A universal source coding system with vector quantizer codebook transm
issions is studied using high resolution quantization theory. Conditio
ns are derived for the optimal tradeoff between quantizer resolution a
nd the information rate used to transmit codebooks. A formula that tig
htly bounds the mean squared error of the universal coding system as a
function or the time between codebook transmissions is experimentally
verified and found to be light, and a new and simpler derivation is g
iven. Other research in the literature has proposed vector quantizing
the transmitted codebooks; one conclusion we prove here is that under
some reasonable conditions uniform scalar quantization of the transmit
ted codebooks performs as well as vector quantizing than. Experimental
results are given that support the analytic derivations.