Digitized Image Data Compression and Transfer

Information represented in a digitized image format (such as remote sensing, satellite, or photographic images) is becoming more readily available. These image files contain massive amounts of information requiring more efficient storage and transfer methods. The large size of these image files requires investigation of quality issues, transfer methods, and storage mechanisms. Digitized image data compression allows for faster file transfer over networks and requires less storage space for large image files. While moving over networks, compressed files are less affected by network errors because of the reduced transfer time. With data compression, however, the quality of the image is sometimes sacrificed for the sake of size and speed. This report discusses our research of digitized image data compression and transfer, including storage mechanisms used, compression techniques currently available for Macintosh and UNIX platforms, and the methods used to transfer image files over networks.