Algorithm for Construction of Variable Length Code with Limited Maximum Word Length

As a high efficiency coding method for TV signals, variable length coding, such as Huffman coding, is extremely effective. However, when this variable length coding is applied to an actual TV codec which requires high-speed real-time processing, maximum word length will be limited for the hardware configuration. This correspondence describes an algorithm for the construction of a modified Huffman code with limited maximum word length by means of a "top-down" procedure meeting this requirement instead of the conventional "bottom-up" algorithm.