H. R. Wu, K.R. Rao
Objectives: This tutorial is based on a recent book edited by the presenters and address two critical issues and areas in theoretical research and practical system development in the field of digital picture coding and compression, i.e., HVS based perceptual quantitative quality/impairment metrics for digitally coded pictures (i.e., images and videos), and perceptual picture coding. It aims at providing the attendants with a comprehensive treatment and knowledge of (1) digital picture quality assessment and metrics for quality visual communications and entertainment services, and (2) perceptual (i.e., human visual system based) picture coding and compression for the next generation high quality picture coding systems and applications.
Justification: Proliferation of digital picture compression applications and products have made picture quality assessment and metrics an important and urgent issue to both professional and broader communities in digital TV broadcasting, video streaming and on-demand services, DVD and HD DVD/Blue-ray products and broadband wireless and multimedia communications. Human visual system based perceptual picture coding research and development has become an increasingly challenging topic in order to develop future generations of high quality coding systems and applications such as super-high definition imaging and videos, 3-D video/TV, immersive interactive visual systems, and medical imaging and archive systems for telemedicine/telehealth applications.
Hong Ren Wu received his Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from The University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia, in 1990. Dr Wu is currently a professor of visual communications engineering with Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University). Dr Wu has published extensively in refereed journals and his significant contributions in the area of the proposed tutorial include the no-reference picture blocking metric in 1997, the vision model based video blocking metric in 2002, vision model based perceptual image coding in 2004, and perceptually lossless coding of medical images in 2006. Dr Wu is the co-editor of the book Digital Video Image Quality and Perceptual Coding, (Taylor and Francis, 2006). Dr Wu is currently a guest editor for the special issue on Quality Issues in Multimedia Broadcasting of the IEEE Transactions on Broadcasting.
K. R. Rao received his Ph. D. degree in electrical engineering from The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, in 1966. Since 1966, Dr Rao has been with the University of Texas at Arlington where he is currently a professor of electrical engineering. Dr Rao, along with two other researchers, introduced the Discrete Cosine Transform in 1975 which has since become very popular in digital signal processing. Dr Rao has published extensively in refereed journals and authored and edited numerous books, including Orthogonal Transforms for Digital Signal Processing (Springer-Verlag, 1975), Discrete Cosine Transform-Algorithms, Advantages, Applications (Academic Press, 1990), Techniques and Standards for Image/Video/Audio Coding (Prentice Hall, 1996) and Digital Video Image Quality and Perceptual Coding, (Taylor and Francis, 2006). Dr Rao has conducted workshops/tutorials on video/audio coding/standards worldwide. Dr Rao is a Fellow of the IEEE.