A discrete cosine transform ( DCT ) expresses a finite sequence of
data points in terms of a sum of cosine functions oscillating at different
frequencies. The DCT, first proposed by Nasir Ahmed in 1972, is a widely used
transformation technique in signal processing and data compression. It is used
in most digital media, including digital images (such as JPEG and HEIF),
digital video (such as MPEG and H.26x), digital audio (such as Dolby Digital,
MP3 and AAC), digital television (such as SDTV, HDTV and VOD), digital radio
(such as AAC+ and DAB+), and speech coding (such as AAC-LD, Siren and Opus).