Estimation of filter order for prescribed, reduced group delay FIR filter design

FIR filters are often applied, as they possess many advantages, including linear-phase response and well elaborated design methods. However, group delay introduced by FIR filters is usually large. The reduction of group delay can be obtained by restriction of the linear phase requirement only to the passband. One of the problems that appear while designing FIR filters with a prescribed value of group delay is the choice of the filter order. In the paper a formula for filter order calculation for the given filter parameters and dedicated for equiripple or quasi-equiripple approximation of the magnitude response has been derived based on experiments. Numerous examples that explain how to use the derived formula have been included.