Method for audience display power estimation and corresponding apparatus

Abstract

A decoding method is disclosed. An energy value and a value of gas emissions are determined (S102), for each frame of a video to be displayed on a plurality of display devices. The energy values are summed (S104), over all frames of the video, to obtain an energy value for the video. The values of gas emissions are summed (S106), over all frames of the video, to obtain a value of gas emissions for the video.

Description

[0001] METHOD FOR AUDIENCE DISPLAY POWER ESTIMATION AND CORRESPONDING APPARATUS

[0002] CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0003] This application claims the benefit of European Application No. 24305262.8, filed on February 15, 2024 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0004] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0005] At least one of the present embodiments generally relates to a method and an apparatus for determining an energy value and (e.g., greenhouse) gas emissions value for a set of displays.

[0006] BACKGROUND

[0007] Reducing energy consumption of electronic devices has become a requirement not only for manufacturers of electronic devices but also to limit, as much as possible, the environmental impact and to contribute to the emergence of a sustainable display industry. The increase in display resolution from SD to HD, then to 4K and soon to 8K and beyond, as well as the introduction of high dynamic range imaging, has brought about a corresponding increase in energy requirements of display devices. This is not consistent with the global need to reduce energy consumption knowing that a huge number of devices has a display (i. e. , TV, Mobile phones, tablets, etc.). Indeed, displays are the most important source of energy consumption, for consumer electronic devices, either battery-powered (e.g., smartphones, tablets, headmounted displays, car display screens) or not (e.g., television sets, advertisement display panels).

[0008] Different display technologies have been developed in the recent years. Although modem displays consume energy in a more controllable and efficient manner than older displays, they remain the most important source of energy consumption in a video chain. As far as backlight displays are concerned, their energy consumption is largely determined by the intensity of the backlight. Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) is one example of display technology that is finding increasingly widespread use because of numerous advantages compared to former technologies such as Thin-Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Displays (TFT-LCDs). Rather than using a uniform backlight, OLED displays, as well as mini LEDS, are composed of individual directly emissive image pixels. OLEDs power consumption is therefore highly correlated to the image content and the power consumption for a given input image can be estimated by considering the values of the displayed image pixels. Although OLED displays consume energy in a more controllable and efficient manner, the displays remain one of the most important sources of energy consumption in a video chain. As part of the mitigation of climate change, the European Commission is increasingly requiring companies to report on their (e.g., greenhouse) gas emissions. When a broadcaster broadcasts a program, this program will be displayed on a certain number of end-user display devices. Having an estimate of the aggregate amount of energy used to display a video may be advantageous, e.g., for reporting purposes.

[0009] SUMMARY

[0010] In one implementation, a method is disclosed that makes it possible to determine (e.g., estimate) an energy value used to display a video on a plurality of displays (e.g., addressed by a broadcaster) and a value of gas emissions (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions) produced by the display when displaying the video. The method is content adaptive and takes into account various types of display devices, e.g. OLED, LCD and displays of mobile devices. The determined values may be used by the broadcaster for reporting purpose.

[0011] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] FIG. 1 depicts a flowchart of a method for determining a value of energy that is used by a set of end-user display devices to display a video according to an example;

[0013] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a particular step of the method of FIG. 1 ;

[0014] FIG. 3 illustrates a method that may be used to determine the power used by an average display of OLED type;

[0015] FIG. 4 illustrates the Murdoch RGBW Model ;

[0016] FIG. 5 illustrates the RGBW Power Model;

[0017] FIG. 6 illustrates the RGB Power Model;

[0018] FIG. 7 illustrates a method that may be used to determine the power used by an average display of LCD type;

[0019] FIG. 8 illustrates a method that may be used to determine the power used by an average display of Mobile type; and FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a system in which various aspects and embodiments can be implemented.

[0020] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] This application describes a variety of aspects, including tools, features, embodiments, models, approaches, etc. Many of these aspects are described with specificity and, at least to show the individual characteristics, are often described in a manner that may sound limiting. However, this is for purposes of clarity in description, and does not limit the application or scope of those aspects. Indeed, all of the different aspects can be combined and interchanged to provide further aspects. Moreover, the aspects can be combined and interchanged with aspects described in earlier filings as well.

[0022] The aspects described and contemplated in this application can be implemented in many different forms. At least one of the aspects generally relates to image processing. These and other aspects can be implemented as a method, an apparatus, a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions for processing video data according to any of the methods described, and / or a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a bitstream or processed video data (e.g., reports on energy consumption) generated according to any of the methods described.

