Techniques for pre-processing image blocks containing texture are disclosed herein which reduce memory requirements without degradation of quality. This is accomplished by determining the level of texture in each pixel block of the image and then performing a compression algorithm on such pixel block. Various methods are available to determine the texture level, including identifying the luminescence variation or difference within the pixel block. Depending on the amount of texture level contained within each pixel block, pre-processing may involve assigning the pixel block a single color or replacing the pixel block with an interpolated pixel block. Pre-processing on the pixel block may not be performed when the texture level therein is determined to be at a predetermined amount or level. Additional techniques are also disclosed herein which involve full processing of an image block.