On the information-theoretic assessment of visual communication

This paper deals with the extension of information theory to the assessment of visual communication from scene to observer. The mathematical development rigorously unites the electro-optical design of image gathering and display devices with the digital processing algorithms for image coding and restoration. Results show that: end-to-end system analysis closely correlates with measurable and perceptual performance characteristics, such as data rate and image quality, respectively. The goal of producing the best possible image at the lowest data rate can be realized only if (a) the electro-optical design of the image-gathering device is optimized for the maximum-realizable information rate and (b) the image-restoration algorithm properly accounts for the perturbations in the visual communication channel.