Rating: 
Summary: "The" Definitive Guide
Review: Amazon claims that this is "the definitive guide". I have to agree with them because this book is the only broad grey pages introduction to data compression that I have been able to find, and it is very well written.If you are only casually interested in data compression this book is not for you. If you are interested in adding compression to your application and your data falls into a common category, sound, video, text ect this book is probably not for you. You should look to the open source community or buy an off the shelf product. But if your data is odd or unique like say telemtry data (I'm sure there are other examples I just can't think of any) and you need to design a compression scheme for your data this book is "the only" book for you. If you want to begin research into data compression and you are a newbie this book is a must have.
Rating:
Summary: "The" Definitive Guide
Review: Amazon claims that this is "the definitive guide". I have to agree with them because this book is the only broad grey pages introduction to data compression that I have been able to find, and it is very well written. If you are only casually interested in data compression this book is not for you. If you are interested in adding compression to your application and your data falls into a common category, sound, video, text ect this book is probably not for you. You should look to the open source community or buy an off the shelf product. But if your data is odd or unique like say telemtry data (I'm sure there are other examples I just can't think of any) and you need to design a compression scheme for your data this book is "the only" book for you. If you want to begin research into data compression and you are a newbie this book is a must have.
Rating: 
Summary: Appropriate examples
Review: Appropriate examples in this book help understanding of this field, even if readers don't have enogh grounding in mathematics. It should be also mentioned that this second edition covers new technologies such as wavelet-based compression. This is one of the best textbook to study still-image compression, while may be somewhat insufficient to study video compression.
Rating: 
Summary: Isn't it about software?
Review: I bought this book based on the title and the publisher. This is a good book, but it is not an "Introduction". For it to be an introduction one would expect that: 1)It had at least one programming example IN the book (not at an ftp site) OR 2)It didn't assume that you were a math major. The author covers a wide (and up to date) set of topics. But I kept getting the feeling that the author was "exercising his PhD" at the readers expense.
Rating:
Summary: Can't see any alternatives
Review: Many reviewers tried to say that this book should avoid the word "INTRODUCTION" in it's name because of it's intensive mathematics. But I'm totally disagree. Mathematics and all theoretical aspects explained in this book is just a preliminary review compare to what the researchers all around the world are doing in the data compression area. This book is really an "INTRODUCTION" book. This book is very comprehensive. You'd absolutely need it if you are going to start a research in this area. If you're just wonder how data can be compressed, you can try other easy books like Peter Wayner's :"Compression Algorithms for Real Programmers". Or if you need compression as a feature in your software product, I'd suggest you not to implement it yourself. Try 3rd party library. Data Compression is the job for specialists.
Rating:
Summary: Very good coverage
Review: The best thing about this book is the coverage and organization of the material. Sayood covers a wide variety of compression topics without getting into the nitty gritty details of them all. Thats why its an "Introductory" book. This book is a valuable resource for those who want to know the basics of various compression techniques and can be used as a starting point for further details. Some topics like arithmetic coding are covered in more detail than others. The book is also organized nicely with mathematical foundations provided as and when necessary.
Rating:
Summary: Very well-written book, software not so good
Review: The book is one of the clearest I have read as a text book. Why cant everybody write like this?? There is very good flow throughout the text. Only complaint is the software. It looks the software has not kept pace with the book itself. Some additional software has to be added (for Transform coding, for instance), and some references in the text book to the software are incorrect. If the accompanying software is upgraded, as it should be, I will rate this book a clear 5-star.
Rating:
Summary: Not Just An Introduction
Review: This book is very comprehensive, so it isn't just an introduction. Some mathematical maturity is required to understand parts of it. Nevertheless, it is an excellent reference for professionals in this field.
Rating:
Summary: Introduction to Data Compression, Second Edition
Review: This book provides an extensive introduction to the theory underlying today's compression techniques with detailed instruction for their application. The coverage has been significantly updated to reflect the state of the art in data compression, including both new algorithms and older methods for which new uses are being found. And the downloadable software gives you the opportunity to see firsthand how various algorithms work, to choose and implement appropriate techniques in your own applications, and to build your own algorithms
Rating:
Summary: Detailed, need mathematical knowledge, clearly explained.
Review: This book very detailed. Strong mathematical skill is recommanded, but it is not an requirement. The author walks you through data compression algorithms step by step.
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