Dialogic Inc. showcased at the Mobile Asia Expo this month a range of mobile communications solutions, including

• A mobile video communication service featuring Dialogic® PowerMedia™ Software. A demonstration of the service showcased popular smartphone and tablet devices connecting to a video conference, with the distinguishing and compelling option to stream video content into the conference.

• Dialogic’s VisionVideo™ Software Solution, which measures and reports perceptual mobile video quality as experienced by viewers. The VisionVideo solution provides important information for diagnosing and isolating problems and targeting perceptual quality issues, opening up opportunities for companies to monetize mobile video services.

• Dialogic’s bandwidth optimization and session border controller solutions, which enable service provider to leverage their current wireless and wireline infrastructure and networks, while also supporting the delivery of new revenue-generating mobile services.

Eamonn Kearns, Vice President of APAC Sales at Dialogic said: “As the Asian mobile market evolves and expands, Dialogic’s innovative solutions can help service providers transform, connect and optimize their networks, applications and businesses and address their ever changing requirements.“

Mobility, and the use of smartphones and tablets, has radically transformed the global communications world. This mobile on-ramp to the internet is one of the most important reasons in the tremendous surge in mobile data traffic, especially mobile video traffic. Additionally, mobile services have now integrated voice, text and video applications together to create some of the most exciting innovations ever seen in communications. Obviously, having a high quality experience is very important to the subscriber, but it’s equally important to the service provider.

What is perceptual video quality?

The first step toward improving video quality is being able to measure it. To determine video quality from a viewer’s point of view, providers should measure the experience as it is actually seen by the viewer. However, many companies today use systems that approximate video quality based on network conditions, which are unreliable even under normal circumstances.

For a video environment, a measurement solution stands to benefit in terms of reliability by looking at the pixels of the video to determine impairments, and then determining if those impairments are likely to be perceived by the viewer. This leads to a true measure of perceptual quality. The solution should also identify a specific piece of video content and then track the content as it is transmitted through the network via a "content identification" technique, instead of simply evaluating the general quality of the whole video being transmitted.

How can video quality affect the bottom line?

Armed with the ability to measure and track video quality, service providers are able to manage the level of user experience that they deliver. This capability allows them to offer differentiated service levels where some regular customers may choose to accept a "best effort" video service, while other customers instead desire, and are willing to pay more for, the promise of a better overall experience.

Service providers are not the only beneficiaries of perceptual video quality measurement and tracking.

Content publishers can confirm that video content is delivered successfully to the right device with high quality, allowing them to better leverage their content and generate additional sources of revenue.

Content aggregators can validate that end consumers have received their content at an acceptable level of quality, allowing them to retain current customers and up-sell new features.

Advertisers and advertising networks can be confident that ads were delivered to the end consumers, allowing them to charge higher advertising rates and give them more effective growth of mobile advertising.

CDNs can prove to their customers that video delivered using their services is arriving to the mobile consumer at an acceptable level of quality. Telecom carriers can differentiate their services based on quality, allowing them to agree to new service level agreements (SLAs) based on video quality, helping them avoid further commoditization and allowing them to provide value beyond that of being a "pipe" to deliver traffic.

As viewers continue to integrate mobile video into their on-the-go lives, they will expect more from the players within the mobile delivery ecosystem. A solution that measures the perceptual quality of mobile video is a win for everyone.

By Mohamad El Hallak