Resolution or Frame Rate? A SAMVIQ-Based Study of Perceived Video Quality

This paper investigates the perceptual trade-off between spatial resolution and frame rate in high-frame-rate videoquality assessment. Six 4K/120 fps source videos were processed into six configurations: 4K/120 fps, 4K/60 fps, 1080p/120 fps,1080p/60 fps, 720p/120 fps, and 720p/60 fps. A subjective study with 30 participants was conducted using a SAMVIQ-based rating procedure, resulting in 1080 individual ratings. The results show that 4K/120 fps achieved the highest perceived quality, with a mean rating of 87.67 and a median rating of 93.5. Across all tested resolutions, 120 fps videos received higher average ratings than 60 fps videos, with mean scores of 72.56 and 66.16, respectively. These findings suggest that both spatial and temporal resolution contribute to perceived video quality, while the benefit of higher frame rate remains visible across multiple resolution levels. The study provides preliminary evidence for considering frame rate as an important factor in video quality optimization for streaming and multimedia applications.