Provided is a method and apparatus for coding a wavelet transformed image in consideration of the human visual system (HVS) in frequency and spatial domains. A visual weight is generated by calculating the product of a spatial domain weight, which is generated by using a local bandwidth normalized according to the HVS, and a frequency domain weight generated by using an error sensitivity of a subband in a wavelet domain. Wavelet coefficients are coded and transmitted according to a coding order determined on the basis of the generated visual weight, thereby providing an image with improved visual quality at low channel capacity.
Visual entropy gain for wavelet image coding