Statistical Study of Edges in TV Pictures

The present study is devoted to the statistical analysis of edges in still monochrome TV pictures. The visual information carried by the edges is especially important both for image interpretation and for subjective image quality evaluation. Statistical knowledge on edges is helpful to improve image coding techniques significantly as well as processing techniques for scene analysis. After an introduction on nonstationary local statistical models, we describe the parameters of edges and the methods used to measure them. Statistical data collected on these parameters are then presented. The data concern orientation, edge length, edge width, runlength between edges and edge slope probability distributions as well as the measure of orientation continuity along an edge and the relative frequencies of edge pixels and contrasted isolated pixels.