Youku Moku Lab's QoEVMA Workshop at ACM MM 2022: Advancing Quality of Experience in Visual Multimedia Applications

In the context of advancing 5G and video playback technologies, along with richer and more diverse video content, watching videos has become a mainstream leisure activity. Whether it is series, variety shows, live streams, or short videos, people are spending increasing amounts of time on video consumption. For video platforms, delivering maximum value requires both high-quality content and strong technical capabilities.

Youku has been continuously researching user Quality of Experience (QoE) in the technical domain. At ACM MM 2022, the Workshop on Quality of Experience in Visual Multimedia Applications (QoEVMA), chaired by Li Jing, head of Youku Moku Lab, was held. The workshop received 14 paper submissions from authors across China, Norway, Morocco, France, the United States, Poland, India, and Brazil, representing universities, research institutions, and companies. Ultimately, 8 papers were accepted, positioning the workshop as a leader among the nearly 20 workshops held that year.

As video viewing scenarios diversify and smart terminal devices evolve, immersive and interactive videos are emerging, raising user expectations for QoE. QoE assessment, although the final link in the video supply chain, directly influences the evaluation and optimization of the chain and ultimately serves to enhance video experience quality.

As China's first top‑conference workshop dedicated to QoE assessment, QoEVMA has now been held for two consecutive years at ACM MM. The 2022 edition focuses on QoE evaluation for any visual multimedia application, including analysis of potential key performance indicators (KPIs) for different video formats.

The Youku Moku Lab, Youku’s elite team for entertainment intelligence R&D, explores the integration of technology and art. Since 2018, the lab has been developing free‑viewpoint video technology, officially launched in 2019. This technology has been deployed in professional competitive variety shows such as “This! Is Street Dance” and “This! Is Basketball,” as well as in CBA, CUBA, and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics test‑game broadcasts, enhancing the expressiveness of competitive scenes and delivering immersive viewing experiences.

Notably, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the first held in China, provided an ideal showcase for new video technologies. Youku’s free‑viewpoint video technology was applied to the “Tech Winter Olympics” key project—interactive multidimensional viewing experience technology and systems for ice‑sport events—making Youku an important technical service provider for the Winter Olympics broadcasts.

The lab continues to supply state‑of‑the‑art technical capabilities to the industry’s video experience field, gathering technology leaders and collective wisdom to drive new user experiences under new devices, equipment, and content.