Evaluation of Video Transmission Energy Consumption and Quality

The widespread use of wireless enabled devices and the increasing capabilities of wireless technologies has promoted multimedia content access and sharing among users. However, the quality perceived by the users still depends on multiple factors such as video characteristics, device capabilities, and link quality. While video characteristics include the video time and spatial complexity as well as the coding complexity, one of the most important device characteristics is the battery lifetime. There is the need to assess how these aspects interact and how they impact the overall user satisfaction. This paper advances previous works by proposing and validating a flexible framework, named EViTEQ, to be applied in real testbeds to satisfy the requirements of performance assessment. EViTEQ is able to measure network interface energy consumption with high precision, while being completely technology independent and assessing the application level quality of experience. The results obtained in the testbed show the relevance of combined multi-criteria measurement approaches, leading to superior end-user satisfaction perception evaluation .

Development and evaluation of a video-based modeling strategy for the dissemination phase of a school health tobacco -use prevention program

Even the best school health education programs will be unsuccessful if they are not disseminated effectively in a manner that encourages classroom adoption and implementation. This study involved two components: (1) the development of a videotape intervention to be used in the dissemination phase of a 4-year, NCI-funded diffusion study and (2) the evaluation of that videotape intervention strategy in comparison with a print (information transfer) strategy. Conceptualization has been guided by Social Learning Theory, Diffusion Theory, and communication theory. Additionally, the PRECEDE Framework has been used. Seventh and 8th grade classroom teachers from Spring Branch Independent School District in west Houston participated in the evaluation of the videotape and print interventions using a 57-item preadoption survey instrument developed by the UT Center for Health Promotion Research and Development. Two-way ANOVA was used to study individual score differences for five outcome variables: Total Scale Score (comprised of 57 predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing items), Adoption Characteristics Subscale, Attitude Toward Innovation Subscale, Receptivity Toward Innovation, and Reinforcement Subscale. The aim of the study is to compare the effect upon score differences of video and print interventions alone and in combination. Seventy-three 7th and 8th grade classroom teachers completed the study providing baseline and post-intervention measures on factors related to the adoption and implementation of tobacco-use prevention programs. Two-way ANOVA, in relation to the study questions, found significant scoring differences for those exposed to the videotape intervention alone for both the Attitude Toward Innovation Subscale and the Receptivity to Adopt Subscale. No significant results were found to suggest that print alone influences favorable scoring differences between baseline and post-intervention testing. One interaction effect was found suggesting video and print combined are more effective for influencing favorable scoring differences for the Reinforcement for the Adoption Subscale.^ This research is unique in that it represents a newly emerging field in health promotion communications research with implications for Social Learning Theory, Diffusion Theory, and communication science that are applicable to the development of improved school health interventions. ^

Adaptive protection scheme for MVC-encoded stereoscopic video streaming in IP-based networks

We present an adaptive unequal error protection (UEP) strategy built on the 1-D interleaved parity Application Layer Forward Error Correction (AL-FEC) code for protecting the transmission of stereoscopic 3D video content encoded with Multiview Video Coding (MVC) through IP-based networks. Our scheme targets the minimization of quality degradation produced by packet losses during video transmission in time-sensitive application scenarios. To that end, based on a novel packet-level distortion model, it selects in real time the most suitable packets within each Group of Pictures (GOP) to be protected and the most convenient FEC technique parameters, i.e., the size of the FEC generator matrix. In order to make these decisions, it considers the relevance of the packet, the behavior of the channel, and the available bitrate for protection purposes. Simulation results validate both the distortion model introduced to estimate the importance of packets and the optimization of the FEC technique parameter values.

Innovations in the video game industry: changing global markets

The paper examines the video game industry in the perspective of being the paradigm of innovation in digital media and content. In particular, it analyses the response to two main factors that have impacted this industry over the last decade. First, it tracks the evolution of its global market and its emerging geography with the rise of Asia. Second, within this global landscape the paper explores how the changes derived from mobile and on-line gaming enabled major transformations of this industry. From here, some conclusions on the lessons from the evolution of this sector for the whole media and content industries are presented.

