InterDigital Inc (IDCC)

[Gamco]

Alan Stein

Vice President, Technology

Why Did Interdigital Join the Streaming Video Alliance?

InterDigital is involved in many industry alliances and standards bodies dedicated to the transition to streaming video, particularly focused on streaming over cellular wireless networks at scale. We believe our unique research expertise can contribute to the good work of SVTA in a few domains, specifically video compression, network streaming protocols, and energy reduction/sustainability.

What Do You Believe is the Biggest Technical Challenge Facing the Streaming Video Industry the Alliance Can Help Address?

We believe the streaming industry is suffering from the “launch codec” legacy device difficulty with H.264, as broadcast and cable experienced with MPEG-2 a few years ago. It is challenging to migrate to more efficient codecs, despite their dramatic increase in efficiency. In fact, VVC delivers a greater than 3:1 benefit when compared to H.264. We are also concerned with streaming’s relative energy consumption as compared to multicast-capable systems like ATSC 3.0. We believe a hybrid broadcast-broadband approach could mitigate some of the inefficiencies, which would be good for both the industry and the planet.

How Does an Organization Like the Streaming Video Alliance Bring Value to the Industry?

The streaming industry has grown quickly, often leaving gaps in authoritative voices to provide apples-to-apples comparisons of solutions. SVTA members intimately understand quality of experience and the challenges of scale, and this group can be industry’s leading voice, as supported by unbiased testing and reporting.

About

InterDigital develops mobile and video technologies that are at the core of devices, networks, and services worldwide. We solve many of the industry’s most critical and complex technical challenges, inventing solutions for more efficient broadband networks, better video delivery, and richer multimedia experiences years ahead of market deployment. InterDigital has licenses and strategic relationships with many of the world’s leading technology companies. Founded in 1972, InterDigital is listed on NASDAQ.