Gitiles
Code Review Sign In
gerrit-public.fairphone.software / platform / external / ImageMagick / 4c54bbb3e1424a77d53531d8f5cb431f379c97ec / . / www / quantize.html
blob: 4b9af047fff2f4d881c8185843cb8f4da4c2611f [file] [log] [blame]
cristydcca3fa2010-12-29 21:50:07 +0000[diff] [blame]1<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN"
2 "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">
cristy2bd2a982011-02-15 00:52:58 +0000[diff] [blame]3<html version="-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN"
4 xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en"
5 xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
6 xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml
7 http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/SCHEMA/xhtml11.xsd">
cristy3eaa0ef2010-03-06 20:35:26 +0000[diff] [blame]8<head>
cristy3c98a4f2010-08-13 20:09:41 +0000[diff] [blame]9 <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"/>
10 <meta name="verify-v1" content="g222frIIxcQTrvDR3NBRUSKP3AnMNoqxOkIniCEkV7U="/>
cristydcca3fa2010-12-29 21:50:07 +0000[diff] [blame]11 <title>ImageMagick: Color Reduction Utilizing Adaptive Spatial Subdivision</title>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]12 <meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en-US"/>
13 <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>
14 <meta http-equiv="Reply-to" content="magick-users@imagemagick.org"/>
cristy3c98a4f2010-08-13 20:09:41 +0000[diff] [blame]15 <meta name="Application-name" content="ImageMagick"/>
cristyaf8d6652011-02-04 21:57:45 +0000[diff] [blame]16 <meta name="Description" content="Use ImageMagick to convert, edit, or compose bitmap images in a variety of formats. In addition resize, rotate, shear, distort and transform images."/>
cristy3c98a4f2010-08-13 20:09:41 +0000[diff] [blame]17 <meta name="Application-url" content="http://www.imagemagick.org"/>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]18 <meta name="Generator" content="PHP"/>
19 <meta name="Keywords" content="color, reduction, utilizing, adaptive, spatial, subdivision, ImageMagick, ImageMagic, MagickCore, MagickWand, PerlMagick, Magick++, RMagick, PythonMagick, JMagick, TclMagick, Image, Magick, Magic, Wand, ImageMagickObject, Swiss, Army, Knife, Image, Processing"/>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]20 <meta name="Rating" content="GENERAL"/>
21 <meta name="Robots" content="INDEX, FOLLOW"/>
22 <meta name="Generator" content="ImageMagick Studio LLC"/>
23 <meta name="Author" content="ImageMagick Studio LLC"/>
24 <meta name="Revisit-after" content="2 DAYS"/>
25 <meta name="Resource-type" content="document"/>
cristy7e41fe82010-12-04 23:12:08 +0000[diff] [blame]26 <meta name="Copyright" content="Copyright (c) 1999-2011 ImageMagick Studio LLC"/>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]27 <meta name="Distribution" content="Global"/>
cristydcca3fa2010-12-29 21:50:07 +0000[diff] [blame]28 <link rel="icon" href="../images/wand.png"/>
cristy3c98a4f2010-08-13 20:09:41 +0000[diff] [blame]29 <link rel="shortcut icon" href="../images/wand.ico" type="images/x-icon"/>
30 <link rel="meta" type="application/rdf+xml" title="ICI" href="http://imagemagick.org/ici.rdf"/>
cristy7a40ba82011-01-08 20:31:18 +0000[diff] [blame]31 <link rel="stylesheet" href="http://www.google.com/cse/style/look/default.css" type="text/css" />
cristy3c98a4f2010-08-13 20:09:41 +0000[diff] [blame]32 <style type="text/css" media="all">
33 @import url("../www/magick.css");
34 </style>
cristydcca3fa2010-12-29 21:50:07 +0000[diff] [blame]35 <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.4/jquery.min.js"></script>
cristy361f4662010-12-31 23:02:52 +0000[diff] [blame]36 <script type="text/javascript" src="../fancybox/jquery.fancybox-1.3.4.pack.js"></script>
