Finite word-length effects on arithmetic codes

The effects of finite word length on arithmetic codes are studied. Four causes of performance degradation are identified. Emphasis is placed on the major source of the degradation, i.e., finite word-length registers used to compute the arithmetic codes. Theoretical analysis and computer simulation of this effect are presented. It is found that this degradation is proportional to the size of the alphabet and is reduced by half for each bit of increased word-length