Mobile World Congress 2023 is an opportunity to discover NESTED: an eco-efficient solution for streaming multimedia content. Optimized for 5G, it is promoted by a consortium led by Ateme, in partnership with Orange.
Demonstration on the Orange stand at Mobile World Congress 2023, the NESTED project provides a promising solution to limit the energy impact of digital technology. This innovation is in fact capable of reducing network congestion by automatically changing the video distribution format (unicast/multicast) according to the available stream and the number of users. It also offers to optimize the resolution taking into account the screen used. At equal quality for the user, the energy consumption of terminals and network equipment will be considerably reduced.
Compress differently
The NESTED project – for “ New vidEo STandards for Enhanced Delivery – is the result of collaboration between different partners: Orange, through its subsidiary Viaccess-Orca, takes care of the “ player “, which includes the decoder ” versatile video coding (VVC) designed at the Institute of Electronics and Digital Technologies (IETR). ENENSYS takes care of the unicast/multicast part, as well as the receiver installed on the various equipment (smartphones, tablets, smart TV, set top box, etc.). This consortium is led by Ateme, a company specializing in video compression and distribution, which gave life to the project in order to minimize the growing impact of video traffic on the networks, which makes it possible to deliver high quality services in preserving the environment.
Agnostic technology
5G requires receiving pure streams (over the top), which increases the load on the network if you want to receive traditional TV channels. ” NESTED’s objective is to reduce the impact of transmission on the network, summarizes Mickaël Raulet, CTO at Ateme. ” To achieve this, we used properties around CMAF (‘common media application format’) containerization. The advantage of this format, which was initiated jointly by Microsoft and Apple and standardized by MPEG, is its compatibility with all Android and iOS terminals.. Ateme has also implemented a new VVC/H.266 codec, which allows it to halve the video bitrate compared to state-of-the-art HEVC/H.265. Advantage: by reducing the throughput by 2 on the network, VVC makes it possible to reduce the carbon impact of video distribution. ” We use a new codec to anticipate what will be the multimedia broadcasting of tomorrow. This is why the chain of innovations proposed by NESTED, the CMAF and multicast, constitute agnostic technologies: they can work with any other type of codec », specifies Mickaël Raulet.
Energy efficiency
At the other end of the chain, Viaccess-Orca is involved in the project with its secure video player. ” In the NESTED ecosystem, our player is able to offer a user experience similar to the one we have today, but with a more energy efficient technology. “says Guillaume Debeneix, technical project manager at Viaccess-Orca. Gains come from NESTED’s ability to swipe from one delivery mode to another – from unicast, where each stream is transmitted individually, to multicast, where the same stream will be sent to multiple users. ” This transition occurs during video playback, without any visual impact to the user. »
User involvement
Second innovation: the mode eco-friendly from the Viaccess-Orca secure video player. ” Today you can watch 4K on your mobile screen. But this is irrelevant because with lower resolution you will have a similar perception. Our player therefore allows the user to get involved, by choosing a resolution better suited to his equipment and, if necessary, more energy efficient. “says Guillaume Debeneix. At this stage of the project, the new player manages to evaluate in real time the energy consumption of the microprocessor related to the viewing of the video. Soon, it will also be able to take into account the consumption of the modem, the screen… And therefore provide precise information to the user allowing him to adapt his way of consuming video.
A technology designed for 5G
Launched two years ago, the development of the NESTED project will come to an end in May 2023. Most of its advances can then be used on current equipment following a simple software update. But the solution will take on its full scope within three to five years, as part of 5G SA (Stand Alone).
