Video streaming is more and ore becoming the standard in Germany. Four out of five Internet users now stream online videos. Most of them access video portals such as YouTube, Vimeo or Twitch. TV broadcasters' media libraries ("Mediathek") are also very popular. In addition, streaming of series and films on video-on-demand portals such as Netflix or Amazon Prime has become so established that over half of the users would pay for the services. Several studies assume that the growth rates of data traffic on the Internet caused by video streaming will continue to rise in the coming years. The additional energy and resources required for data centers, data transmission networks and end devices, as well as the associated impact on the climate and environment, could become an increasing problem.
In the ENRICH project, possible future scenarios of the megatrend "video streaming" were anticipated, and options for action for a more energy- and resource-efficient video streaming were identified together with experts from various disciplines. The results of this sub-project lead by DIALOGIK contribute to the regulation of the information and communication sector with regard to the increasing demand for energy and resources in the course of a growing video streaming boom.
The report Massenphänomen Videostreaming – Implikationen für Nutzer:innen, Infrastruktur und Klima is available for download here.