Parallel entropy coding

A computer-readable storage medium having computer executable program instructions embodied therein, wherein the computer executable program instructions are configured, when executed to:

• a) partition a digital picture into two or more vertical sections;
• b) perform a first stage of entropy coding on the two or more vertical sections with two or more corresponding Stage 1 encoder units on a row-by-row basis, wherein the entropy coding of the two or more vertical sections is performed in parallel such that each Stage 1 encoder unit performs entropy coding on its respective vertical section and returns a partially coded Stage 1 output to a Stage 2 encoder unit, wherein each partially coded Stage 1 output includes a representation of data for a corresponding vertical section that has been compressed by a compression factor greater than 1;
• and
• c) generate a final coded bitstream with the Stage 2 encoder unit from the partially encoded bitstreams as a Stage 2 output.

A system for parallel digital picture encoding, comprising:

• two or more Stage 1 encoder units;
• a Stage 2 encoder unit;
• a memory coupled to the Stage 1 and Stage 2 encoder units;
• instructions embodied in the memory and executable by the processor, wherein the instructions are configured to implement a method for the parallel encoding of the one or more digital pictures, wherein the computer executable program instructions are configured, when executed to:
• a) partition a digital picture into two or more vertical sections;
• b) perform a first stage of entropy coding on the two or more vertical sections with two or more corresponding Stage 1 encoder units on a row-by-row basis, wherein the entropy coding of the two or more vertical sections is performed in parallel such that each Stage 1 encoder unit performs entropy coding on its respective vertical section and returns a partially coded Stage 1 output to the Stage 2 encoder unit, wherein each partially coded Stage 1 output includes a representation of data for a corresponding vertical section that has been compressed by a compression factor greater than 1;
• and
• c) generate a final coded bitstream with the Stage 2 encoder unit from the partially encoded bitstreams as a Stage 2 output.