37 <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../fancybox/jquery.fancybox-1.3.4.css" media="screen" />
38 <script type="text/javascript">
39 $(document).ready(function() {
40 $("a[href$=.jpg],a[href$=.png],a[href$=.gif]").fancybox({
41 'transitionIn' : 'elastic',
42 'transitionOut' : 'elastic',
43 'overlayShow' : false,
44 'opacity' : true
45 });
46 });
47 </script>
cristy3eaa0ef2010-03-06 20:35:26 +0000[diff] [blame]48</head>
49
50<body id="www-imagemagick-org">
51<div class="titlebar">
52<a href="../index.html">
53 <img src="../images/script.png" alt="[ImageMagick]"
54 style="width: 350px; height: 60px; margin: 28px auto; float: left;" /></a>
55<a href="http://www.networkredux.com">
56 <img src="../images/networkredux.png" alt="[sponsor]"
cristy52923442011-01-15 22:54:31 +0000[diff] [blame]57 style="margin-top: 42px; border: 0px; float: left;" /></a>
cristy3eaa0ef2010-03-06 20:35:26 +0000[diff] [blame]58<a href="http://www.imagemagick.org/discourse-server/">
cristyaf8d6652011-02-04 21:57:45 +0000[diff] [blame]59 <img src="../images/logo.jpg"
60 alt="ImageMagick Logo"
cristy178edaf2011-01-23 03:42:39 +0000[diff] [blame]61 style="width: 123px; height: 118px; border: 0px; float: right;" /></a>
cristy3eaa0ef2010-03-06 20:35:26 +0000[diff] [blame]62<a href="../index.html">
cristyaf8d6652011-02-04 21:57:45 +0000[diff] [blame]63 <img src="../images/sprite.jpg"
64 alt="ImageMagick Sprite"
cristy3eaa0ef2010-03-06 20:35:26 +0000[diff] [blame]65 style="width: 114px; height: 118px; border: 0px; float: right;" /></a>
66</div>
67
cristyce69bb02010-07-27 19:49:46 +0000[diff] [blame]68<div class="westbar">
cristy3eaa0ef2010-03-06 20:35:26 +0000[diff] [blame]69
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]70<div class="menu">
cristy83a272e2010-05-07 20:40:35 +0000[diff] [blame]71 <a title="About ImageMagick" href="../index.html">About ImageMagick</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]72</div>
cristy3eaa0ef2010-03-06 20:35:26 +0000[diff] [blame]73<div class="sep"></div>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]74<div class="menu">
cristybb503372010-05-27 20:51:26 +0000[diff] [blame]75 <a title="Binary Releases" href="../www/binary-releases.html">Binary Releases</a>
76</div>
77<div class="sub">
78 <a title="Binary Release: Unix" href="../www/binary-releases.html#unix">Unix</a>
79</div>
80<div class="sub">
81 <a title="Binary Release: MacOS X" href="../www/binary-releases.html#macosx">Mac OS X</a>
82</div>
83<div class="sub">
cristyda16f162011-02-19 23:52:17 +0000[diff] [blame]84 <a title="Binary Release: iPhone" href="../www/binary-releases.html#iPhone">iPhone</a>
85</div>
86<div class="sub">
cristybb503372010-05-27 20:51:26 +0000[diff] [blame]87 <a title="Binary Release: Windows" href="../www/binary-releases.html#windows">Windows</a>
88</div>
89<div class="sep"></div>
90<div class="menu">
cristy83a272e2010-05-07 20:40:35 +0000[diff] [blame]91 <a title="Command-line Tools" href="../www/command-line-tools.html">Command-line Tools</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]92</div>
93<div class="sub">
cristy83a272e2010-05-07 20:40:35 +0000[diff] [blame]94 <a title="Command-line Tools: Processing" href="../www/command-line-processing.html">Processing</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]95</div>
96<div class="sub">
cristy83a272e2010-05-07 20:40:35 +0000[diff] [blame]97 <a title="Command-line Tools: Options" href="../www/command-line-options.html">Options</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]98</div>
99<div class="sub">
cristy83a272e2010-05-07 20:40:35 +0000[diff] [blame]100 <a title="Command-line Tools: Usage" href="http://www.imagemagick.org/Usage/">Usage</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]101</div>
102<div class="menu">
