What Is Quality of Experience (QoE)?

Quality of Experience (QoE) is a key part of running a successful streaming service. It’s all about how well the technical parts work together to meet or exceed audience expectations.

Breaking Down QoE

QoE is like a scorecard for your streaming service. It considers things like video quality, how long it takes a video to start playing, and if the video has to pause for loading (buffering).

Why QoE is Important

High QoE means viewers are having a great experience. They are more likely to stick around and keep watching. If QoE is low, viewers might stop watching or switch to another service.

Comparing QoE with Other Concepts

QoE is often compared with two other concepts:

    • Quality of Service (QoS): While QoE is about the viewer’s experience, QoS is about how well the service is running, without considering viewer expectations.
    • Audience Metrics: While QoE looks at how viewers perceive your service, audience metrics are consider an audience’s preferences and behaviors, measuring things like viewer journeys and which content is most popular.
Understanding QoE Metrics

Here are some key QoE metrics:

    • Rebuffering Ratio: This measures how much time a video spends loading versus playing. The less time spent buffering, the better the QoE.
    • Video Start Time: This is how long it takes for a video to start after a viewer hits play. Shorter start times lead to a better QoE.
    • Bitrate: This is the amount of video data that’s processed every second. Higher bitrates usually mean better video quality and better QoE.
The Role of Conviva

Conviva helps to manage QoE by continuously monitoring and analyzing streaming data for every viewer. It allows for early detection and fixing of problems before they can affect the viewer’s experience.

Using Conviva for QoE Optimization

Conviva offers tools like the Streaming Performance Index (SPI) to help improve QoE. SPI is a combined measure of all the important QoE metrics for each stream being monitored. It gives a snapshot of how well your service is performing and helps instantly identify areas for improvement.

In summary, understanding and improving QoE can greatly contribute to the success of your streaming service. With Conviva’s streaming analytics platform, you can make sure your service is meeting and exceeding viewer expectations.