QUALINET White Paper on Definitions of Immersive Media Experience (IMEx)

QUALINET announces its recent White Paper on Definitions of Immersive Media Experience (IMEx).

It is online available here https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.07032 for free.

With the coming of age of virtual/augmented reality and interactive media, numerous definitions, frameworks, and models of immersion have emerged across different fields ranging from computer graphics to literary works. Immersion is oftentimes used interchangeably with presence as both concepts are closely related. However, there are noticeable interdisciplinary differences regarding definitions, scope, and constituents that are required to be addressed so that a coherent understanding of the concepts can be achieved. Such consensus is vital for paving the directionality of the future of immersive media experiences (IMEx) and all related matters.

The aim of this white paper is to provide a survey of definitions of immersion and presence which leads to a definition of immersive media experience (IMEx). The Quality of Experience (QoE) for immersive media is described by establishing a relationship between the concepts of QoE and IMEx followed by application areas of immersive media experience. Influencing factors on immersive media experience are elaborated as well as the assessment of immersive media experience. Finally, standardization activities related to IMEx are highlighted and the white paper is concluded with an outlook related to future developments. 

This White Paper is a contribution by QUALINET, the European Network on Quality of Experience in Multimedia Systems and Services (http://www.qualinet.eu/) to the discussions related to Immersive Media Experience (IMEx). It is motivated by the need for definitions around this term to foster a deeper understanding of ideas and concepts originating from multidisciplinary groups but with a joint interest in multimedia experiences. Thus, this white paper has been created mainly with such multimedia experiences in mind but may be also used beyond.

The QUALINET community aims at extending the notion of network-centric Quality of Service (QoS) in multimedia systems, by relying on the concept of Quality of Experience (QoE). The main scientific objective is the development of methodologies for subjective and objective quality metrics taking into account current and new trends in multimedia communication systems as witnessed by the appearance of new types of content and interactions. QUALINET (2010-2014 as COST Action IC1003) meets once a year collocated with QoMEX (http://qomex.org/) to coordinate its activities around 4 Working Groups (WGs): (i) research, (ii) standardization, (iii) training, and (iv) innovation.

List of Authors and Contributors

Andrew Perkis (andrew.perkis@ntnu.no, editor), Christian Timmerer (christian.timmerer@itec.uni-klu.ac.at, editor), Sabina Baraković, Jasmina Baraković Husić, Søren Bech, Sebastian Bosse, Jean Botev, Kjell Brunnström, Luis Cruz, Katrien De Moor, Andrea de Polo Saibanti, Wouter Durnez, Sebastian Egger-Lampl, Ulrich Engelke, Tiago H. Falk, Jesús Gutiérrez, Asim Hameed, Andrew Hines, Tanja Kojic, Dragan Kukolj, Eirini Liotou, Dragorad Milovanovic, Sebastian Möller, Niall Murray, Babak Naderi, Manuela Pereira, Stuart Perry, Antonio Pinheiro, Andres Pinilla, Alexander Raake, Sarvesh Rajesh Agrawal, Ulrich Reiter, Rafael Rodrigues, Raimund Schatz, Peter Schelkens, Steven Schmidt, Saeed Shafiee Sabet, Ashutosh Singla, Lea Skorin-Kapov, Mirko Suznjevic, Stefan Uhrig, Sara Vlahović, Jan-Niklas Voigt- Antons, Saman Zadtootaghaj.

How to reference this white paper

Perkis, A., Timmerer, C., et al., “QUALINET White Paper

on Definitions of Immersive Media Experience (IMEx)”, European Network on Quality of Experience in Multimedia Systems and Services, 14th QUALINET meeting (online), May 25, 2020.

Alternatively, you may export the citation from arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.07032.

Qualinet White Paper on Definitions of Quality of Experience

Preface [PDF]:

This White Paper is a contribution of the European Network on Quality of Experience in Multimedia Systems and Services, Qualinet (COST Action IC 1003, see www.qualinet.eu), to the scientific discussion about the term “Quality of Experience” (QoE) and its underlying concepts. It resulted from the need to agree on a working definition  for this term  which facilitates the communication of ideas within a multidisciplinary group, where a joint interest around multimedia communication systems exists, however approached from different perspectives. Thus, the concepts and ideas cited in this paper mainly refer to the Quality of Experience of multimedia communication systems, but may be helpful also for other areas where QoE is an issue.

The Network of Excellence (NoE) Qualinet aims at extending the notion of network-centric Quality of Service (QoS) in multimedia systems, by relying on the concept of Quality of Experience (QoE). The main scientific objective is the development of methodologies for subjective and objective quality metrics taking into account current and new trends in multimedia communication systems as witnessed by the appearance of new types of content and interactions. A substantial scientific impact on fragmented efforts carried out in this field will be achieved by coordinating the research of European experts under the catalytic COST umbrella.

The White Paper has been compiled on the basis of a first open call for ideas which was launched for the February 2012 Qualinet Meeting held in Prague, Czech Republic. The ideas were presented as short statements during  that meeting, reflecting the ideas of the persons listed under the headline “Contributors” in the previous section. During the Prague meeting, the ideas have been further discussed and consolidated in the form of a general structure of the present document. An open call for authors was issued at that meeting, to which the persons listed as “Authors” in the previous section have announced their willingness to contribute in the preparation of individual sections. For each section, a coordinating author has been assigned which coordinated the writing of that section, and which is underlined in the author list preceding each section. The individual sections were then integrated and aligned by an editing group (listed as “Editors” in the previous section), and the entire document was iterated with the entire group of authors. Furthermore, the draft text was discussed with the participants of the Dagstuhl Seminar 12181 “Quality of Experience: From User Perception to Instrumental Metrics” which was held in Schloß Dagstuhl, Germany, May 1-4 2012, and a number of changes were proposed, resulting in the present document.

As a result of the writing process and the large number of contributors, authors and editors, the document will not reflect the opinion of each individual person at all points. Still, we hope that it is found to be useful for everybody working in the field of Quality of Experience of multimedia communication systems, and most probably also beyond that field.

Any comments or suggestions should be sent to the editors:

Sebastian.Moeller@telekom.de
Patrick.Le-Callet@univ-nantes.fr
andrew@iet.ntnu.no

Please, refer to the paper as follows:

"Qualinet White Paper on Definitions of Quality of Experience (2012). European Network on Quality of Experience in Multimedia Systems and Services (COST Action IC 1003), Patrick Le Callet, Sebastian Möller and Andrew Perkis, eds., Lausanne, Switzerland, Version 1.1, June 3, 2012."

Find the .pdf here