PERCEPTUAL-ERROR MEASURE AND ITS APPLICATION TO SAMPLED AND INTERPOLATED SINGLE-EDGED IMAGES

Error metrics quantify the difference between a reproduced image and t he corresponding unprocessed original image. A drawback of the commonl y used metrics such as the mean square error is their poor correlation with the perceived quality of the reproduced image. We present a fram ework for an alternative metric that uses the distance in a perceptual space to predict the perceived impairment of reproduced images. The p erceptual space is spanned by perceptual artifacts that are introduced by image-reproduction techniques. For image reproduction using sampli ng and interpolation it is shown how such a multidimensional space can be determined from the image. The sensory strengths of the artifacts' periodic structure and blur are two of the orthogonal dimensions of t his space. In addition, we demonstrate that, after the perceptual-erro r metric is calibrated to a particular observer, this metric can succe ssfully predict experimentally determined subjective image quality of sampled and interpolated simple black-and-white images. (C) 1997 Optic al Society of America.