METHOD FOR REMOVING A BLOCKING EFFECT FOR USE IN A VIDEO SIGNAL DECODING APPARATUS

A method for post-processing a current block is used in a decoding system for decoding an encoded digital image signal. The encoded digital image signal includes a plurality of encoded blocks of quantized transform coefficients, and the current block corresponds to one of the encoded blocks having a quantized DC coefficient and a predetermined number of quantized AC coefficients, the quantized DC coefficient having been quantized based on a DC quantization step size. The method comprises the steps of: (a) obtaining an average current pixel value of current block pixels located along a borderline between the current block and its neighboring blocks; (b) estimating an average pixel value of the pixels in the current block by using variations in pixel values of the pixels in the neighboring blocks to thereby produce an estimated current pixel value; and (c) adjusting pixel values of the pixels in the current block based on the average current pixel value, the estimated current pixel value and the DC quantization step size.