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In this interview, we have a chance to talk with industry leaders from the ECOFLOW project, as they share their insights on the technologies, challenges, and opportunities surrounding energy-efficient media streaming.
Ian Nock (The IET):
The current challenge is that energy and carbon measurements are based on limited data and rely heavily on complex models, leading to inconsistencies and making it difficult to compare results accurately. There is still a significant discrepancy between energy consumption data and CO2 emissions data, and focusing solely on CO2 can divert attention from understanding actual energy use, which is critical for energy consumers. To address this, we need more transparent and direct mechanisms for measuring energy consumption, while also accounting for the energy needed to generate the consumed energy. This remains an ongoing challenge, and we are working on improving these models to ensure more reliable measurements.
Dom Robinson (Greening of Streaming):
GoS is using a smart meter-based system to provide real-world energy measurements at scale. By measuring energy use throughout the entire streaming lifecycle, we aim to:
In our view, this repeatable testing framework is the only way to get a true, real-world understanding of energy consumption during use phases. Without it, current estimates are so inaccurate that translating them into CO2e statements can be misleading.
Robert Seeliger (Fraunhofer FOKUS):
Our goal is to combine precise energy measurements, like real-time power consumption from streaming devices, with player and session metrics. We developed a framework that integrates this data into a single tool for analysis. To ensure accuracy, measurements are repeated in a lab using a defined procedure. The framework automates data collection and transfers it to a reliable database via FAMIUM Stream Analytics. Results are available through dashboards, supporting the creation of a digital twin and AI models to optimize energy efficiency.
William Pickett (DIMPACT):
The DIMPACT tool is the main way that streaming companies and broadcasters involved in the initiative are developing estimates of their carbon and energy footprint from streaming—as well as others outside the initiative that have used our public methodology. DIMPACT—like many other carbon footprinting tools—is a modeling approach, which is built on academic research and methodologies, and industry data (where available) to develop estimates of the carbon impact of streaming and digital publishing. It is an attributional approach designed to give a best available estimate of the impacts and hotspots. Measurement is the next step to further substantiate and refine our models, which ECOFLOW aims to resolve.
Dom Robinson (Greening of Streaming):
We are several years, and an entire movement of consolidation of methodology and approach away from being able to estimate energy consumption in media supply chains. In practical terms, we are likely to be 5 to 10 years away from being able to accurately measure carbon footprints, and it is likely that carbon footprints themselves may not prove to be the right ‘currency’ for improving the industry’s environmental impacts.
William Pickett (DIMPACT):
We are making progress, but consistent and accurate measurement of the carbon footprint across media supply chains remains challenging. Much of the infrastructure is outside the control of media companies, requiring them to work closely with suppliers to establish shared standards for energy measurement. We are welcoming the growing transparency from the value chain - such as data center operators - who are beginning to provide customer-level emissions data. However, we still need industry-wide standards to ensure consistency in the scope, assumptions, and reporting of this data. These steps are crucial for achieving reliable carbon footprint measurements from content creation to streaming.
Ian Nock (The IET):
Carbon footprint measurement should primarily be the responsibility of energy producers and manufacturers. Energy consumers, like media companies, should focus on accurately measuring their energy usage with direct data or reliable first-hand proxies, rather than relying on imprecise estimates. This approach allows for better infrastructure comparisons, while CO2 measurements should be reserved for consistent time and location contexts. Accurate measurement is crucial, but ensuring we focus on the right metrics is just as important.
Mathias Lacaud (Quanteec):
Quanteec is a P2P solution that reduces cache server usage, though it adds some limited computation on user devices, without expected energy savings at the device level. Due to time constraints and difficulty measuring energy consumption from third-party servers, for ECOFLOW specifically—we decided to focus on measuring energy on specific user devices, which left out the impact assessment on our participant’s supply chain.
However, in our own testings, Quanteec has shown significant benefits, reducing cache server usage by 70-75% for live streaming and 40% for some Video on Demand cases. This could help content providers reduce the number of servers needed during peak times, potentially lowering energy use, though measuring server-side energy remains a challenge. This is why it is important to have a project like ECOFLOW to highlight the limitations of existing models, to show the complexity of the video streaming supply chain, and to take note of the difficulty to get confident results on what is happening on the server side.
Robert Seeliger (Fraunhofer FOKUS):
FAMIUM GreenView, developed by Fraunhofer FOKUS, improves energy efficiency in streaming on SmartTVs by dynamically adjusting playback settings based on content, device, and display type without altering the original content. Integrated seamlessly into the streaming service, it uses AI to optimize each session for energy savings. Lab evaluations show up to 15% energy savings on OLED TVs, while other display technologies like QLED and LCD show varying results, with less impact due to their panel characteristics.
James Varndell (Bitmovin):
Due to the wide variety of devices and stream configurations used by consumers, we recognise there’s currently no one-size-fits-all approach that is guaranteed to save energy. For that reason, we provide a configurable video player which allows for experimentation with different approaches which may save energy. The ECOFLOW project tested some examples, including: an audio-only player mode which removes video segments before the stream is decoded on the device, a black video background when in audio playback mode, resolution/bitrate settings and integration with products provided by the other participants (e.g., Fraunhofer GreenView & Quanteec). We believe that enabling easy experimentation with different approaches is important while we’re all investigating which factors have a measurable impact on energy consumption.
