3-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 4 
                 C4-1-0 
                 C4-1-1 
                 C4-1-2 
                 C4-1-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 44 
                 C4-1-0 
                 C4-2-1 
                 C4-2-2 
                 C4-2-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 444 
                 C4-3-0 
                 C4-3-1 
                 C4-3-2 
                 C4-3-3 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
                 . . . 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Again, one embodiment uses fixed tables, constructed, for example, from a priori statistics. Such statistics may be obtained from experiments performed to determine the set of most likely sequences and the relative likelihood of a run of 0&#39;s following one or more repeats of such sequences. In another embodiment, the tables are changeable according to actual data. 
     To use the coding tables, in one version, after the transform blocks are identified as interframe (including motion compensated interframe) or intraframe mode, the series of quantized transform coefficients within the block are coded according using the above table. 
     The information in Table 7 can be incorporated in a three-dimensional lookup table  600  as shown in  FIG. 6A . Let M denote the number of sequences in the set of most likely sequences. Let i denote an index, i.e., the sequence number of the sequence in the set. The three dimensions of the table are the runlength (k) of preceding zeroes, the index (sequence number m, m=1, . . . , M) of the one or more repeated sequence following the 0&#39;s, and the runlength (j) of the sequence following the 0&#39;s. 
     Note that when the predefined set of sequences consists of single amplitudes, the method becomes similar to the embodiment described above wherein an event is a run of zeroes followed by a run of non-zero amplitudes. Furthermore, if one restricts the set of sequences to a single non-zero amplitude, and the symbols to a run of zeroes followed by a single sequence of the set, the method becomes the conventional 2D-VLC method. 
     One can store the three-dimensional table  600  as a set of M two-dimensional lookup tables  602 - 1 ,  602 - 2 ,  602 - 3 , . . . ,  602 -M as shown in  FIG. 6A , where each 2D table, say the i&#39;th table is a 2D-VLC table for a sequence of zeroes followed by sequence number i of the set of sequences. 
       FIG. 6B  is an alternate view of the three-dimensional lookup table that shows how one can store the three-dimensional table  600  (shown in this view as table  650 ) as a set of two-dimensional lookup tables  652 - 1 ,  652 - 2 ,  652 - 3 , . . . , where each 2D table, say the j&#39;th table is a 2D-VLC table for a sequence of zeroes followed by a sequence of j instances of each of the sequences. 
       FIG. 7  shows an embodiment of an apparatus that implements the 3D-VLC encoding method. When applied to transform encoding, a series of quantized transform coefficients is obtained by transforming a 2D image-block, ordering the transform coefficients along a path in the block, and quantizing the coefficients. The series of coefficients is entered in an event recognizer  702  that in one embodiment includes a sequence pattern recognizer that recognizes which of a predefined set of M sequences follows a run of none or more 0&#39;s. The event recognizer further determines the runlength of the run of 0&#39;s and, in the case that a sequence of the predefined set is recognized, the run of the recognized sequence. One version of the runlength determining uses counters. In one embodiment, the event recognizer  702  is coupled to a memory  706  for storing the sequences. Sequence pattern recognizers that recognize a sequence of 1&#39;s and 0&#39;s are well known to those the art. The three outputs of the event recognizer  702  are the number of preceding 0-valued coefficients (Run — 0), the recognized sequence number following the 0&#39;s (Seq_Num_m), and the runlength of the sequence (Run_Seq_m). The outputs of the event recognizer  702  are input to an encoder  704  that in one embodiment includes a lookup device that is coupled to a memory that stores the 3D table  600 . In one embodiment, the same memory  706  is used to store the lookup table as is used to store the sequences. 
     While the embodiment shown in  FIG. 7  has the memory that stores the lookup table separate from the lookup device, in another embodiment, the memory that stores the lookup table is part of the lookup device in encoder  704 . The phrase “the lookup device is coupled to a memory” includes the case that the lookup device includes the memory. 
     In an alternate implementation, each event is a run of consecutive 0&#39;s followed by a single instance of one of the sequences. In such an embodiment, different length runs of the next-to-most likely amplitude, e.g., runs of amplitude 1, are included as different sequences in the set of M most likely sequences. 
     As is known in the art, an end-of-block (EOB) indicator can be used with any of the encoding schemes described above to indicate the end of a block, i.e., that all remaining coefficients in the block have zero amplitude. 
     In alternate versions of each of the encoding schemes, whether or not the end of block is reached can be included as part of the event. In other words, an event now includes an additional “dimension” called “last” that indicated whether or not the event is the last in the block, i.e., the remaining coefficients in the block following the event are all the most common amplitude (zero).  FIG. 8 , for example, shows a lookup device  804  that looks up the codeword for an event that (run — 0, run_seq_m, seq_num_m, last) that includes a run of none or more. 
     Another aspect of the invention is a method for decoding a bitstream encoded by any of the encoding methods described herein. For example, one aspect is a method to decode a bitstream that is coded by a method that includes forming a codeword for each event that is a run of none or more zero-valued coefficients followed by a run of one of a predefined set of sequences. Each sequence in the predefined set is either a single coefficient of amplitude greater than one, or a sequence of amplitude—1&#39;s and 0&#39;s starting with a coefficient of amplitude 1. The coding is such that relatively short codewords in the bitstream represent events that are relatively more likely to occur, and relatively long codewords represent events that are relatively less likely to occur. The decoding method includes determining each codeword, determining the event represented by each codeword, and determining the sub-series of coefficients of each determined event until all coefficients in the block are determined. In one version, a codeword representing an end of block is used in the coding to indicate that all remaining coefficients in the block are 0. When the decoding method encounters the codeword representing the end of block, it assigns amplitude 0 to all remaining coefficients. 
