Blind Measurement of Blocking Artifacts of Images Based on Edge and Flat-region Detection

Image compression based on DCT often produces distortion of blocking effects, which seriously affect the visual quality of images. In order to detect the distortion of blocking effect, a new approach based on the flat region is presented in this article. The approach has a good correlation to characteristics of human perception, because human eyes are sensitive to the blocking effect which is produced at the flat regions of images, and it is also obvious in images. Furthermore, the approach is a non-reference image quality assessment. It does not only improve the efficiency, but also enhance the practicality of the algorithm. The approach has low complexity, high accuracy and good transplantation.