cristy83a272e2010-05-07 20:40:35 +0000[diff] [blame]103 <a title="Program Interfaces" href="../www/api.html">Program Interfaces</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]104</div>
105<div class="sub">
cristy83a272e2010-05-07 20:40:35 +0000[diff] [blame]106 <a title="Program Interface: MagickWand" href="../www/magick-wand.html">MagickWand</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]107</div>
108<div class="sub">
cristy83a272e2010-05-07 20:40:35 +0000[diff] [blame]109 <a title="Program Interface: MagickCore" href="../www/magick-core.html">MagickCore</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]110</div>
111<div class="sub">
cristy83a272e2010-05-07 20:40:35 +0000[diff] [blame]112 <a title="Program Interface: PerlMagick" href="../www/perl-magick.html">PerlMagick</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]113</div>
114<div class="sub">
cristydcca3fa2010-12-29 21:50:07 +0000[diff] [blame]115 <a title="Program Interface: Magick++" href="../www/magick++.html">Magick++</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]116</div>
cristy3eaa0ef2010-03-06 20:35:26 +0000[diff] [blame]117<div class="sep"></div>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]118<div class="menu">
cristy83a272e2010-05-07 20:40:35 +0000[diff] [blame]119 <a title="Install from Source" href="../www/install-source.html">Install from Source</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]120</div>
121<div class="sub">
cristy83a272e2010-05-07 20:40:35 +0000[diff] [blame]122 <a title="Install from Source: Unix" href="../www/install-source.html#unix">Unix</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]123</div>
124<div class="sub">
cristy83a272e2010-05-07 20:40:35 +0000[diff] [blame]125 <a title="Install from Source: Windows" href="../www/install-source.html#windows">Windows</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]126 </div>
127<div class="menu">
cristy83a272e2010-05-07 20:40:35 +0000[diff] [blame]128 <a title="Resources" href="../www/resources.html">Resources</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]129</div>
cristybb503372010-05-27 20:51:26 +0000[diff] [blame]130<div class="menu">
131 <a title="Architecture" href="../www/architecture.html">Architecture</a>
132</div>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]133<div class="menu">
cristy83a272e2010-05-07 20:40:35 +0000[diff] [blame]134 <a title="Download" href="../www/download.html">Download</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]135</div>
cristy3eaa0ef2010-03-06 20:35:26 +0000[diff] [blame]136<div class="sep"></div>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]137<div class="menu">
cristy52923442011-01-15 22:54:31 +0000[diff] [blame]138 <a title="Search" href="../www/search.html">Search</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]139</div>
cristy3eaa0ef2010-03-06 20:35:26 +0000[diff] [blame]140<div class="sep"></div>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]141<div class="menu">
cristydcca3fa2010-12-29 21:50:07 +0000[diff] [blame]142 <a title="Site Map" href="../www/sitemap.html">Site Map</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]143</div>
144<div class="sub">
cristydcca3fa2010-12-29 21:50:07 +0000[diff] [blame]145 <a title="Site Map: Links" href="../www/links.html">Links</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]146</div>
cristy3eaa0ef2010-03-06 20:35:26 +0000[diff] [blame]147<div class="sep"></div>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]148<div class="menu">
cristy83a272e2010-05-07 20:40:35 +0000[diff] [blame]149 <a title="Sponsors" href="../www/sponsors.html">Sponsors:</a>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]150
151<div class="sponsbox">
cristy178edaf2011-01-23 03:42:39 +0000[diff] [blame]152<div class="sponsor">
cristy4c54bbb2011-03-17 13:53:13 +0000[diff] [blame^]153 <a title="Sponsor: Druckerei" href="http://www.allesdruck.de">Druckerei</a><!-- 201303011500 r.leo -->