     How to recognize the codewords in the bitstream and how to decode the recognized codewords given a description of the encoding scheme, e.g., a coding table, is known to those in the art. In one embodiment, the codes a selected such that no codeword is the prefix of a longer codeword. The encoding method includes a recognizing a codeword bit-by-bit as more data is of the input bitstream is obtained. One method uses a decoding table. Consider, for example, the code of Table 5. A decoding table is a table that provides the events for all possible codewords. As a codeword is recognized, the event of that codeword, i.e., the sequence of coefficients is formed. 
     One decoding method uses a lookup table. In such an embodiment, a table is provided containing a plurality of codewords and the events for each codeword. The determining of the event for each recognized codeword includes looking up the table. 
     Another aspect of the invention is an apparatus for decoding a bitstream encoded by any of the novel methods described herein.  FIG. 9  shows one embodiment of the apparatus. A codeword recognizer  902  accepts the bits of a bitstream and recognizes a codeword of a set of possible codewords that each represents an event. A decoder  904  is coupled to the codeword recognizer  902  and determines the event for the codeword recognized by the codeword recognizer. In one embodiment, the decoder  904  is a lookup device that looks up a table stored in a memory  906 . That table provides the event for at least some of the codewords of the set of codewords. Other codewords may include an escape code, so that decoding is by other than a table lookup. In one embodiment, the bitstream is stored in a buffer  908 , and the output of the buffer is coupled to the codeword recognizer. 
     While in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 9 , the memory is shown separate from the lookup device, those in the art will understand that in other embodiments, the memory for the table is part of the lookup device, and such other embodiments are included herein. 
     Another aspect of the invention is a memory (such as memory  506  in  FIG. 5  and memory  706  in  FIG. 7 ) that stores a coding data structure that provides the codeword for an event as described any one of the novel coding methods described herein. In one embodiment, the data structure is in the form of one or more tables. For example, one memory embodiment stores a table that provides the codeword for events that are each a run of none or more zero-valued coefficients followed by a run of one of a predefined set of sequences, each sequence in the set being either a single coefficient of amplitude greater than one, or a sequence of 1&#39;s and 0&#39;s starting with a coefficient of amplitude 1. Relatively short codewords in the table represent events that are relatively more likely to occur, and relatively long codewords represent events that are relatively less likely to occur. 
     Another aspect of the invention is a memory (such as memory  906  in  FIG. 9 ) that stores a decoding data structure that provides the event for any codeword recognized in a bitstream that of compressed image data. The bitstream is coded by any one of the novel coding methods described herein. In one embodiment, the data structure is in the form of one or more tables. For example, one memory embodiment stores a table that provides events that are each a run of none or more zero-valued coefficients followed by a run of one of a predefined set of sequences, each sequence in the set being either a single coefficient of amplitude greater than one, or a sequence of 1&#39;s and 0&#39;s starting with a coefficient of amplitude 1. 
     Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments. 
     Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the above description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the Detailed Description are hereby expressly incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention. 
     It should further be appreciated that although the invention has been described in the context of transform encoding of images, the invention is not limited to such contexts and may be utilized in various other compression applications and systems. Furthermore, the invention is not limited to any one type of architecture or type of transform encoding. Foe example, the DCT is mentioned above as one transform. Other transforms may be used, e.g., the new H.264/MEG-4 AVC video coding standard/draft standard defines 4×4 blocks and a DCT-like 4×4 integer transform. The invention does not depend on any particular type of interframe coding if used, or of motion compensation if used for interframe coding, or any intra-estimation if used for estimating the pixels of a block using information from neighboring blocks. 
     Note that variable length coding is sometimes referred to as entropy coding or statistical coding. 
     Note also that the term amplitude is irrespective of sign. Therefore, for example, coefficient of values +1 and −1 both have amplitude 1. 
     In the embodiments described above, the forming of the codeword includes an indication of the sign any non-zero coefficients in the event. In one version, the sign information is added separate from the formation of events, e.g., as a code for the series of signs. In alternate embodiment, the sign information is incorporated into the process of forming event, so that, for example, the event corresponding to the coefficients {0010-1} is not the same event as for {00-101} or for {00-10-1}. 
     While one embodiment described herein includes a memory that stores a coding table (including a 3D table stored in the form of a plurality of 2D tables), other embodiments store the coding information in the form of a data structure other than a table, e.g., a structure that includes a tree. Other data structures also may be used. Similarly, while one embodiment described herein includes a memory that stores a decoding, other embodiments store the decoding information in the form of a data structure other than a table for the decoding. 
     Note also that the present invention does not depend on the particular type of VLC used, and can work, for example, with Huffman coding and with arithmetic coding methods. Furthermore, while embodiments have been described that used fixed encoding for the events based on assumed or a priori likelihoods of occurrence of the events (also called the symbols), i.e., the likelihoods of occurrence of the events do not change, other embodiments use adaptive encoding, i.e., the encoding is changeable according to statistical data such as histograms collected from the actual coefficients. 
     Thus, while there has been described what is believed to be the preferred embodiments of the invention, those skilled in the art will recognize that other and further modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intended to claim all such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the invention.