From LOCO-I to the JPEG-LS standard

LOCO-I (LOw COmplexity LOssless COmpression for Images) is the algorithm at the core of the new ISO/ITU standard for lossless and near-lossless compression of continuous-tone images, JPEG-LS. The algorithm was conceived as a `low complexity projection' of the universal context modeling paradigm, matching its modeling unit to a simple coding unit based on Golomb codes. The JPEG-LS standard evolved after successive refinements of the core algorithm, and a description of its design principles and main algorithmic components is presented in this paper. LOCO-I/JPEG-LS attains compression ratios similar or superior to those obtained with state-of-the-art schemes based on arithmetic coding. Moreover, it is within a few percentage points of the best available compression ratios, at a much lower complexity level.