[0023] Various methods are described herein, and each of the methods comprises one or more steps or actions for achieving the described method. Unless a specific order of steps or actions is required for proper operation of the method, the order and / or use of specific steps and / or actions may be modified or combined. Additionally, terms such as “first”, “second”, etc. may be used in various embodiments to modify an element, component, step, operation, etc. Use of such terms does not imply an ordering to the modified operations unless specifically required.

[0024] For the sake of clarity, satisfying, failing to satisfy a condition and configuring condition parameter(s) are described throughout embodiments described herein as relative to a threshold (e.g., greater, or lower than), a (e.g., threshold) value, configuring the (e.g., threshold) value, etc.). For example, satisfying a condition may be described as being above a (e.g., threshold) value, and failing to satisfy a condition (e.g., performance criteria) may be described as being below a (e.g., threshold) value. Embodiments described herein are not limited to threshold- based conditions. Any kind of other condition and parameter(s) (such as e.g., belonging or not belonging to a range of values) may be applicable to embodiments described herein.

[0025] Light production in display devices (for example, televisions, smartphones, tablets, laptops, cameras) is costly. As part of the mitigation of climate change, the European Commission is increasingly requiring companies to report on their greenhouse gas emissions. To this end, three scopes of reporting may be defined. In a first scope (named Scope 1), direct emissions, notably caused by company facilities and company vehicles are considered. In a second scope (named Scope 2), a first type of indirect emissions is considered. These indirect emissions may be due to the purchase of electricity, steam, heating and cooling for own use. In a third scope (named scope 3) a second type of indirect emissions are considered, e.g., due to emissions caused both upstream and downstream in the company’s value chain.

[0026] The third scope of reporting is further broken down into a number of different classes as explained in the document from Greenhouse Gas Protocol entitled “Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard”, which is a supplement to the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. The upstream activities in Scope 3 comprise Purchased goods and services, Capital goods, Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2, Upstream transportation and distribution, Waste generated in operations, Business travel, Employee commuting, and Upstream leased assets.

[0027] The downstream activities in Scope 3 comprises Downstream transportation and distribution, Processing of sold products, Use of sold products, End-of-life treatment of sold products, Downstream leased assets, Franchises and Investments. The categories of Scope 3 relevant for broadcasters and media streaming companies are Cat 1, ‘purchased goods and services’, and Cat 11, ‘use of products sold’.

[0028] When considering a broadcaster sending out a program through digital terrestrial television (DTV), an end user device (e.g., a television receiving the program) will use energy to display the program material. Thus, a television that uses energy to display the program will cause emissions that are considered in ‘Scope 3, Cat 11 indirect use phase’. The reporting of such energy used by a broadcaster is currently extremely difficult.

[0029] A method is thus disclosed that makes it possible to estimate the amount of energy that is used by end-user display devices in order to offer a first element / framework that will allow broadcasters to estimate their Scope 3, Cat 11 indirect use phase emissions. The method may provide an estimate of the total amount of energy used by the ensemble of display devices receiving a content as delivered by a broadcaster. Other use cases are not precluded, such for example streaming scenarios. A translation to the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions is also be provided to aid in Scope 3 reporting.

[0030] The method allows broadcasters to estimate the energy consumption induced downstream, notably in end-user display devices. The method may later be fed by other data gathered along the transmission stream. This may involve the development of metadata which may be proposed in standards organizations such as 3GPP, DVB and ATSC.

[0031] FIG. 1 depicts a flowchart of a method 100 for determining (e.g., estimating) a value (e.g., an amount) of energy that is used by a set of end-user display devices (more simply called displays) to display a video according to an example. The amount of energy required to display a video, movie or television program on the total number of displays receiving this content depends on various factors, e.g., the number of displays involved, their individual energy requirements, the nature of the content being displayed, etc. A broadcaster wishing to understand the energy use that delivering a content brings about has access to some of this information, while other parameters currently need to be estimated. The method 100 for estimating energy use is content-adaptive and thus provides an estimation more accurate than could be achieved otherwise.

[0032] The method takes as input a video (e.g., movie, television program, advertisement, or any other chunk of audio-visual content). It may also take as input parameters related to the video itself, e.g. frame duration and color space such as video primaries, and a number of estimates regarding, for example, an audience size, the installed base of display devices, and the gas emission intensity of the territory over which the broadcast can be received. Some of these parameters may be inferred as global statistics. In the future when better instrumentation methods become available, these statistics may be replaced by other information, for example collected from actual recipients of the program, and delivered to the broadcaster.

