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NAME

       pnmpsnr - compute the difference between two portable anymaps

SYNOPSIS

       pnmpsnr [pnmfile1] [pnmfile2]

DESCRIPTION

       Reads two PBM, PGM, or PPM files, or PAM equivalents, as input.  Prints
       the peak  signal-to-noise  ratio  (PSNR)  difference  between  the  two
       images.   This  metric is typically used in image compression papers to
       rate the distortion between original and decoded image.

       If the inputs are PBM or PGM, pnmpsnr prints the PSNR of the  luminance
       only.   Otherwise,  it  prints the separate PSNRs of the luminance, and
       chrominance (Cb and Cr) components of the colors.

       The PSNR of  a  given  component  is  the  ratio  of  the  mean  square
       difference  of  the  component  for  the two images to the maximum mean
       square difference  that  can  exist  betwee  any  two  images.   It  is
       expressed as a decibel value.

       The  mean  square  difference of a component for two images is the mean
       square difference of the component value, comparing each pixel with the
       pixel  in  the  same  position of the other image.  For the purposes of
       this computation, components are normalized to the scale [0..1].

       The maximum mean square difference is identically 1.

       So the higher the PSNR, the closer the images are.  A luminance PSNR of
       20  means the mean square difference of the luminances of the pixels is
       100 times less than the maximum possible difference, i.e. 0.01.

SEE ALSO

       pnm(5)

                                 04 March 2001                      pnmpsnr(1)