Histogram based perceptual quality assessment method for color images

•Common methods cannot distinguish those effects of low distortions on color images.•Image histogram and Human Vision System based method are proposed.•Color images should be measured taking into account Human Vision System.•Frequency domain processes are more effective for image quality assessment.

 A histogram based perceptual quality assessment (HPQA) method for color images is presented in this paper. Basically, the HPQA combines two quality assessment approaches (color image quality assessment and histogram based image quality assessment) and it uses the fourier transform. Its range is between 0 and 1. 1 represents the best quality result, 0 represents the worst quality result for the HPQA. The HPQA results are more suitable than its counterparts in terms of the HVS and they can be obtained faster than the other methods' results. In addition, it can easily differentiate effects of low distortions on color images.