New multifilter design property for multiwavelet image compression

Abstract

Approximation order, linear phase symmetry, time-frequency localization, regularity, and stopband attenuation are some criteria that are widely used in wavelet filter design. In this paper, we propose a new criterion called good multifilter properties (GMPs) for the design and construction of multiwavelet filters targeting image compression applications. We first provide the definition of GMPs, followed by a necessary and sufficient condition for an orthonormal multiwavelet system to have a GMP order of at least 1. We then present an algorithm to construct orthogonal multiwavelets possessing GMPs, starting from any length-2N scalar CQFs. Image compression experiments are performed to evaluate the importance of GMPs for image compression, as compared to other common filter design criteria. Our results confirmed that multiwavelets that possess GMPs not only yield superior PSNR performances, but also require much lower computations in their transforms.