User-centric video delay measurements

The complexities and physical constraints associated with video transmission make the introduction of video playout delays unavoidable. Tuning systems to reduce delay requires an ability to effectively and easily gather delay metrics on a potentially wide range of systems. In order to support this process, we report on a system called videoLat. VideoLat provides an innovative approach to understand glass-to-glass video delays. This paper provides a series of requirements for obtaining representative delay information, it illustrates how such measurements can provide insights into complex (and often closed) video processing systems, and it describes how user-centric testing can be supported in a more realistic manner. We also survey the present state of the art in video delay measurement. The main contribution of this work is that it provides a measuring framework that could serve as the basis for obtaining representative comparative measurements across a wide range of video processing environments.