Methodology for developing an advanced communications system for the Deaf in a new domain

A methodology for developing an advanced communications system for the Deaf in a new domain is presented in this paper. This methodology is a user-centred design approach consisting of four main steps: requirement analysis, parallel corpus generation, technology adaptation to the new domain, and finally, system evaluation. During the requirement analysis, both the user and technical requirements are evaluated and defined. For generating the parallel corpus, it is necessary to collect Spanish sentences in the new domain and translate them into LSE (Lengua de Signos Española: Spanish Sign Language). LSE is represented by glosses and using video recordings. This corpus is used for training the two main modules of the advanced communications system to the new domain: the spoken Spanish into the LSE translation module and the Spanish generation from the LSE module. The main aspects to be generated are the vocabularies for both languages (Spanish words and signs), and the knowledge for translating in both directions. Finally, the field evaluation is carried out with deaf people using the advanced communications system to interact with hearing people in several scenarios. In this evaluation, the paper proposes several objective and subjective measurements for evaluating the performance. In this paper, the new considered domain is about dialogues in a hotel reception. Using this methodology, the system was developed in several months, obtaining very good performance: good translation rates (10% Sign Error Rate) with small processing times, allowing face-to-face dialogues.

Subjective quality study of adaptive streaming of monoscopic and stereoscopic video

Nowadays, HTTP adaptive streaming (HAS) has become a reliable distribution technology offering significant advantages in terms of both user perceived Quality of Experience (QoE) and resource utilization for content and network service providers. By trading-off the video quality, HAS is able to adapt to the available bandwidth and display requirements so that it can deliver the video content to a variety of devices over the Internet. However, until now there is not enough knowledge of how the adaptation techniques affect the end user's visual experience. Therefore, this paper presents a comparative analysis of different bitrate adaptation strategies in adaptive streaming of monoscopic and stereoscopic video. This has been done through a subjective experiment of testing the end-user response to the video quality variations, considering the visual comfort issue. The experimental outcomes have made a good insight into the factors that can influence on the QoE of different adaptation strategies.

Online Video as a Tool for Planning Education and Engagement: A Content Analysis of U.S. City Planning Departments’ YouTube Channels

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Physical and MAC layer techniques for next generation satellite communications

In this thesis, we consider four different scenarios of interest in modern satellite communications. For each scenario, we will propose the use of advanced solutions aimed at increasing the spectral efficiency of the communication links. First, we will investigate the optimization of the current standard for digital video broadcasting. We will increase the symbol rate of the signal and determine the optimal signal bandwidth. We will apply the time packing technique and propose a specifically design constellation. We will then compare some receiver architectures with different performance and complexity. The second scenario still addresses broadcast transmissions, but in a network composed of two satellites. We will compare three alternative transceiver strategies, namely, signals completely overlapped in frequency, frequency division multiplexing, and the Alamouti space-time block code, and, for each technique, we will derive theoretical results on the achievable rates. We will also evaluate the performance of said techniques in three different channel models. The third scenario deals with the application of multiuser detection in multibeam satellite systems. We will analyze a case in which the users are near the edge of the coverage area and, hence, they experience a high level of interference from adjacent cells. Also in this case, three different approaches will be compared. A classical approach in which each beam carries information for a user, a cooperative solution based on time division multiplexing, and the Alamouti scheme. The information theoretical analysis will be followed by the study of practical coded schemes. We will show that the theoretical bounds can be approached by a properly designed code or bit mapping. Finally, we will consider an Earth observation scenario, in which data is generated on the satellite and then transmitted to the ground. We will study two channel models, taking into account one or two transmit antennas, and apply techniques such as time and frequency packing, signal predistortion, multiuser detection and the Alamouti scheme.

A quality driven framework for adaptive video streaming in mobile wireless networks

The concern over the quality of delivering video streaming services in mobile wireless networks is addressed in this work. A framework that enhances the Quality of Experience (QoE) of end users through a quality driven resource allocation scheme is proposed. To play a key role, an objective no-reference quality metric, Pause Intensity (PI), is adopted to derive a resource allocation algorithm for video streaming. The framework is examined in the context of 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems. The requirements and structure of the proposed PI-based framework are discussed, and results are compared with existing scheduling methods on fairness, efficiency and correlation (between the required and allocated data rates). Furthermore, it is shown that the proposed framework can produce a trade-off between the three parameters through the QoE-aware resource allocation process.

