Patent ID: 7590287

Claim:
A method for generating a quality oriented significance map for assessing the quality of an image or video, comprising the following steps: extracting features of the image or video using visual feature-based information and knowledge-based information; determining a perceptual quality requirement of at least one extracted feature; and integrating the extracted features and the perceptual quality requirement of the at least one extracted feature to form an array of significance level values using a nonlinear mapping function, thereby generating the quality oriented significance map; wherein coupling effects as a result of the integration of the extracted features are used when forming the array of the significance level values, and wherein the quality oriented significance map is obtained using the following equation: m s , i , j , t = ∑ n N ⁢ f s , i , j , t n - ∑ k ⁢ c Lk · g 1 ⁡ ( f s , i , j , t L , f s , i , j , t k ) wherein m s,i,j,t is an element of the quality oriented significance map at scale s, position (i, j) and time t; f s,i,j,t n is the n th extracted feature, c Lk is a coupling factor which denotes the coupling effects of combining f s,i,j,t L and f s,i,j,t k ; n is the index extracted feature; k is another index of extracted feature such that 1<k<N and k≠L; N is the total number of extracted features; L is the maximum value of f s,i,j,t n denoted as L=arg max(f s,i,j,t n ), g 1 is the nonlinear mapping function.