Multidimensional Quality Assessment of Multimedia Telecommunications Systems for Enhancing Customer Satisfaction

The primary objective of this research is to establish and quantify the relationship between the quality factors of multimedia telecommunications systems and subjective human perception of the system quality. Three quality factors (explanatory variables) were considered: degree of voice delay (time-lag between audio and video), frame rate per second, and display resolution. For assessing the human sensibilities of the system, a number of adjectives were selected and abstracted to eight representative syllables (response variables) using semantic differential (SD) scales and factor analysis. Simulators were developed in two sound-treated chambers equipped with audio/video equipment running under a custom-developed software program. Experiments showed that the voice delay and frame rate have a significant impact on the subjective perception of the system quality. An aggregated sensibility index was also established to verify the adequacy of the selected response variables. A linear regression model with indicator variables showed that the index agrees well with the users' overall satisfaction for each experimental condition. The results provide some fundamental data on the human subjective perception of multimedia telecommunications quality, and further can help establish the quality standards to enhance customer satisfaction.