Image Compression Algorithms Explained: DCT, Huffman, and More
A clear breakdown of JPEG DCT, PNG deflate, and WebP VP8 algorithms. Understand what happens under the hood when you compress an image.
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Tags: image, algorithms, compression
Image Compression Algorithms: JPEG DCT, PNG Deflate, WebP Explained Behind every compressed image file is an algorithm — a specific mathematical approach to describing the same pixels with fewer bytes. Understanding how these algorithms work at a conceptual level makes you a better decision-maker when choosing formats, setting quality levels, and diagnosing unexpected results. This guide demystifies the three formats that power the modern web: JPEG's Discrete Cosine Transform, PNG's DEFLATE compression, and WebP's hybrid approach. No PhD required — just enough understanding to make confident choices. The Core Problem Every Image Codec Solves A raw, uncompressed image stores one byte per channel per pixel. A 1920×1080 RGB image contains 1,920 × 1,080 × 3 = 6,220,800 bytes — about 6 MB.…
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