Dom Robinson (Greening of Streaming):
Every well-architected experiment should follow some simple steps:
Ian Nock (The IET):
We conduct energy measurements across a range of devices in controlled lab settings. This allowed us to identify key factors that can be applied on a larger scale. While we’ve made progress on measuring device-level energy consumption, broader measurements of the delivery infrastructure are still needed, and we are working to establish more accurate measurement points. Additionally, current models used by infrastructure providers need improvement, as they often rely on indirect data like cost, CPU, or bitrate, which are not accurate enough for assessing energy consumption. Our goal is to develop more reliable models based on direct or first-hand data.
James Varndell (Bitmovin):
In our approach to testing energy-saving features, we leverage insights from academic research through the GAIA project, a collaboration between Bitmovin and Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt. This research informs how we build and refine our products, using measurement data like the COCONUT dataset to better understand energy consumption in streaming. These data-driven insights help us validate and improve energy-saving features by applying a rigorous, research-based methodology.
Dom Robinson (Greening of Streaming):
This is entirely unknown at this point. The energy used by networks and routers is mostly unaffected by the amount of data they handle, so bitrate likely has little impact on transmission energy. While encoding and decoding energy can vary with bitrate, this relationship is complex and not straightforward. Additionally, the energy consumed by the display, especially with brightness and HDR settings, is a much bigger factor in overall energy use. Therefore, managing display settings effectively is more important for energy savings than adjusting streaming quality. The energy impact of the overall streaming process seems to be more related to infrastructure and capacity planning rather than the quality of the image itself.
Ian Nock (The IET):
While potential trade-offs are hypothesized, we haven’t yet fully measured the baseline energy consumption or identified improvements that require minimal or no trade-offs. For example, reducing energy by not displaying a video image is a clear way to save energy, but it has limited practical utility. We need to identify trade-offs that make sense within the context of maintaining quality while reducing energy use.
François Polarczyk (Accedo):
Addressing sustainability in streaming applications is a novel concept. While debate continues about the energy consumption hotspots in the streaming supply chain, research indicates that home users are significant contributors. Consequently, we've integrated energy-saving technologies, particularly for OLED TVs, and introduced Eco-modes to empower users to make sustainable choices. While these features primarily impact end-user devices, they are just one part of the solution. Educating users on sustainability without disrupting the TV app experience is no small feat. We've introduced eco-reminders, gamification, and sustainability modes like Audio-only streaming to engage users and raise awareness. Although our demo app is feature-rich, these innovations have been well-received by Product Owners and Designers in the ECOFLOW project, and we’re excited to showcase them at IBC.
William Pickett (DIMPACT):
I think one of the major challenges in engaging stakeholders about sustainability is aligning the industry on a clear roadmap to reduce energy and carbon impacts across a value chain involving many different players. We're still in the phase of gathering innovative ideas, which need to be assessed for their overall impact.
Hemini Mehta (EBU):
The EBU is dedicated to sharing knowledge and information with European Public Service Media. We facilitate learning through events like the Sustainability Summit, as well as through documents, reports, articles, and global group participation. All our sustainability resources are freely accessible, and we engage with both public service media and industry partners worldwide. The significant challenges today include costs, ambiguity, complexity, and time. Sustainability is a complex, cross-cutting issue that affects every part of an organization. Through participation in projects like ECOFLOW, we are learning about energy usage in the streaming workflow and sharing that knowledge to empower media organizations to address these challenges and drive meaningful action.
Michael Harrit (BBC):
As a major broadcaster, the BBC is committed to sustainability and resilient technology. Our mission is to inform, educate and entertain everyone and we’ve been at the heart of the UK’s national life for more than 100 years. We actively participate in various initiatives, including ECOFLOW, to find unified ways to measure and understand the environmental impact of streaming. Collaboration and knowledge sharing are key to ensuring we meet the high standards expected of a responsible business while supporting innovation in sustainable media practices.
Gijs Timmermans (RTL Nederland):
At RTL Nederland, our mission is to inform, inspire, and normalize sustainable practices among our viewers, while also producing and delivering content sustainably. Achieving a balance in this is challenging, so working together with others is crucial. We collaborate closely with production companies, using carbon calculator tools such as Albert to certify low-impact content, setting industry standards and educating our audience on sustainable production practices.
ECOFLOW empowers media organizations like ours by fostering industry-wide collaboration, offering shared tools, and helping us identify actionable steps to reduce our environmental impact in the streaming ecosystem. Taking small, incremental steps and showcasing successful use cases is key to driving meaningful action, making sustainability a tangible and achievable goal for all involved.
Tim Davis (ITV):
One of the brilliant things about our industry is how willing people are to share information and knowledge. A lot of this is through the brilliant, often formal and sometimes loose, groupings that we create, organizations like DIMPACT, Greening of Streaming, BAFTA albert, EBU, DPP, ECOFLOW, and many more. ITV is an active participant in many of these groups, sharing knowledge in an open and transparent way to help improve our collective knowledge. ECOFLOW, in particular, has a workstream dedicated to educating the media industry on the topic of energy-efficient streaming, and is creating materials around network distribution, cloud services, and end-user devices.
The ECOFLOW project addresses the environmental impact of media consumption by developing consolidated metrics for energy use across the streaming supply chain. It brings together leading companies from across the video streaming ecosystem to align energy-saving features into a unified user experience, focusing on key areas such as CDNs, encoding, and end-user devices. This collaboration helps increase clarity on energy consumption and optimize efficiency within the streaming ecosystem.
The project will be showcased at the IBC 2024 Accelerator Program. Watch the live presentation on Friday, 13 September, from 16:45 to 17:45 at the Innovation Stage, where the latest innovations in energy-efficient streaming will be highlighted.
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