Company contribution
Press play on greener media solutions
Original equipment manufacturers ( OEMs ) in the media industry can build a more sustainable and eco-friendly future , with some help from HPE OEM Solutions , according to Matt Quirk , director , WW HPE Partner
Ecosystem .
Sustainability has been a rising concern across industries for a few years now , and it looks like this is an issue that is here to stay for the long run . The media industry has not escaped increasing consumer demands for proof that it is supporting positive environmental change .
However , herein lies the inherent contradiction . Consumers want ever-higher video resolutions , ever-faster streaming speeds , and to be able to access both on multiple devices — all of which require large amounts of energy as more and more data is being sent every second . Higher quality features such as 4K and HDR may increase energy consumption by as much as 50 % or 100 %. It has been calculated that streaming media alone accounts for 1 % of global greenhouse gas emissions .
As the popularity of streaming media is only going to increase , there is an urgent need to find ways of operating more sustainably while meeting this ever-growing demand for streaming services . Of course , there are multiple ways consumers can play their part , for example streaming on their smartphone instead of on a desktop computer or LED TV . At the same time , there is the expectation that media OEMs and solution providers should be taking more decisive action to make the technical supply chain behind streaming services greener .
The importance of green streaming It is vital that we move towards a green streaming model when engineering new media solutions . As a concept , green streaming refers to the use of environmentally-friendly practices and technologies in the production and
delivery of streaming media content .
Streaming aside , the media industry is a significant contributor to carbon emissions anyway . Media content is produced with energyintensive equipment such as cameras , lighting and sound systems ; media content distribution involves many data centres and servers , which are again very energy-intensive .
Media OEMs and service providers can contribute to a reduced carbon footprint through a combination of the following four approaches .
Approach # 1 : Use more energy-efficient servers Media streaming services rely heavily on data centres to give consumers on-demand access to movies , TV shows , concerts , live gaming , sporting events and music . Not only do data centres store content for quick access , but their bandwidth flexibility enables streaming service providers to scale network capacity , resulting in stable data transmission even during times of high demand .
Ultimately , it is the energy efficiency of the servers powering data centres that will massively impact overall energy consumption . Server demand remains strong , with a Statista report projecting server revenue to hit US $ 90.78bn in 2023 , up from US $ 84.87bn in 2022 . However , most servers are rarely used to their maximum capacity , with the most efficient servers only running at 50 % of their full power . This translates to idle servers that waste a lot of electricity .
Enter the HPE ProLiant RL300 Gen 11 server . Part of HPE OEM Solutions ’ latest generation of servers , the HPE ProLiant RL300 Gen 11 server features the Ampere Altra and Ampere Altra Max processors , which provide an industry-leading 128 cores per socket for higher data centre density and extreme scale-out capabilities . In addition , these Ampere processors are built on a power-efficient architecture to deliver stillcompetitive performance at lower levels of power consumption .
Consider integrating the HPE ProLiant RL300 Gen 11 server into your current or next media solution to eliminate underutilised rack space , expand compute without a significant increase in energy budget and ultimately , keep your customers happy .
Approach # 2 : Reduce bandwidth High bandwidth leads to a higher data transfer rate , shorter download times and a smoother experience with multiple concurrent online applications — which can be extremely advantageous for media companies . However , excessive bandwidth usage is also very expensive . How can we reduce bandwidth and still offer a superior media streaming experience ? Let ’ s find out .
Elastic content delivery network ( CDN ) Most streaming services equip their CDN for maximum capacity on a daily basis to ensure top video quality . This capacity is usually calculated based on peak viewing times , such as during the Olympic Games , which are rare occurrences . This means that streaming CDNs are often underutilised .
In an elastic CDN , CDN nodes are only activated when there is user demand , and only the needed amount of resources are sent — not more and not less . As it is based in the cloud , these resources can be allocated within minutes . In this way , CDN can expand to meet large viewer volumes and shrink back down once demand returns to normal , eliminating waste .
Shared workflows Grouping parallel workflows is a quick fix for reducing bandwidth . For example , a single workflow can be used for both live and timeshifted video , so each use profile only needs to be sent and stored once . It is a good idea to set aside some time to discuss with your team which profiles can be integrated and run together .
Just-in-time processing In 1976 , Edward Hall likened culture to an iceberg , in that only 10 % of it is easily visible and the other 90 % is hidden below the surface . The same can be said of media consumption , as users generally concentrate their attention on a small amount of the total available content . Field studies have found that in a typical broadcast line-up in North American markets , 90 % of viewing is focused
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