[0033] The method processes each frame of the video individually.

[0034] At S102, for each frame a value (e.g., an amount) of energy used to display the frame over the whole set of displays in the installed base of displays and a corresponding value of (e.g., greenhouse) gas emissions, denoted CO2e, are determined (e.g. estimated). This step is detailed on FIG. 2 in a particular case of OLED, LCD and Mobile display devices. At SI 04, the values of energy are summed over (e.g., all) frames to obtain a total amount of energy used by the displays as a result of a broadcast.

[0035] At SI 06, the corresponding values of gas emissions are summed over (e.g., all) frames to obtain a total amount of (e.g., greenhouse) gas emissions produced by the displays as a result of the broadcast.

[0036] These two quantities (total amount of energy and corresponding total amount of gas emissions) constitute the output of the method 100 and may be used for reporting purposes.

[0037] FIG. 2 depicts a detailed flowchart of the step SI 02. The inputs to the method are a video frame f as well as the frame duration. Statistical parameters used by the method come in two forms, e.g., an estimated audience size or viewership and other parameters that slowly evolve over time and would only periodically need to be updated. The estimated audience size or viewership in itself correlates with the number of displays receiving the video and is typically different for each video broadcast. The other parameters comprise for example a relative presence of different display technologies (a.k.a. display type) in the installed base of displays (more simply called market) and a national gas emission intensity.

[0038] Currently, the installed base of display devices can be broadly categorized into three types: LCD televisions, OLED televisions, and mobile displays. Each of these has different characteristics, which means that the analysis would be different for each display type.

[0039] The national gas emission intensity is the amount of greenhouse gas emissions a nation produces per kWh electricity generated. This figure is different for different countries, and with the transition towards cleaner forms of electricity generation, which number changes over time as well.

[0040] These parameters are sufficient to estimate the total energy required for the given video frame f (i.e., used for displaying the video frame fl, as well as its corresponding greenhouse gas emissions. The input video frame is analyzed according to a model specific for each display type. These models make it possible to determine (e.g., estimate) an amount of power (denoted Avg. OLED power, Avg. LCD power and Avg. Mobile power respectively) required to display a frame on an average display of the given type, as more particularly explained below with reference to FIGs 3, 7 and 8. With the frame duration as an additional input, the power consumption for a frame and a given display type is converted to energy consumption used to display the frame on a device EMobiie at S200, ELCD at S201 and EMobiie at S202. More precisely, the average power is multiplied by the frame duration for each display type. This multiplication converts a power value into an energy value.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 2, an estimate of audience size (and therefore the number of displays involved) is multiplied at S203, S204 and S206 by a ratio (e.g., an estimated ratios or percentage) of each display type in the installed base of displays (e.g., percentage of OLED displays in the market, percentage of LCD displays in the market and percentage of Mobile displays in the market) and optionally by 1 / 1000. For some operators, notably streaming operators, these statistics are readily available. For broadcasters these statistics may be estimated. The multiplication by the estimated ratios gives an estimate of the total number of displays of each type in the market, which may be subsequently divided by 1000 (i.e., multiplied by 1 / 1000) to aid in the conversion between Wh and kWh. The estimated energy consumption for each display device type (i.e., EMobile, ELCD and EOLED) is then multiplied at S208, S210 and S212 by the estimated number of each display type (possibly divided by 1000), which produces the total energy consumed for the input frame by each display type. The total energies (per device type) are finally summed at S213 to obtain the total energy used for the frame f over the whole set of displays in the installed base of displays.

[0042] To obtain an estimate of the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions (CO2e), the total energy per device type is multiplied at S214, S216, S218 by a national gas emission intensity. The amounts of greenhouse gas emissions (per device type) are finally summed at S220 to obtain the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions (CO2e) for the frame f over the whole set of displays in the installed base of displays.

[0043] FIGs 3, 7 and 8 methods that may be used to determine the power used by an average display of a given type. Although described in the context of display devices based on OLED or LCD technology, the present principles are not limited to this context and also apply to other types of displays such as local dimming LED displays, mini-LED displays and micro-LED displays. The examples disclosed also apply to MEMs-based display technologies.

