An adaptive algorithm for the display of high-dynamic range images

A novel algorithm based on spatial and statistical information is proposed for the display of high-dynamic range (HDR) images. In our proposed algorithm, an image is first decomposed into a base layer and a detailed layer, which represent its smoothed and fine details, respectively. The problem of overall impression preservation is regarded as a global issue in our algorithm. Statistical-based histogram adjustment is employed to deal with the base layer. The reproduction of visual details is regarded as a local issue. The detailed layer obtained using a spatial filter is adaptively enhanced according to the mapping function used for the base layer. The main contributions of our algorithm are that: (1) an adaptive detail-enhancement method is proposed and (2) a gain map is defined to combine the local and global issues. Experimental results show the superior performance of our approach in terms of visual quality. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier Inc.