Reducing Blocking Artifacts Within Vector Quantization Algorithms
Vector quantization (VQ) provides a fast, low-power image compression technique for video communication products. However, since VQ techniques operate on each block of the image separately, they have been criticized for producing visually-disturbing blocking artifacts, especially at low bit rates. We present a VQ technique which uses hexagonally-shaped vectors to greatly reduce blocking artifacts. The effectiveness of the technique is demonstrated experimentally.