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Re: [AUDITORY] Fwd: [AUDITORY] MUSHRA test with open reference; and then without open reference



Hi Raul:

Thanks for sharing your opinions. I don’t have any planned subjective experiments in mind.
I was just curious about what might happen if there were no open reference. 
I appreciate your insight:
"Without a reference, they need to establish one first. This increases the risk of inconsistency across repetitions, potentially leading to noisy data."

Best regards,
Arijit



From: Raul Sanchez-Lopez <raul.sanchezlopez@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2024 11:18 AM
To: #ARIJIT BISWAS# <PA9501460@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: AUDITORY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <AUDITORY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Fwd: [AUDITORY] MUSHRA test with open reference; and then without open reference
 
Dear Arijit,

That's an excellent point. As of yet, I haven't come across any studies
directly investigating that specific comparison. However, the
development of MUSHRA likely included such an evaluation. The method is
defined in ITU-R Recommendation BS.1534-3. The introduction states:

"This Recommendation describes a method for the subjective assessment of
intermediate audio quality. This method reflects many aspects of
Recommendation ITU-R BS.1116 and incorporates the same grading scale
used for picture quality evaluation (i.e. Recommendation ITU-R BT.500)."

While BS.1116 features a hidden reference, it lacks a hidden anchor. To
assess intermediate audio quality, a new method was developed (more
details here: https://secure.aes.org/forum/pubs/conferences/?elib=8056).

Crucially, analyzing how the panel utilizes the scale requires both the
Reference and the Anchor for meaningful difference evaluations. If
there's no reference, it's simply not MUSHRA but a different type of
assessment. In MUSHRA, participants perform multi-comparisons and place
their ratings between the reference and anchor. Without a reference,
they need to establish one first. This increases the risk of
inconsistency across repetitions, potentially leading to noisy data.

Would you be willing to share some more details about your experiment?
I've dealt with similar questions in the past and may be able to offer
assistance or point you towards someone more experienced, like Force
Technology, for further guidance.

Best wishes,

---
Raul Sanchez-Lopez
Hearing scientist | Audio Engineer | Technical Audiologist
Institute of Globally Distributed Open Research and Education

On 2024-08-20 10:52, Raul Sanchez-Lopez wrote:
> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
> From: #ARIJIT BISWAS# <000003292f44871c-dmarc-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2024 at 09:14
> Subject: [AUDITORY] MUSHRA test with open reference; and then without
> open reference
> To: <AUDITORY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
>  Dear all:
>
>  Is there any research on how subjective ratings in a MUSHRA test
> might be affected if the same systems (i.e., hidden reference,
> anchors, codecs under test) are re-evaluated without the ability to
> compare them against an open reference?
>
>  If no such studies/papers exist, can we make any educated guesses
> about the potential outcomes?
>  I imagine that, in the absence of a reference, the task for the
> subjects would become more difficult.
>  Any other guesses?
>
>  Thank you.
>
>  Best regards,
>  Arijit
>
>  **Disclaimer** The sender of this email does not represent Nanyang
> Technological University and this email does not express the views or
> opinions of the University.
**Disclaimer** The sender of this email does not represent Nanyang Technological University and this email does not express the views or opinions of the University.