UK streaming project gains Innovate UK funding
Details
Faye Sutton
| 21 July 2021
SEQUOIA, an R&D project partnership between iSIZE, the BBC R&D and Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) has been awarded a grant of £700k from funding agency Innovate UK.

sizeThe project looks at the way new technology, including artificial intelligence, can discontinuously change the way video content is distributed, in response to the need for video streaming to become more sustainable.

SEQUOIA is looking at perceptual optimisation of video streams as a way of making significant reductions in bandwidth required for equal quality. This is at the heart of iSIZE’s work, and will be combined with innovations in encoding technologies and optimisation, which is pursued by BBC R&D and QMUL.

Sergio Grce, CEO of iSIZE, commented: “The problems facing video streaming are real and represent significant environmental issues. The increase in video encoding complexity is outpacing Moore’s Law’, and some respected researchers suggest that the carbon footprint of the internet is greater than that of aviation. So this is an issue that must be addressed.

“We are very excited to be working with the BBC and QMUL on this project. SEQUOIA brings us together to advance the video streaming, incorporating our expertise in deep perceptual optimisation and the latest cutting-edge AI innovation. This project will deliver significant financial and environmental improvements for video streaming.”

The project aims to make an impact at every stage in the media distribution chain, demonstrating its results on operational and portable encoder designs, applicable both to video on demand and live streams. This, say the team, will lead to benefits for the whole sector, demonstrating technology to enable sustainable distribution of Ultra High Definition content, while limiting the impact of video on internet traffic and reducing distribution costs. Extending beyond the commercial benefits, project outcomes will be devised to support environmentally conscious solutions by monitoring and proactively reducing energy consumption at all stages within the media value chain.