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Dithered Color Quantization
Author(s) -
Buhmann J.M.,
Fellner D.W.,
Held M.,
Ketterer J.,
Puzicha J.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
computer graphics forum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.578
H-Index - 120
eISSN - 1467-8659
pISSN - 0167-7055
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8659.00269
Subject(s) - dither , color quantization , quantization (signal processing) , artificial intelligence , computer science , computer vision , pixel , image quality , color image , distortion (music) , image (mathematics) , image processing , noise shaping , amplifier , computer network , bandwidth (computing)
Image quantization and digital halftoning are fundamental problems in computer graphics, which arise when displaying high‐color images on non‐truecolor devices. Both steps are generally performed sequentially and, in most cases, independent of each other. Color quantization with a pixel‐wise defined distortion measure and the dithering process with its local neighborhood optimize different quality criteria or, frequently, follow a heuristic without reference to any quality measure. In this paper we propose a new method to simultaneously quantize and dither color images. The method is based on a rigorous cost‐function approach which optimizes a quality criterion derived from a generic model of human perception. A highly efficient algorithm for optimization based on a multiscale method is developed for the dithered color quantization cost function. The quality criterion and the optimization algorithms are evaluated on a representative set of artificial and real‐world images as well as on a collection of icons. A significant image quality improvement is observed compared to standard color reduction approaches.