Dr Adrian Roe Id3as CEO
What do you think has been one of the most exciting tech trends to emerge from 2023? Initiatives such as Media over QUIC Transport (MoQT) show real promise. This is an attempt to deliver the benefits of next-generation transports (such as QUIC) to the media world in a way that is efficient, low-latency-capable as well as CDN-friendly, while at the same time reducing complexity. That is a rare combination. There is also an emerging realisation that the cloud is not a magic bullet. Id3as has always been a cloud-native developer (our first media solution was 100% in the cloud), but the (many) benefits of the cloud have to be considered on a case-by-case basis. Increasingly, we see hybrid cloud and on-premises solutions as being the norm, with allocations ebbing and flowing as demand evolves. Favourite product launch? A number of emerging products deliver energy-efficient encoding and generalised video processing capabilities (composition, AI analysis etc). Cards like the NETINT Quadra and the AMD Alveo MA35D are radically changing the amount of video processing that can be done in a small footprint, and with demonstrably lower watts per frame”. The impact of these capabilities can be far-reaching: more ‘exotic’ codecs are now an option for live streaming, and even large encoding workloads can be delivered with surprisingly little infrastructure. This is inviting the market to revisit some hitherto ‘obviously correct’ decisions and is promoting greater use of hybrid physical/cloud solutions. What’s one key lesson from 2023 you will be taking into 2024? 2023 has seen the bursting of the lockdown bubble. Much of the industry assumed that the good times and the exponential growth
seen going into the pandemic were here to stay, but those models and assumptions were not sustainable. That has led to two highly related outcomes: price is king and complexity is not a selling point. The industry is now less focused on growth and more focused on profitability. That is going to limit the mega-projects that were relatively common. No longer is it a given that you can simply throw massive resources and time at a challenge. Horizons are becoming shorter, with an expectation to do more with less, and so broadcasters and streamers are in search of technology solutions that enable them to build offerings quickly and efficiently without then compromising on capability and user experience. Are there ethical aspects of the industry that you feel have improved in 2023? Vendors are starting to get serious about sustainability and the nature of the message is maturing. It was not at all uncommon a year or two ago for suppliers to make announcements that by doing X they have made their solution greener, when in fact the exact opposite was true – their isolated change might not have even saved energy where they expected it to, and elsewhere in the consumption chain considerably more energy would be consumed as a result.
We founded Greening of Streaming a couple of years ago precisely to raise awareness of the challenges that exist within the sector and to help consolidate strategy and the messaging across vendors in an attempt to create a much greener ecosystem. To date, the core message has been measure, measure, measure, and that strategy is now starting to pay dividends. We are particularly excited about the innovations coming out of the Low Energy Sustainable Streaming (LESS) Accord, which should lead to consolidated, effective and practical changes that are going to benefit the ecosystem as a whole. What are you most excited for in the next year? The market turmoil over the last year has kicked off a real sea change in the industry. Broadcasters and streamers now need to rethink how they do absolutely everything and to challenge the accepted norms. Technology providers therefore need to adapt in the face of these new and myriad challenges. That in turn creates a tremendous opportunity for solutions that help publishers to simplify their media workflows and do more with less: less manpower, less money and also less time. We definitely see Norsk as being right at the heart of those new challenges in 2024.
THE MARKET TURMOIL OVER THE LAST YEAR HAS KICKED OFF A SEA CHANGE IN THE INDUSTRY. BROADCASTERS AND STREAMERS NEED TO RETHINK HOW THEY DO EVERYTHING
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