Estimating text color and segmentation of images

In some embodiments, the invention includes receiving a digital image including text and background. The method includes vector quantizing the digital image such that the digital image is divided into certain colors, and creating a text color histogram from a portion of the text and a first portion of the background. The method also includes creating at least one background color histogram from a second portion of the background, and creating a difference color histogram from a difference between the text color histogram and the at least one background color histogram, and wherein an estimated color of the text is derived from the difference color histogram. In other embodiments, the invention includes receiving a text object including bounding boxes of multiple frames of a video signal. The method further includes estimating a color of text of the bounding boxes and aligning blocks representing the bounding boxes through a best displacement search in which only pixels having a color within a threshold of an estimated color are considered. Some embodiments of the invention also include receiving digital images in text bounding boxes and in preparation for a segmentation process, adjusting sizes of the digital images to a fixed height.