[0044] In addition, if in the future it is found that a certain display type exhibits a significant amount of variation in energy use between examples of the given display type, the method may be extended with separate sub-models for each sub-class. For example, LCD displays with and without local dimming back-panels may be treated individually and separately. Likewise, the efficiency of quantum dot displays may be different from those that do not incorporate quantum dots. The present disclosure does not preclude the future incorporation of such classes or subclasses.

[0045] FIG. 3 shows a method that may be used to determine the power used by an average display of OLED type. For energy efficiency purposes, many OLED displays have in addition to red, green and blue sub-pixels, an additional white sub-pixel. Other OLED displays may have only red, green and blue sub-pixels. The analysis of these two sub-classes proceeds separately. This necessitates an estimate of the relative presence in the market of RGBW and RGB OLED displays, however.

[0046] For a hypothetical RGBW OLED display, each RGB input pixel is transformed at S300 into an RGBW pixel using a model first presented by Murdoch (see FIG. 4, discussed below). This pixel is then input to a power model that estimates at S302 the power consumed for that pixel (see FIG. 5, discussed below). This process is repeated for all pixels, and the results are summed at S304 and multiplied at S306 by the percentage of RGBW panels in the market.

[0047] For a hypothetical RGB OLED display, an RGB power model (FIG. 6, discussed below) is applied directly at S308 to estimate the power consumed forthat pixel. This process is repeated for all pixels, and the results are summed at S310 and multiplied at S312 by the percentage of RGB OLED panels in the market. The outputs of S306 and S312 are summed at S314. At S316, an average constant base power is added to the output of S314 to obtain the average OLED power (e.g., in Watts). The average constant base power accounts for the fact that a display such as a television screen performs other tasks which causes the display to use power even if nothing is displayed on its screen.

[0048] FIG. 4 shows Murdoch’s model for deriving an RGBW pixel value from an RGB pixel. The model takes as input an RGB pixel, as well as knowledge of the color space in which the video is defined. Pixels in YUV format may be first converted to RGB, which could be a standard transform to, for example, the ITU-R BT.709 color space. Given that the video color space and the display color space are typically different, a correction for the assumed display color space may be required. This is especially important if the video is defined in ITU-R BT.709 (narrow gamut) color space, as OLED displays typically have a much wider color gamut. From the primaries associated with the video color space, and the assumed primaries of the display color space, a rotation matrix Rrotcan be defined at S400. Assuming that broadcasters convert their content to normally be in a unified color space, this rotation matrix does not have to be computed very often (e.g., in the limit only once).

[0049] Further estimated display parameters required for the application of Murdoch’s model are the assumed display gamma y as well as the assumed display white point cw= (rw, gw, bw). As these statistical measures tend to be relatively stable over time, these can be estimated once, without the need to reevaluate these parameters very often. With these parameters as input, Murdoch’s model is fully described in FIG. 4, producing an RGBW pixel as output. At S402, the average display gamma y is applied on the pixel values (r, g, b). At S404, the rotation matrix 7?rotis applied on the output of S402. At S406, l / cwis applied, i.e. is multiplied to the matrix output of S404 to obtain pixel values (r', g', b') . At S408, wmis determined as min(r', gr, b') . At S410, white is removed to obtain ( r", g", b") , i.e., (r", g", b") = (r’ , g', b'~) — (wm, wm, iv,„) . At S412, (r'", g'" , b'", w) is set equal to (r" , g" , b" , wm) . At S414, (r'", g'", b'", w) is multiplied by (rw, gw, bw, 1) to obtain (r, g, b, w), where (rw, gw, bw, 1) is obtained from cw. At S414, the average display white that is re-applied.

[0050] FIG. 5 shows the procedure for computing the power usage P for a pixel displaying an RGBW pixel. Assuming that the drive values (r, g, b, w) are normalized, they are multiplied by the assumed average peak power consumption per primary. The peak power consumption per primary may vary across displays, which is why an average of all the peak consumptions is estimated. Further, red, green, blue and white primaries have different efficacies, with notably the red primary typically requiring more power to drive. The white primary is relatively efficient. This is why the power used to display a pixel is defined in terms of its sub-pixels. The total power consumed for a pixel is then the sum of the power used for its sub-pixels.

[0051] FIG. 6 shows the procedure for computing the power usage for an OLED display omitting white sub-pixels. This model is essentially the same as the one depicted in FIG. 5, albeit without the white sub-pixel.