154</div>
155<div class="sponsor">
cristybe3c5be2011-03-05 17:35:07 +0000[diff] [blame]156 <a title="Sponsor: Hotel München" href="http://www.messehotel-erb-muenchen.de">Hotel München</a><!-- 201111010450 cerb -->
157</div>
158<div class="sponsor">
159 <a title="Sponsor: Website Hosting" href="http://www.hostreviewgeeks.com">Website Hosting</a><!-- 201106010090 alexanian media -->
cristyaf8d6652011-02-04 21:57:45 +0000[diff] [blame]160</div>
161<div class="sponsor">
cristyee742642011-02-26 02:49:59 +0000[diff] [blame]162 <a title="Sponsor: Best Web Hosting" href="http://webhostinggeeks.com">Best Web Hosting</a><!-- 201110010720 -->
cristy7d52cd62010-10-01 17:26:59 +0000[diff] [blame]163</div>
164<div class="sponsor">
cristyee742642011-02-26 02:49:59 +0000[diff] [blame]165 <a title="Sponsor: Web Hosting Ratings" href="http://webhostingrating.com">Web Hosting Ratings</a><!-- 201110010720 -->
166</div>
167<div class="sponsor">
cristy851dbce2010-08-06 21:40:00 +0000[diff] [blame]168 <a title="Sponsor: Flyer drucken" href="http://www.online-druck.biz">Flyer drucken</a><!-- 201109010900 Floeter-->
169</div>
cristyee742642011-02-26 02:49:59 +0000[diff] [blame]170<div class="sponsor">
171 <a title="Sponsor: Web Hosting" href="http://www.bodhost.com/hosting.shtml">Web Hosting</a><!-- 201104010090 -->
172</div>
cristyec6b4752011-01-08 03:16:23 +0000[diff] [blame]173<div class="sponsor">
cristy178edaf2011-01-23 03:42:39 +0000[diff] [blame]174 <a title="Sponsor: Druckerei" href="http://print24.com/de/">Druckerei</a><!-- 201110010720 -->
175</div>
176<div class="sponsor">
cristy4c54bbb2011-03-17 13:53:13 +0000[diff] [blame^]177 <a title="Sponsor: Custom T-Shirts" href="http://www.ooshirts.com">Custom T-Shirts</a><!-- 2011050100030 ooshirts.com-->
cristyec6b4752011-01-08 03:16:23 +0000[diff] [blame]178</div>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]179</div>
180</div>
cristyce69bb02010-07-27 19:49:46 +0000[diff] [blame]181</div>
cristy3eaa0ef2010-03-06 20:35:26 +0000[diff] [blame]182
cristyce69bb02010-07-27 19:49:46 +0000[diff] [blame]183<div class="eastbar">
184 <script type="text/javascript">
185 <!--
186 google_ad_client = "pub-3129977114552745";
cristyce69bb02010-07-27 19:49:46 +0000[diff] [blame]187 google_ad_slot = "0574824969";
188 google_ad_width = 160;
189 google_ad_height = 600;
190 //-->
191 </script>
192 <script type="text/javascript"
193 src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
194 </script>
cristy3eaa0ef2010-03-06 20:35:26 +0000[diff] [blame]195</div>
196
197<div class="main">
198
cristydcca3fa2010-12-29 21:50:07 +0000[diff] [blame]199<h1>ImageMagick Color Reduction</h1>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]200<p class="navigation-index">[<a href="#describe">Algorithm Description</a> &bull; <a href="#measure">Measuring Color Reduction Error</a>]</p>
201
202<div class="doc-section">
203<p>This document describes how ImageMagick performs color reduction on an image. To fully understand what follows, you should have a knowledge of basic imaging techniques and the tree data structure and terminology.</p>
204</div>
205
cristydcca3fa2010-12-29 21:50:07 +0000[diff] [blame]206<h2><a id="describe"></a>Algorithm Description</h2>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]207<div class="doc-section">
208
209<p>For purposes of color allocation, an image is a set of <em>n</em> pixels, where each pixel is a point in RGB space. RGB space is a 3-dimensional vector space, and each pixel, <em>p(i)</em>, is defined by an ordered triple of red, green, and blue coordinates, (<em>r(i)</em>, <em>g(i)</em>, <em>b(i)</em>).</p>
210
