VQ-INDEX: BAFTA Visual Quality Index for Video

The VQ-INDEX project creates a decision-support toolset, measuring and reporting impact of
visual quality for video. Internet traffic is comprised over 50% of video. However it is likely
that over 20% of current traffic is wasted (i.e. equal or better quality could be produced using
20% less payload). As streaming methods migrate to newly-standardised MPEG-DASH,
which supports 'observation events' and a back channel for data, it is possible to track viewer
behavior relative to visual quality, assessing impact. The VQ-INDEX project creates a quality
signature for original media, analyses the quality of media distributed to users, and contrasts
this with user behavior (e.g. stream abandonment, fast forward, skip) enabling content owners
to assess performance.