JPEG2000 is a wavelet transform based image compression specification with superior performance and remarkable flexibility. The wavelet decomposition of the image along with arithmetic and tag tree coding yeild very high compression with excellent visual quality. The standard specifies both lossy and lossless compression of images of any size and component composition. Multiple color spaces are supported as well with the option of defining the colorspace via an acceptable ICC color profile. The codestream generated is partitioned in such a way as to allow for variable decompression which enables different size resolutions of the image to be displayed, from a thumbnail to a full resolution lossless image.
VOCAL’s JPEG2000 implementation is complete for parts 1 and 8 of ISO standard 15444. The decoder is fully compliant, (Profile 1, Class 1) as per ISO 15444-4 (Conformance Testing). Part 8 of the standard ( JPEG2000 security: JPSEC) includes a vast array of encryption, authorization, and digital signature options. These may be implemented individually or in any combination giving the user the ability to securely transmit an image without losing the flexibilty and performance provided by the JPEG2000 format. An encrypted image is able to be passed through a possibly insecure server, resized appropriately for the destination, and received securely by the endpoint with no loss in quality.
Uses for the JPEG2000 image coding standard range from medical and document image storage to flexible distribution of one codestream to any device ranging from a mobile phone to a high definition computer screen. The standard is designed around flexibility and performance essential to any high quality image system.
Further information on JPEG 2000 is available: