Abstract. This paper compares the efficiency of uniform quantization in the spatial domain with frequency dependent quantization in the spatial frequency domain, in the context of the end-to-end performance of visual-communication channels. Results show that the minimum data density required for informationally lossless transmission depends on the design of the image-gathering device. The information in the acquired signal, not the energy, dictates the trade-off between data transmission and visual quality. Frequency dependent quantization that maintains the information capacity of the channel while reducing the entropy of the encoded signal, improves its information efficiency. Information bit-allocation is preferable for optimized visual communication for restoration, whereas energy bit-allocation can be used only for image reconstruction.