Predictive Coding

Predictive coding was originally proposed by Cutler in 1952 [28]. In

this method, a number of previously coded pels are used to form
a prediction of the current pel. The difference between the pel and
its prediction forms the signal to be coded. Obviously, the better the
prediction, the smaller the error signal and the more efficient the
coding system. At the decoder, the same prediction is produced
using previously decoded pels, and the received error signal is
added to reconstruct the current pel. A block diagram of a predictive
coding system is depicted in Figure 2.8. Predictive coding is
commonly referred to as differential pulse code
modulation (DPCM). A special case of this method is delta
modulation (DM), which quantizes the error signal using two
quantization levels only.

Figure 2.8.  Block diagram of a predictive coding system

Predictive coding can take many forms, depending on the design of

the predictor and the quantizer blocks. The predictor can use a
linear or a nonlinear function of the previously decoded pels, it can
be 1-D (using pels from the same line) or 2-D (using pels from the
same line and from previous lines), and it can be fixed or adaptive.
The quantizer also can be uniform or nonuniform, and it can be
fixed or adaptive.
The minimal storage and processing requirements were partly
responsible for the early popularity of this method, when storage
and processing devices were scarce and expensive resources. The
method, however, provides only a modest amount of compression.
In addition, its performance is highly dependent on the statistics of
the input data, and it is very sensitive to errors (feedback through
the prediction loop can cause error propagation). As processing and
storage devices became more available, more complex, more
efficient methods like transform coding have become more popular.
Despite this, predictive coding is still used in video coding, as, for
example, in the lossless coding of motion vectors.