New DFG project focusses on sustainable video streaming

The analysis and reduction of the environmental impact of global video streaming is the subject of the project "Modelling and minimising the environmental impact of video streaming" by BTU scientist Dr.-Ing. habil. Christian Herglotz in the Computer Engineering chair. Together with the French universities INSA Rennes and UPHF Valenciennes, he is creating a sound scientific basis for systematically evaluating and further developing future solutions for more sustainable video streaming.

"The challenge is to correctly understand and map the complex structure of a modern video streaming service in its entirety," says the scientist. "Within such a system, there are a large number of hardware and software solutions for server operation, data transmission and end devices, which we want to map in a standardised model. This model can be used to minimise environmental influences. Together, we want to make an important contribution to the sustainable use of video streaming systems."

Digital video services already contribute significantly to the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions caused by information and communication technologies - and the trend is rising. The main causes of this environmental impact are both the energy-intensive use of video streaming services and the production and operation of the necessary end devices. Against this background, the project is investigating new approaches to systematically reduce the resulting emissions.

The central aim of the research project is to develop a representative model that realistically depicts the energy requirements and greenhouse gas emissions along the entire video streaming chain. All relevant stages - from Computing Centres and network infrastructures to end devices - and their respective life cycles are taken into account.

Various measures to reduce emissions are analysed on the basis of this model. These include technological optimisations such as customised hardware solutions or optimised server structures, regulatory instruments such as standardisation or legislation for sustainable hardware and the concept of "digital sobriety". The concept aims to reduce the volume of data and encourage a more conscious use of digital media.