

The most common digital compression artifacts are DCT blocks, caused by the discrete cosine transform (DCT) compression algorithm used in many digital media standards, such as JPEG, MP3, and MPEG video file formats. The compression algorithm may not be intelligent enough to discriminate between distortions of little subjective importance and those objectionable to the user. If the compressor cannot store enough data in the compressed version, the result is a loss of quality, or introduction of artifacts. Lossy data compression involves discarding some of the media's data so that it becomes small enough to be stored within the desired disk space or transmitted ( streamed) within the available bandwidth (known as the data rate or bit rate).


Loss of edge clarity and tone "fuzziness" in heavy JPEG compressionĪ compression artifact (or artefact) is a noticeable distortion of media (including images, audio, and video) caused by the application of lossy compression.
