Binary-symmetric-channel error effects on PCM color-image transmission

This paper considers the effects of channel errors on the digital transmission of color images. In the transmission system analyzed, each picture element of a color image is represented by three color components. Two cases are considered: the tristimulus representation and the luminance and chromaticity representation. Each color component is coded with a constant-word-length PCM code and passed through a binary symmetric channel. Channel errors are related to chromaticity and luminance errors in a reconstructed image by the use of color space diagrams. Statistical characteristics of image errors are determined for various color representations. It has been found that if the tristimulus values of a color are transmitted over the channel, the effects of channel errors are to desaturate ali colors toward a mid-gray. For luminance/chromaticity representations, channel errors tend to shift the hue of transmitted colors toward cyan, magenta, or yellow.