Method and system for obtaining the best picture quality in a scarce-power device

A method for scaling the power consumption of a video processor having a plurality of video-processing modules, the method comprising the steps of:

• converting a stream of video signals to a plurality of pixels;
• processing each of said pixels of said video stream at a preset power-consumption level to produce a processed image stream;
• determining an objective-quality metric of said pixel characteristic indicative of video quality in said image stream;
• and,
• obtaining a new power-consumption level for processing each of said pixels of said video stream according to predetermined criteria.

An apparatus for scaling the power consumption, comprising:

• a video processor having a plurality of video-processing modules for receiving a stream of image signals at an input and producing a processed image stream at an output, said video processor processing each received pixel of said image stream according to a preset power-consumption level;
• an evaluator, coupled to said video processor, for determining an objective-quality metric of said pixel characteristics indicative of video quality in said image stream;
• and,
• a power-management module, coupled to said evaluator, for obtaining a new power-consumption level for said video processor from a predetermined table based on said determined objective-quality metric of said evaluator.