QUALINET White Paper on Definitions of Immersive Media Experience (IMEx)

TL;DR

This white paper surveys various definitions of immersion and presence across disciplines to establish a coherent understanding of immersive media experience (IMEx) and discusses related quality, assessment, and standardization efforts.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive survey of existing definitions, proposes a unified concept of IMEx, and links it to quality of experience and standardization activities.

Findings

Multiple interdisciplinary definitions of immersion and presence identified.

A unified framework for IMEx proposed based on survey results.

Discussion of assessment methods and future standardization efforts.

Abstract

With the coming of age of virtual/augmented reality and interactive media, numerous definitions, frameworks, and models of immersion have emerged across different fields ranging from computer graphics to literary works. Immersion is oftentimes used interchangeably with presence as both concepts are closely related. However, there are noticeable interdisciplinary differences regarding definitions, scope, and constituents that are required to be addressed so that a coherent understanding of the concepts can be achieved. Such consensus is vital for paving the directionality of the future of immersive media experiences (IMEx) and all related matters. The aim of this white paper is to provide a survey of definitions of immersion and presence which leads to a definition of immersive media experience (IMEx). The Quality of Experience (QoE) for immersive media is described by establishing a relationship between the concepts of QoE and IMEx followed by application areas of immersive media experience. Influencing factors on immersive media experience are elaborated as well as the assessment of immersive media experience. Finally, standardization activities related to IMEx are highlighted and the white paper is concluded with an outlook related to future developments.