211<p>Each primary color component (<em>red</em>, <em>green</em>, or <em>blue</em>) represents an intensity which varies linearly from 0 to a maximum value, <em>Cmax</em>, which corresponds to full saturation of that color. Color allocation is defined over a domain consisting of the cube in RGB space with opposite vertices at (0, 0, 0) and (<em>Cmax</em>, <em>Cmax</em>, <em>Cmax</em>). ImageMagick requires <em>Cmax</em>= <em>255</em>.</p>
212
213<p>The algorithm maps this domain onto a tree in which each node represents a cube within that domain. In the following discussion, these cubes are defined by the coordinate of two opposite vertices: The vertex nearest the origin in RGB space and the vertex farthest from the origin.</p>
214
215<p>The tree's root node represents the entire domain, (0,0,0) through (<em>Cmax</em>, <em>Cmax</em>, <em>Cmax</em>). Each lower level in the tree is generated by subdividing one node's cube into eight smaller cubes of equal size. This corresponds to bisecting the parent cube with planes passing through the midpoints of each edge.</p>
216
217<p>The basic algorithm operates in three phases:</p>
218
219<ol>
220 <li>Classification</li>
221 <li>Reduction</li>
222 <li>Assignment</li>
223</ol>
224
225<p><b>Classification</b></p>
226
227<p>Classification builds a color description tree for the image. Reduction collapses the tree until the number it represents, at most, is the number of colors desired in the output image. Assignment defines the output image's color map and sets each pixel's color by reclassification in the reduced tree. <em>Our goal is to minimize the numerical discrepancies between the original colors and quantized colors</em>. To learn more about quantization error, see <a href="#measure">Measuring Color Reduction Error</a>.</p>
228
229<p>Classification begins by initializing a color description tree of sufficient depth to represent each possible input color in a leaf. However, it is impractical to generate a fully-formed color description tree in the classification phase for realistic values of <em>Cmax</em>. If color components in the input image are quantized to <em>k</em>-bit precision, so that <em>Cmax</em> = <em>2^k-1</em>, the tree would need <em>k</em> levels below the root node to allow representing each possible input color in a leaf. This becomes prohibitive because the tree's total number of nodes:</p>
230
231<pre class="text">
232 total nodes = 1+Sum(8^i), i=1,k
233
234 For k=8,
235 nodes = 1 + (8^1+8^2+....+8^8)
236 = 1 + 8(8^8 - 1)/(8 - 1)
237 = 19,173,961
238</pre>
239
240<p>Therefore, to avoid building a fully populated tree, ImageMagick:</p>
241
242<ol>
243 <li>initializes data structures for nodes only as they are needed;</li>
244 <li>chooses a maximum depth for the tree as a function of the desired number of colors in the output image (currently the <em>base-two</em> logarithm of <em>Cmax</em>).</li>
245</ol>
246
247<pre class="text">
248 For Cmax=255,
249 maximum tree depth = log<sub>2</sub>(256)
250 = 8
251</pre>
252
253<p>A tree of this depth generally allows the best representation of the source image with the fastest computational speed and the least amount of memory. However, the default depth is inappropriate for some images. Therefore, the caller can request a specific tree depth.</p>
254
255<p>For each pixel in the input image, classification scans downward from the root of the color description tree. At each level of the tree, it identifies the single node which represents a cube in RGB space containing the pixels' color. It updates the following data for each such node:</p>
256
257<dl class="doc">
258<dt class="doc">n1</dt>
259 <dd>number of pixels whose color is contained in the RGB cube which this node represents;</dd>
260<dt class="doc">n2</dt>
261 <dd>number of pixels whose color is not represented in a node at lower depth in the tree; initially, <em>n2=0</em> for all nodes except leaves of the tree.</dd>
