1. A method for minimizing blocking artifacts in an image, the method comprising: determining a pixel to be processed; defining a region with respect to the pixel, the region including at least eight other pixels; wherein determining the pixel to be processed includes making a determination as to whether a number of pixels in the region that have a digital value that differs from an average digital value of the total pixels in the region is less than a predefined number of pixels; upon determining that the number of pixels is less than the predefined number of pixels, performing a random selection of a replacement pixel in the region to replace the pixel; making a determination as to whether a digital level of the replacement pixel is within a threshold of a digital level of the pixel; and replacing the pixel with the replacement pixel upon determining that the digital level of the replacement pixel is within the threshold of the digital level of the pixel.