Patent US 5,963,672

A data encoding system for encoding input color pixel data and outputting encoded data. The data encoding system includes a reference pixel generating device which outputs reference pixel data corresponding to the input color pixel data to be encoded; a predictor having a color order table which sets the color ranks of color codes for every reference pixel pattern, reads and outputs the color rank of the corresponding color code from the color order table on the basis of the color pixel data to be encoded and its reference pixel data; and an entropy encoding device which converts the color ranking data into encoded data and outputs the encoded data.