[0052] FIG. 7 illustrates a method that may be used to determine the power used by an average display of LCD type. For LCD backlit displays, the main energy consumption is due to the backlight. Assuming that some form of backlight scaling is applied, a frame with a low peak luminance will require a lower level of backlighting than a frame with a high peak luminance. It is therefore assumed that the peak luminance of a frame is indicative of the device power of a backlit display. Thus, the brightest pixel (i.e. the peak luminance) is determined first at S700. Based on the peak luminance and an average display peak luminance, an assumed backlight level is derived at S702. Given an estimated average display efficacy for backlit displays, i.e. the wall power required to produce an amount of light, measured in lumen per Watt, the power required to display the frame is derived by multiplying the average display efficacy by the frame backlight level at S704. Finally, a fixed estimated base power is added at S706, which is the power consumed by the device for everything other than driving the panel.

[0053] Such a backlight level can be determined at S700 as follows. An average peak display luminance of N cd / m2is considered and the peak luminance of the frame is determined to be M cd / m2(e.g., which is less than or equal to N). Assuming that all displays use backlight scaling, i.e. when the peak luminance of the frame is less than maximum, the pixel values are scaled up and the backlight luminance is reduced. LCD screens have on average a transmittance of 0 < x <= 1. The strength of the backlight for a frame with a peak luminance of M cd / m2would under these conditions be M / x lumen. For displays that do not use backlight scaling, the strength of the backlight would be constant and N / x lumen.

[0054] FIG. 8 illustrates a method that may be used to determine the power used by an average display of Mobile type. Mobile devices, phones and tablets, are highly optimized, and because their screens are relatively small, the power required to produce an image is therefore small. In addition, the amount of power necessary for general processing, including decoding the video, therefore takes proportionally more power than in other, larger display devices. As such, the average power used by a mobile device for displaying a video frame is less dependent on the video frame being displayed than on the processing that happens in the device. Consequently, the mobile device power is estimated to be constant (and thus independent of the content being displayed).

[0055] FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a system in which various aspects and embodiments can be implemented. System 100 may be embodied as a device including the various components described below and is configured to perform one or more of the aspects described in this application. Examples of such devices, include, but are not limited to, various electronic devices such as personal computers, laptop computers, smartphones, tablet computers, digital multimedia set top boxes, digital television receivers, personal video io recording systems, connected home appliances, and servers. Elements of system 100, singly or in combination, may be embodied in a single integrated circuit, multiple ICs, and / or discrete components. For example, in at least one embodiment, the processing elements of system 100 are distributed across multiple ICs and / or discrete components. In various embodiments, the system 100 is communicatively coupled to other systems, or to other electronic devices, via, for example, a communications bus or through dedicated input and / or output ports. In various embodiments, the system 100 is configured to implement one or more of the aspects described in this application.

[0056] The system 100 includes at least one processor 110 configured to execute instructions loaded therein for implementing, for example, the various aspects described in this application. Processor 110 may include embedded memory, input output interface, and various other circuitries as known in the art. The system 100 includes at least one memory 120 (e.g., a volatile memory device, and / or a non-volatile memory device). System 100 may optionally include a storage device 140, which may include non-volatile memory and / or volatile memory, including, but not limited to, EEPROM, ROM, PROM, RAM, DRAM, SRAM, flash, magnetic disk drive, and / or optical disk drive. The storage device 140 may include an internal storage device, an attached storage device, and / or a network accessible storage device, as non-limiting examples.

[0057] Program code to be loaded onto processor 110 to perform the various aspects described in this application may be stored in storage device 140 and subsequently loaded onto memory 120 for execution by processor 110. In accordance with various embodiments, one or more of processor 110, memory 120, storage device 140 may store one or more of various items during the performance of the processes described in this application. Such stored items may include, but are not limited to, the input video, frequency maps, the decoded video or portions of the decoded video, the bitstream, matrices, variables, and intermediate or final results from the processing of equations, formulas, operations, and operational logic.

[0058] In some embodiments, memory inside of the processor 110 is used to store instructions and to provide working memory for processing. In other embodiments, however, a memory external to the processing device is used for one or more of these functions. The external memory may be the memory 120 and / or the storage device 140, for example, a dynamic volatile memory and / or a non-volatile flash memory. In several embodiments, an external non-volatile flash memory is used to store the operating system of a television. The input to the elements of system 100 may be provided through various input devices as indicated in block 105. Such input devices include, but are not limited to, (i) a radio frequency (RF) portion that receives an RF signal transmitted, for example, over the air by a broadcaster, (ii) a Component (COMP) input terminal (or a set of COMP input terminals), (iii) a Universal Serial Bus (USB) input terminal, and / or (iv) a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) input terminal. Other examples, not shown in FIG. 13, include composite video.

