Patent ID: 7570825

Claim:
A method of determining a data configuration of a digital signal of an image, the signal having undergone at least one spatio-frequential transformation in a plurality of resolution levels, characterized in that the method comprises the following steps: determining at least two minimum rate reductions (D min ) as proportions of the total data rate of at least one resolution level of the signal, each as a function of a quality mode desired for the signal, distributing, over several of the plurality of the resolution levels of the signal, a rate reduction (D) greater than or equal to one of the minimum rate reductions (D min ) and which is such that the reduction in data rate distributed in each resolution level is less than or equal to a threshold representing a given quality mode, adding at least one marker describing the distribution of the reduction in data rate; and wherein the determining, the distributing and the adding steps are performed using a computer.