Traffic encryption is vital for internet security but complicates analytical applications like video delivery optimization or quality of experience (QoE) estimation, which often rely on clear text data. While many models address the problem of QoE prediction in video streaming, the video conferencing (VC) domain remains underexplored despite rising demand for these applications. Existing models often provide low-resolution predictions, categorizing QoE into broad classes such as “high” or “low”, rather than providing precise, continuous predictions. Moreover, most models focus on clear-text rather than encrypted traffic. This paper addresses these challenges by analyzing a large dataset of Zoom sessions and training five classical machine learning (ML) models and two custom deep neural networks (DNNs) to predict three QoE indicators: frames per second (FPS), resolution (R), and the naturalness image quality evaluator (NIQE). The models achieve mean error rates of 8.27%, 7.56%, and 2.08% for FPS, R, and NIQE, respectively, using a 10-fold cross-validation technique. This approach advances QoE assessment for encrypted traffic in VC applications.

Face-to-face interaction is one of the most natural forms of human communication. Unsurprisingly, Video Conferencing (VC) Applications have experienced a significant rise in demand over the past decade. With the widespread availability of cellular devices equipped with high-resolution cameras, Instant Messaging Video Call Applications (IMVCAs) now constitute a substantial portion of VC communications. Given the multitude of IMVCA options, maintaining a high Quality of Experience (QoE) is critical. While content providers can measure QoE directly through end-to-end connections, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) must infer QoE indirectly from network traffic—a non-trivial task, especially when most traffic is encrypted. In this paper, we analyze a large dataset collected from WhatsApp IMVCA, comprising over 25,000 s of VC sessions. We apply four Machine Learning (ML) algorithms and a Large Multimodal Model (LMM)-based agent, achieving mean errors of 4.61%, 5.36%, and 13.24% for three popular QoE metrics: BRISQUE, PIQE, and FPS, respectively.

Machine learning algorithms have become a very essential tool in the fields of math and engineering, as well as for industrial purposes (fabric, medicine, sport, etc.). This research leverages classical machine learning algorithms for innovative accurate and efficient fabric protrusion detection. We present an approach for improving model training with a small dataset. We use a few classic statistics machine learning algorithms (decision trees, logistic regression, etc.) and a fully connected neural network (NN) model. We also present an approach to optimize a model accuracy rate and execution time for finding the best accuracy using parallel processing with Dask (Python).

One fundamental component of video compression standards is Intra-Prediction. Intra-Prediction takes advantage of redundancy in the information of neighboring pixel values within video frames to predict blocks of pixels from their surrounding pixels and thus allowing to transmit the prediction errors instead of the pixel values themselves. The prediction errors are of smaller values than the pixels themselves, thus allowing to accomplish compression of the video stream. Prevalent standards take advantage of intra-frame pixel value dependencies to perform prediction at the encoder end and transfer only residual errors to the decoder. The standards use multiple “Modes”, which are various linear combinations of pixels for prediction of their neighbors within image Macro-Blocks (MBs). In this research, we have used Deep Neural Networks (DNN) to perform the predictions. Using twelve Fully Connected Networks, we managed to reduce Mean Square Error (MSE) of the predicted error by up to 3 times as compared to standard modes prediction results. This substantial improvement comes at the expense of more extensive computations. However, these extra computations can be significantly mitigated by the use of dedicated Graphical Processing Units (GPUs).