262<dt class="doc">Sr,Sg,Sb</dt>
263 <dd>sums of the <em>red</em>, <em>green</em>, and <em>blue</em> component values for all pixels not classified at a lower depth. The combination of these sums and <em>n2</em> will ultimately characterize the mean color of a set of pixels represented by this node.</dd>
264<dt class="doc">E</dt>
265 <dd>the distance squared in RGB space between each pixel contained within a node and the nodes' center. This represents the quantization error for a node.</dd>
266</dl>
267
268<p><b>Reduction</b></p>
269
270<p>Reduction repeatedly prunes the tree until the number of nodes with <em>n2</em> &gt; <em>0</em> is less than or equal to the maximum number of colors allowed in the output image. On any given iteration over the tree, it selects those nodes whose <em>E</em> value is minimal for pruning and merges their color statistics upward. It uses a pruning threshold, <em>Ep</em>, to govern node selection as follows:</p>
271
272<pre class="text">
273 Ep = 0
274 while number of nodes with (n2 &gt; 0) &gt; required maximum number of colors
275 prune all nodes such that E &lt;= Ep
276 Set Ep to minimum E in remaining nodes
277</pre>
278
279<p>This has the effect of minimizing any quantization error when merging two nodes together.</p>
280
281<p>When a node to be pruned has offspring, the pruning procedure invokes itself recursively in order to prune the tree from the leaves upward. The values of <em>n2</em>, <em>Sr</em>, <em>Sg</em>, and <em>Sb</em> in a node being pruned are always added to the corresponding data in that node's parent. This retains the pruned node's color characteristics for later averaging.</p>
282
283<p>For each node, <em>n2</em> pixels exist for which that node represents the smallest volume in RGB space containing those pixel's colors. When <em>n2</em> &gt; <em>0</em> the node will uniquely define a color in the output image. At the beginning of reduction, <em>n2</em> = <em>0</em> for all nodes except the leaves of the tree which represent colors present in the input image.</p>
284
285<p>The other pixel count, <em>n1</em>, indicates the total number of colors within the cubic volume which the node represents. This includes <em>n1</em> - <em>n2</em> pixels whose colors should be defined by nodes at a lower level in the tree.</p>
286
287<p><b>Assignment</b></p>
288
289<p>Assignment generates the output image from the pruned tree. The output image consists of two parts:</p>
290<ol>
291 <li>A color map, which is an array of color descriptions (RGB triples) for each color present in the output image.</li>
292
293 <li>A pixel array, which represents each pixel as an index into the color map array.</li>
294</ol>
295
296<p>First, the assignment phase makes one pass over the pruned color description tree to establish the image's color map. For each node with <em>n2</em> &gt; <em>0</em>, it divides <em>Sr</em>, <em>Sg</em>, and <em>Sb</em> by <em>n2</em>. This produces the mean color of all pixels that classify no lower than this node. Each of these colors becomes an entry in the color map.</p>
297
298<p>Finally, the assignment phase reclassifies each pixel in the pruned tree to identify the deepest node containing the pixel's color. The pixel's value in the pixel array becomes the index of this node's mean color in the color map.</p>
299
300<p>Empirical evidence suggests that the distances in color spaces such as YUV, or YIQ correspond to perceptual color differences more closely than do distances in RGB space. These color spaces may give better results when color reducing an image. Here the algorithm is as described except each pixel is a point in the alternate color space. For convenience, the color components are normalized to the range 0 to a maximum value, <em>Cmax</em>. The color reduction can then proceed as described.</p>
301