Ensuring QoE in contemporary mobile networks for video content distribution

A framework that aims to best utilize the mobile network resources for video applications is presented in this paper. The main contribution of the work proposed is the QoE-driven optimization method that can maintain a desired trade-off between fairness and efficiency in allocating resources in terms of data rates to video streaming users in LTE networks. This method is concerned with the control of the user satisfaction level from the service continuity's point of view and applies appropriate QoE metrics (Pause Intensity and variations) to determine the scheduling strategies in combination with the mechanisms used for adaptive video streaming such as 3GP/MPEG-DASH. The superiority of the proposed algorithms are demonstrated, showing how the resources of a mobile network can be optimally utilized by using quantifiable QoE measurements. This approach can also find the best match between demand and supply in the process of network resource distribution.

Quality assessment of video transmission in heterogeneous networks as applied to real-time telecare

This work looks into video quality assessment applied to the field of telecare and proposes an alternative metric to the more traditionally used PSNR based on the requirements of such an application. We show that the Pause Intensity metric introduced in [1] is also relevant and applicable to heterogeneous networks with a wireless last hop connected to a wired TCP backbone. We demonstrate through our emulation testbed that the impairments experienced in such a network architecture are dominated by continuity based impairments rather than artifacts, such as motion drift or blockiness. We also look into the implication of using Pause Intensity as a metric in terms of the overall video latency, which is potentially problematic should the video be sent and acted upon in real-time. We conclude that Pause Intensity may be used alongside the video characteristics which have been suggested as a measure of the overall video quality. © 2012 IEEE.

Eigenvalue communications in nonlinear fiber channels

Continuous progress in optical communication technology and corresponding increasing data rates in core fiber communication systems are stimulated by the evergrowing capacity demand due to constantly emerging new bandwidth-hungry services like cloud computing, ultra-high-definition video streams, etc. This demand is pushing the required capacity of optical communication lines close to the theoretical limit of a standard single-mode fiber, which is imposed by Kerr nonlinearity [1–4]. In recent years, there have been extensive efforts in mitigating the detrimental impact of fiber nonlinearity on signal transmission, through various compensation techniques. However, there are still many challenges in applying these methods, because a majority of technologies utilized in the inherently nonlinear fiber communication systems had been originally developed for linear communication channels. Thereby, the application of ”linear techniques” in a fiber communication systems is inevitably limited by the nonlinear properties of the fiber medium. The quest for the optimal design of a nonlinear transmission channels, development of nonlinear communication technqiues and the usage of nonlinearity in a“constructive” way have occupied researchers for quite a long time.

An objective approach to measuring video playback quality in lossy networks using TCP

In this work, we investigate a new objective measurement for assessing the video playback quality for services delivered in networks that use TCP as a transport layer protocol. We define the new metric as pause intensity to characterize the quality of playback in terms of its continuity since, in the case of TCP, data packets are protected from losses but not from delays. Using packet traces generated from real TCP connections in a lossy environment, we are able to simulate the playback of a video and monitor buffer behaviors in order to calculate pause intensity values. We also run subjective tests to verify the effectiveness of the metric introduced and show that the results of pause intensity and the subjective scores made over the same real video clips are closely correlated.

How do customers of a financial services institution judge its communications

Communications are important for relationships within a marketing channel from both a theoretical and managerial perspective. Yet it is a problematic area for scholars. Thus, this research addresses the problem of how do customers of a financial services institution perceive communications with an ideal institution? This study's case research methodology used in-depth interviews with 34 carefully selected customers of a building society. The factors that make up customers' attitudes about corporate communications for an ideal financial services institution were identified and actual perceptions were compared against that ideal. The findings confirmed the importance of communications for customers in a relationship with a financial services provider and suggested communication priorities for customers in this context. In addition, the findings suggested sources of communication dissatisfaction for customers. These findings build upon the literature that speculates about customer perceptions of communications with organizations but provides little evidence to support hypotheses. The contributions arose from the emphasis on the customers' own attitudes and the patterns found within them.