A fast recursive algorithm for computing the discrete cosine transform

The discrete cosine transform (DCT) is widely applied in various fields, including image data compression, because it operates like the Karhunen-Loève transform for stationary random data. This paper presents a recursive algorithm for DCT with a structure that allows the generation of the next higher order DCT from two identical lower order DCT's. As a result, the method for implementing this recursive DCT requires fewer multipliers and adders than other DCT algorithms.