An image-processing apparatus and method for quantization partitioning for enhanced image compression, includes storage of an input image in a first storage space having a first storage access bandwidth. The image-processing apparatus selects a plurality of QP values from a defined QP range for a first block of a plurality of blocks of the input image. The plurality of QP values are selected from the defined QP range based on defined criteria. The image-processing apparatus is configured to encode, by the selected plurality of QP values, the first block to generate an encoded bit stream of the first block. The encoded bit stream of the first block is storable in a reduced second storage space in the memory with a reduced second storage access bandwidth.