Codec provides improved image compression

inSilicon Corp has added the JPEG2000 codec to its existing portfolio of image compression semiconductor intellectual property.

inSilicon Corp has added the JPEG2000 codec to its existing portfolio of image compression semiconductor intellectual property.

This imaging product is fully compliant with the ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 1 (ITU-T SG8) specification.

The hardware based JPEG2000 codec targets the rapidly growing consumer, networking, and PC peripheral applications, including next-generation digital cameras, scanners, colour printers, and wireless imaging devices.

Compared with the previous JPEG standard, end users of these products incorporating the newer JPEG 2000 technology will benefit from improved image compression; enhanced control in trading off file size versus image quality; and greater error resiliency during image transfer in noisy environments.

Employing the reversible 5/3 wavelet transformation algorithms, inSilicon's JPEG2000 codec enables on-the fly, lossy and lossless compression and decompression operations, allowing system designers to optimise between image qualities and downloading time.

Compared to traditional JPEG, the JPEG2000 codec has significantly crisper graphics and text, even at compression ratios exceeding 50:1.

The inSilicon JPEG2000 codec is portable to any ASIC or FPGA technology and is designed for embedded application implementation with very efficient gate count and low power consumption.

The JPEG2000 codec supports programmable code block size, precinct size, decomposition levels, and quantisation tables on an individual tile basis to allow for customisable compression ratios.

The codec supports packet header coding and decoding to minimise packet-processing overhead requirements on the CPU, thereby conserving power and improving system performance.

For fast system-on-chip integration to any CPU, the JPEG2000 codec includes a simple CPU interface providing ready access to all programmable registers.

"End-users today want faster, more efficient transfer of image files to and from portable devices.

inSilicon's hardware implementation of the JPEG2000 codec is up to 50x faster than software-based JPEG2000 systems", said Kevin Walsh, vice president of marketing at inSilicon Corp.

"Compared to traditional JPEG systems, a complete coding and decoding JPEG2000 solution from inSilicon will enable users to process higher quality images at compression ratios beyond 50:1".

Hardware designers receive Verilog RTL source code, Verilog behavioral models, a comprehensive test suite, synthesis scripts, and documentation for integrating the JPEG2000 codec into a system-on-chip.

The JPEG2000 codec is available today.

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