Foveated video quality assessment

Most image and video compression algorithms that have been proposed to improve picture quality relative to compression efficiency have either been designed based on objective criteria such as signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) or have been evaluated, post-design, against competing methods using an objective sample measure. However, existing quantitative design criteria and numerical measurements of image and video quality both fail to adequately capture those attributes deemed important by the human visual system, except, perhaps, at very low error rates. We present a framework for assessing the quality of and determining the efficiency of foveated and compressed images and video streams. Image foveation is a process of nonuniform sampling that accords with the acquisition of visual information at the human retina. Foveated image/video compression algorithms seek to exploit this reduction of sensed information by nonuniformly reducing the resolution of the visual data. We develop unique algorithms for assessing the quality of foveated image/video data using a model of human visual response. We demonstrate these concepts on foveated, compressed video streams using modified (foveated) versions of H.263 that are standard-compliant. We find that quality vs. compression is enhanced considerably by the foveation approach.