Fast content-based multimedia retrieval technique using compressed data

In this paper, we present a novel technique that can be used for fast similarity-based indexing and retrieval of both image and video databases in distributed environments. We assume that image or video databases are stored in the compressed form using standard techniques such as JPEG for images, and M-JPEG or MPEG for videos. The existing techniques, proposed in the literature, use computationally intensive features and cost functions for content-based image and video retrieval and indexing. The proposed algorithm uses an innovative approach based on histograms of DC coefficients only, and therefore is computationally less expensive than the other approaches.