An empirical evaluation of QoME for NMP

For Network Music Performance (NMP), low end-to-end delay is probably the most critical factor affecting the Quality of Musicians’ Experience (QoME), as inflated delays inhibit the synchronization between musicians. Even though customized NMP tools can greatly reduce application-layer delays, generally available Internet connections impose considerable network-layer delays to NMP sessions in wide-area settings. In order to empirically assess the delay tolerance of NMP, multiple pairs of musicians were asked to perform in a controlled network environment, while we varied the end-to-end delay. The musicians were then asked to evaluate a number of metrics. The statistical analysis of the results indicates that the tolerance of actual musicians to delay is higher than previously thought, thus expanding the applicability of NMP to longer distances.