Patent ID: 7072520

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving a codestream of compressed image data organized in a plurality of layers, wherein each of the plurality of layers comprises coded data that adds visual value to the image; selecting one or more of the layers for quantization based on sideband information accompanying the codestream, wherein the sideband information includes information specifying the quantization that is to be performed, wherein the plurality of layers are predefined based on viewing distance so that a first set of one or more layers of the plurality of layers is selected to display an image for a first viewing distance and a second set of one or more layers of the plurality of layers is selected to display an image for the second viewing distance, wherein the first set of one or more layers and the first view distance are different than the second set of one or more layers and the second view distance; and decompressing non-quantized layers of the codestream.