the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for processing images , in particular for determining the degree of blockiness in coded images . the invention comprises apparatus and methods for determining a degree of blockiness in a digital image comprising blocks each block comprising a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns of pixels each pixel having a value by performing the steps of : for each block determining an intra block measure in dependence upon the values of a set of pixels within said block ; and determining said measure in dependence upon a plurality of said intra block measures corresponding to each block . method and apparatus for generating a quality measure in dependence upon the measure of blockiness are also provided .