Is foveated imaging always beneficial when used in combination with other forms image compression?
In most situations foveated imaging provides a substantial multiplicative increase in compression. However, as might be expected, foveated imaging is most effective when it eliminates data bits that would not be eliminated by the other image compression procedure. If the only fine detail in the original image is located in the foveation region, then obviously foveation will not provide any additional compression (nor any loss of image quality). Similarly, if the only motion in an video sequence occurs in the foveation region then foveation will add little compression when combined with a compression procedure which uses motion compensation (except for the first frame and other interframes where motion compensation is not applied).
