A Utility-based QoS Model for Emerging Multimedia Applications

Existing network QoS models do not sufficiently reflect the challenges faced by high-throughput, always-on, inelastic multimedia applications. In this paper, a utility-based QoS model is proposed as a user layer extension to existing communication QoS models to better assess the requirements of multimedia applications and manage the QoS provisioning of multimedia flows. Network impairment utility functions are derived from user experiments and combined to application utility functions to evaluate the application quality. Simulation is used to demonstrate the validity of the proposed QoS model

Adaptive Quantisation in HEVC for Contouring Artefacts Removal in UHD Content

Contouring artefacts affect the visual experience of some particular types of compressed Ultra High Definition (UHD) sequences characterised by smoothly textured areas and gradual transitions in the value of the pixels. This paper proposes a technique to adjust the quantisation process at the encoder so that contouring artefacts are avoided. The devised method does not require any change at the decoder side and introduces a negligible coding rate increment (up to 3.4% for the same objective quality). This result compares favourably with the average 11.2% bit-rate penalty introduced by a method where the quantisation step is reduced in contour-prone areas

PEA265: Perceptual Assessment of Video Compression Artifacts

The most widely used video encoders share a common hybrid coding framework that includes block-based motion estimation/compensation and block-based transform coding. Despite their high coding efficiency, the encoded videos often exhibit visually annoying artifacts, denoted as Perceivable Encoding Artifacts (PEAs), which significantly degrade the visual Qualityof- Experience (QoE) of end users. To monitor and improve visual QoE, it is crucial to develop subjective and objective measures that can identify and quantify various types of PEAs. In this work, we make the first attempt to build a large-scale subjectlabelled database composed of H.265/HEVC compressed videos containing various PEAs. The database, namely the PEA265 database, includes 4 types of spatial PEAs (i.e. blurring, blocking, ringing and color bleeding) and 2 types of temporal PEAs (i.e. flickering and floating). Each containing at least 60,000 image or video patches with positive and negative labels. To objectively identify these PEAs, we train Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) using the PEA265 database. It appears that state-of-theart ResNeXt is capable of identifying each type of PEAs with high accuracy. Furthermore, we define PEA pattern and PEA intensity measures to quantify PEA levels of compressed video sequence. We believe that the PEA265 database and our findings will benefit the future development of video quality assessment methods and perceptually motivated video encoders.Comment: 10 pages,15 figures,4 table

A QUALITY ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL FOR FREE-VIEWPOINT VIDEO SEQUENCES SYNTHESIZED FROM DECOMPRESSED DEPTH DATA

International audienceIn this paper, the analysis of a subjective quality experiment consisting in assessing the quality of free-viewpoint video sequences generated from decompressed depth data is pre- sented. In the absence of a dedicated subjective assessment protocol for the evaluation of such 3D systems, a subjective quality assessment methodology is proposed for the context of MVD compression. The proposed methodology includes the assessment of free-viewpoint video sequences generated from decompressed depth data and from view synthesis pro- cesses. The proposed methodology is meant to assess the per- formances of depth map compression and view synthesis al- gorithms

IDENTIFIKASI DISTORSI BLUR PADA GAMBAR DIGITAL

Salah satu masalah yang sering muncul dalam dunia fotograï¬ adalah efek blur yang dapat diakibatkan baik oleh objek yang bergerak maupun gerakan kamera yang berhubungan dengan kecepatan rana (shutter speed) ketika gambar akan diambil. Paper ini menyajikan sebuah metode baru yang sederhana untuk mendeteksi kemunculan distorsi blur yang tidak diinginkan pada gambar digital. Metode yang diusulkan menggunakan transformasi discrete cosine transform (DCT) pada gambar yang telah mengalami distorsi dengan ukuran blok DCT yang bervariasi. Hasil dari pendeteksian ini kemudian digunakan untuk meningkatkan kualitas gambar melalui metode debluring berdasarkan korelasi pixel yang diterapkan pada area tertentu pada gambar yang mengandung distorsi blur ini. Hasil eksperimen menunjukkan bahwa kualitas gambar yang disempurnakan dihasilkan oleh metode debluring secara selektif menggunakan deteksi distorsi blur lokal akan lebih baik daripada yang tidak melalui proses seleksi. Dari berbagai ukuran blok yang digunakan dalam percobaan, blok berukuran 32×32 piksel menghasilkan kualitas gambar yang secara umum lebih baik. One of the problems that often arise in photography is a blurring effect that can be caused either by a moving object or camera movements that associated with the shutter speed when the picture is taken. This paper presents a simple new method for detecting the appearance of unwanted blur distortion in digital images. The proposed method uses the transformation of Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) on the image that has been distorted with varying DCT block size. The results of the detection used to improve image quality through debluring method based on pixel correlation that applied to certain areas of the image that contains this blur distortion. The experimental results show that the enhanced picture quality produced by the method of selectively debluring using a local blur distortion detection is better than not through the selection process. From various block sizes used in the experiments, the block size of 32×32 pixel generates better picture quality

Video streaming

B

Perceptual Blur and Ringing Metrics: Application to JPEG2000

In this paper, we present full-reference as well as no-reference metrics for typical JPEG 2000 compression artifacts, namely blur and ringing. These metrics are based on an analysis of the edges and adjacent regions in an image. Their perceptual significance is corroborated through subjective experiments. The proposed measurement algorithms are shown to perform well over a wide range of image content and compression ratios. They have low computational complexity and are near real-time. Potential applications of these novel metrics include source coding optimization and network resource management

Visual Distortions in 360-degree Videos.

Omnidirectional (or 360°) images and videos are emergent signals being used in many areas, such as robotics and virtual/augmented reality. In particular, for virtual reality applications, they allow an immersive experience in which the user can interactively navigate through a scene with three degrees of freedom, wearing a head-mounted display. Current approaches for capturing, processing, delivering, and displaying 360° content, however, present many open technical challenges and introduce several types of distortions in the visual signal. Some of the distortions are specific to the nature of 360° images and often differ from those encountered in classical visual communication frameworks. This paper provides a first comprehensive review of the most common visual distortions that alter 360° signals going through the different processing elements of the visual communication pipeline. While their impact on viewers' visual perception and the immersive experience at large is still unknown-thus, it is an open research topic-this review serves the purpose of proposing a taxonomy of the visual distortions that can be encountered in 360° signals. Their underlying causes in the end-to-end 360° content distribution pipeline are identified. This taxonomy is essential as a basis for comparing different processing techniques, such as visual enhancement, encoding, and streaming strategies, and allowing the effective design of new algorithms and applications. It is also a useful resource for the design of psycho-visual studies aiming to characterize human perception of 360° content in interactive and immersive applications