Patent ID: 6978049

Claim:
A method of processing an array of image data representing an initial image, comprising: applying a predefined family of transform filters to the array of image data so as to generate successive subbands of transform coefficients; encoding the transform coefficients and storing the encoded transform coefficients in a first file data structure in a predefined order to facilitate decoding a plurality N of overlapping subsets of the first file data structure for reconstructing the initial image at a corresponding plurality N of resolution levels 0 to N−1, each resolution level differing in resolution from a neighboring resolution level by a first predefined non-zero resolution factor; down-sampling the image to generate a second array of image data representing a smaller image having a lower resolution than the initial image; applying the predefined family of transform filters to the second array of image data so as to generate successive subbands of transform coefficients; and encoding the transform coefficients and storing the encoded transform coefficients in a second file data structure in the predefined order to facilitate decoding a plurality M of overlapping subsets of the second file data structure for reconstructing the smaller image at a corresponding plurality M of resolution levels 0 to M−1, each resolution level differing in resolution from a neighboring resolution level by a second predefined non-zero resolution factor; wherein the first and second file data structures together store encoded transform coefficients for reconstructing the initial image at a plurality of P of distinct resolution levels, where P is greater than N and greater than M.