Packet loss visibility across SD, HD, 3D, and UHD video streams

Video quality is analysed by packetization, packet loss, and codec.The paper goes beyond prior studies as it tests SD, HD, 3D, and 4kUHD video.Simulations and network experiments include VBR, CBR, H.264 and HEVC streaming.The paper forecasts bitrates and expected quality in error-prone environments.The impact of packet reordering and duplication is also considered. The trend towards video streaming with increased spatial resolutions and dimensions, SD, HD, 3D, and 4kUHD, even for portable devices has important implications for displayed video quality. There is an interplay between packetization, packet loss visibility, choice of codec, and viewing conditions, which implies that prior studies at lower resolutions may not be as relevant. This paper presents two sets of experiments, the one at a Variable BitRate (VBR) and the other at a Constant BitRate (CBR), which highlight different aspects of the interpretation. The latter experiments also compare and contrast encoding with either an H.264 or an High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) codec, with all results recorded as objective Mean Opinion Score (MOS). The video quality assessments will be of interest to those considering: the bitrates and expected quality in error-prone environments; or, in fact, whether to use a reliable transport protocol to prevent all errors, at a cost in jitter and latency, rather than tolerate low levels of packet errors.