302</div>
303
cristydcca3fa2010-12-29 21:50:07 +0000[diff] [blame]304<h2><a id="measure"></a>Measuring Color Reduction Error</h2>
cristy3ed852e2009-09-05 21:47:34 +0000[diff] [blame]305<div class="doc-section">
306
307<p>Depending on the image, the color reduction error may be obvious or invisible. Images with high spatial frequencies (such as hair or grass) will show error much less than pictures with large smoothly shaded areas (such as faces). This because the high-frequency contour edges introduced by the color reduction process are masked by the high frequencies in the image.</p>
308
309<p>To measure the difference between the original and color reduced images (the total color reduction error), ImageMagick sums over all pixels in an image the distance squared in RGB space between each original pixel value and its color reduced value. ImageMagick prints several error measurements including the mean error per pixel, the normalized mean error, and the normalized maximum error.</p>
310
311<p>The normalized error measurement can be used to compare images. In general, the closer the mean error is to zero the more the quantized image resembles the source image. Ideally, the error should be perceptually-based, since the human eye is the final judge of quantization quality.</p>
312
313<p>These errors are measured and printed when the <a href="../www/command-line-options.html#colors">-colors</a> and <a href="../www/command-line-options.html#verbose">-verbose</a> options are specified on the <a href="../www/convert.html">convert</a> command line:</p>
314
315<dl class="doc">
316<dt class="doc">mean error per pixel</dt>
317 <dd>is the mean error for any single pixel in the image.</dd>
318<dt class="doc">normalized mean square error</dt>
319 <dd>is the normalized mean square quantization error for any single pixel in the image. This distance measure is normalized to a range between 0 and 1. It is independent of the range of red, green, and blue values in the image.</dd>
320<dt class="doc">normalized maximum square error</dt>
321 <dd>is the largest normalized square quantization error for any single pixel in the image. This distance measure is normalized to a range between of red, green, and blue values in the image.</dd>
322</dl>
323
324</div>
325
cristy3eaa0ef2010-03-06 20:35:26 +0000[diff] [blame]326
327</div>
328
329<div id="linkbar">
cristyce69bb02010-07-27 19:49:46 +0000[diff] [blame]330 <span id="linkbar-west">&nbsp;</span>
cristy3eaa0ef2010-03-06 20:35:26 +0000[diff] [blame]331 <span id="linkbar-center">
332 <a href="http://www.imagemagick.org/discourse-server/">Discourse Server</a> &bull;
cristya8902942010-07-30 00:49:52 +0000[diff] [blame]333 <a href="http://www.imagemagick.org/MagickStudio/scripts/MagickStudio.cgi">Studio</a>
cristy3eaa0ef2010-03-06 20:35:26 +0000[diff] [blame]334 </span>
335 <span id="linkbar-east">&nbsp;</span>
336 </div>
337 <div class="footer">
cristy7e41fe82010-12-04 23:12:08 +0000[diff] [blame]338 <span id="footer-west">&copy; 1999-2011 ImageMagick Studio LLC</span>
cristy3eaa0ef2010-03-06 20:35:26 +0000[diff] [blame]339 <span id="footer-east"> <a href="http://www.imagemagick.org/script/contact.php">Contact the Wizards</a></span>
340 </div>
341 <div style="clear: both; margin: 0; width: 100%; "></div>
cristya8902942010-07-30 00:49:52 +0000[diff] [blame]342 <script type="text/javascript">
343 var _gaq = _gaq || [];
344 _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-17690367-1']);
345 _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
346
347 (function() {
348 var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
349 ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
350 var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
351 })();
352 </script>
cristy3eaa0ef2010-03-06 20:35:26 +0000[diff] [blame]353</body>
354</html>