• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.24 no.10B
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• pp.1921-1936
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• 1999

In this paper, we analyze the blocking artifact in block transform-coded images and propose a classification algorithm which classifies each horizontal and vertical block boundary into four regions of EQ, BA, EE, and AE according to the characteristics of the blocking artifact. We also compare the performance of several blocking artifact reduction methods which can reduce blocking artifact in block transform-coded images well. As the blocking artifact reduction methods, the LOT, Kim's wavelet transform-based method, Yang's POCS, Paek's POCS, and Jang's CM have been selected. Experimental results show that each horizontal and vertical block boundary classified by using the proposed classification algorithm yields different characteristics of discontinuities due to the blocking artifact according to the classified region. It is also shown that the blocking artifact reduction methods using wavelet transform yield better performance over the other methods.

• Proceedings of the IEEK Conference
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• 1998.10a
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• pp.907-910
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• 1998

In this paper, we present a comparative performance analysis of several blocking artifact reduction algorithms. For the performance analysis, we propose a block boundary region classification algorithm which classifies each horizontal and vertical block boundary into four regions using brightness change near the block boundary. The PSNR performance of each algorithm is compared. The MSE according to each block boundary region is also compared. Experimental results show that the wavelet transform based blocking artifact reduction algorithms have better performance over the other methods.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.462-467
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• 2002

A new approach for reducing the blocking artifact is proposed in this paper. This method can be applied to conventional transform coding, without introducing additional information or significant blurring. Main drawbacks of the Discrete Cosine Transform(DCT) are visible block boundaries due to coarse quantization of the coefficients. Therefore, restoration techniques result in unnecessary blurring of the image. The proposed deblocking algorithm is based on the heuristic approach for edge detection. All edges of the standard still images are categorized, and the best edges are selected. Several images are used fer experiments, and several other previous algorithms are compared with the proposed approach. The results show that the proposed algorithm works better than those of other previous researches. This algorithm can be used for JPEG, MPEG, and H.261 standard images.

• Journal of Broadcast Engineering
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.313-320
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• 2017

The In-loop filtering methods such as de-blocking filter and SAO(Sample Adaptive Offset) applied to the HEVC standard achieves coding efficiency and subjective quality improvement by reducing the blocking artifacts and the ringing artifacts. However, despite the use of In-loop filtering methods, the artifacts called a corner outlier occurring at the corner points of block boundaries are not removed. In this paper, the corner outlier artifacts are reduced by the detection, determination, and filtering processes on the corner outlier pixels. Experimental results show that the proposed method improves the subjective picture quality and slightly increases the coding efficiency in Inter prediction.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SP
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.79-86
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• 2003

A new quantization constraint set based on the theory of Projection onto Convex Set(POCS) is proposed to reduce blocking artifact appearing in block-coded images. POCS-based postprocessing for alleviating the blocking artifact consists of iterative projections onto smoothness constraint set and quantization constraint set, respectively. In general, the conventional quantization constraint set has the maximum size of range where original image data can be included, therefore over-blurring of restored image is unavoidable as iteration proceeds. The projection onto the proposed quantization constraint set can reduce blocking artifact as well as maintain the clearness of the decoded image, since it controls adaptively the size of quantization constraint set according to the DCT coefficients. Simulation results using the proposed quantization constraint set as a substitute for conventional quantization constraint set show that the blocking artifact of the decoded image can be reduced by the small number of iterations, and we know that the postprocessed image maintains the distinction of the decoded image.

• Journal of the Korea Computer Graphics Society
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.35-40
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• 2000

There are two problems in H.26X compression technique. One is compressing time in encoding process and the other is degradation of the decoded video quality due to high compression rate. For transferring moving pictures in real-time, it is required to adopt massively high compression. In this case, there are a lot of losses of an original video data and that results in degradation of quality. Especially degradation called by blocking artifact may be produced. The blocking artifact effect is produced by DCT-based coding techniques because they operate without considering correlation between pixels in block boundaries. So it represents discontinuity between adjacent blocks. This paper describes methods of quality compensation for H.26x decoded data and enhancing encoding speed for real-time operation. Our goal of the quality compensation is not to make the decoded video identical to a original video but to make it perceived better through human eyes. We suggest an algorithm that reduces block artifact and clears decoded video in decoder. To enhance encoding speed, we adopt new four-step search algorithm. As shown in the experimental result, the quality compensation provides better video quality because of reducing blocking artifact. And then new four-step search algorithm with $MMX^{TM}$ implementation improves encoding speed from 2.5 fps to 17 fps.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.24 no.12B
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• pp.2369-2381
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• 1999

In this paper, we propose an iterative algorithm for reducing the blocking artifact in block transform-coded images by using a wavelet transform. In the proposed method, an image is considered as a set of one-dimensional horizontal and vertical signals and one-dimensional wavelet transform is utilized in which the mother wavelet is the first order derivative of a Gaussian like function. The blocking artifact is reduced by removing the blocking component, that causes the variance at the block boundary position in the first scale wavelet domain to be abnormally higher than those at the other positions, using a minimum mean square error (MMSE) filter in the wavelet domain. This filter minimizes the MSE between the ideal blocking component-free signal and the restored signal in the neighborhood of block boundaries in the wavelet domain. It also uses local variance in the wavelet domain for pixel adaptive processing. The filtering and the projection onto a convex set of quantization constraint are iteratively performed in alternating fashion. Experimental results show that the proposed method yields not only a PSNR improvement of about 0.56-1.07 dB, but also subjective quality nearly free of the blocking artifact and edge blur.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.27 no.10A
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• pp.1011-1020
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• 2002

The current paper presents an effective deblocking algorithm for block-based coded images using singularity detection in a wavelet transform. In block-based coded images, the local maxima of a wavelet transform modulus detect all singularities, including blocking artifacts, from multiscale edges. Accordingly, the current study discriminates between a blocking artifact and an edge by estimation the Lipschitz regularity of the local maxima and removing the wavelet transform modulus of a blocking artifact that has a negative Lipschitz regularity exponent. Experimental results showed that the performance of the proposed algorithm was objectively and subjectively superior.

• Proceedings of the IEEK Conference
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• 2000.07a
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• pp.437-440
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• 2000

This paper proposes a method to improve video quality on images that have blocking artifacts at block boundary. Block image transform coding suffers from blocking artifact that is a main cause of degrading video quality because of the quantization error of transform coefficients in quantization process. filtering and DPCM for DC components have been widely used to reduce blocking artifact. Recently, lots of works focus on the technique that minimizes block effects using discontinuity of block boundaries. In this paper, image blurring in decoding stage is improved by adding compensation factor to each transformed blocks so that discontinuity of block boundaries can be decreased. The compensation factor is applied on each block without much loss of edge components.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.27 no.6A
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• pp.584-591
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• 2002

In this paper, we proposed a b1ocking artifact reduction algorithm using similarity and linear combination between blocks. In the proposed method, all of the blocks are classified into low frequency block and high frequency block according to the their DCT coefficients. And we defined range block which shows blocking artifacts, as block centered to block boundary and defied domain block as similar block with range block within search range. In the search procedure, we used sub-block's property of range block and similarity for more accurate searching. Finally blocking artifact reduction algorithm is performed using linear combination between searched domain block and blocky range block. The performance of the proposed method is investigated by computer simulation in comparison with the traditional methods. In the experimental results, Ire confirmed the better performance in the subjective by 0.04∼0.4 dB and objective image quality.