We present a compression scheme that is useful for interactive video a
pplications such as browsing a multimedia database. The focus of our a
pproach the development of a compression scheme (and a corresponding r
etrieval scheme) that is optimal for any data rate. To browse a multim
edia database, such a compression scheme is essential. We use a multir
esolution setting, but eliminate the need for wavelets. This results i
n much better compression. We show experimental results and explain in
detail how to extend our approach to multidimensional data.