[0059] In various embodiments, the input devices of block 105 have associated respective input processing elements as known in the art. For example, the RF portion may be associated with elements suitable for (i) selecting a desired frequency (also referred to as selecting a signal, or band-limiting a signal to a band of frequencies), (ii) down converting the selected signal, (iii) band-limiting again to a narrower band of frequencies to select (for example) a signal frequency band which may be referred to as a channel in certain embodiments, (iv) demodulating the down converted and band-limited signal, (v) performing error correction, and (vi) demultiplexing to select the desired stream of data packets. The RF portion of various embodiments includes one or more elements to perform these functions, for example, frequency selectors, signal selectors, band-limiters, channel selectors, filters, downconverters, demodulators, error correctors, and demultiplexers. The RF portion may include a tuner that performs various of these functions, including, for example, down converting the received signal to a lower frequency (for example, an intermediate frequency or a near-baseband frequency) or to baseband. In one set-top box embodiment, the RF portion and its associated input processing element receives an RF signal transmitted over a wired (for example, cable) medium, and performs frequency selection by filtering, down converting, and filtering again to a desired frequency band. Various embodiments rearrange the order of the above-described (and other) elements, remove some of these elements, and / or add other elements performing similar or different functions. Adding elements may include inserting elements in between existing elements, for example, inserting amplifiers and an analog-to-digital converter. In various embodiments, the RF portion includes an antenna.

[0060] Additionally, the USB and / or HDMI terminals may include respective interface processors for connecting system 100 to other electronic devices across USB and / or HDMI connections. It is to be understood that various aspects of input processing, for example, Reed-Solomon error correction, may be implemented, for example, within a separate input processing IC or within processor 110 as necessary. Similarly, aspects of USB or HDMI interface processing may be implemented within separate interface ICs or within processor 110 as necessary. The demodulated, error corrected, and demultiplexed stream is provided to various processing elements, including, for example, processor 110, operating in combination with the memory and storage elements to process the datastream as necessary for presentation on an output device.

[0061] Various elements of system 100 may be provided within an integrated housing, Within the integrated housing, the various elements may be interconnected and transmit data therebetween using suitable connection arrangement 115, for example, an internal bus as known in the art, including the I2C bus, wiring, and printed circuit boards.

[0062] The system 100 includes communication interface 150 that enables communication with other devices via communication channel 190. The communication interface 150 may include, but is not limited to, a transceiver configured to transmit and to receive data over communication channel 190. The communication interface 150 may include, but is not limited to, a modem or network card and the communication channel 190 may be implemented, for example, within a wired and / or a wireless medium.

[0063] Data is streamed to the system 100, in various embodiments, using a Wi-Fi network such as IEEE 802.11 (IEEE refers to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). The Wi-Fi signal of these embodiments is received over the communications channel 190 and the communications interface 150 which are adapted for Wi-Fi communications. The communications channel 190 of these embodiments is typically connected to an access point or router that provides access to outside networks including the Internet for allowing streaming applications and other over-the-top communications. Other embodiments provide streamed data to the system 100 using a set-top box that delivers the data over the HDMI connection of the input block 105. Still other embodiments provide streamed data to the system 100 using the RF connection of the input block 105. As indicated above, various embodiments provide data in a non-streaming manner. Additionally, various embodiments use wireless networks other than Wi-Fi, for example a cellular network or a Bluetooth network.

[0064] The system 100 may provide an output signal to various output devices, optionally including a display 165, speakers 175, and other peripheral devices 185. The display 165 of various embodiments includes one or more of, for example, a touchscreen display, an organic lightemitting diode (OLED) display, a curved display, and / or a foldable display. The display 165 can be for a television, a tablet, a laptop, a cell phone (mobile phone), or other device. The display 165 can also be integrated with other components (for example, as in a smart phone), or separate (for example, an external monitor for a laptop). The other peripheral devices 185 include, in various examples of embodiments, one or more of a stand-alone digital video disc (or digital versatile disc) (DVR, for both terms), a disk player, a stereo system, and / or a lighting system. Various embodiments use one or more peripheral devices 185 that provide a function based on the output of the system 100. For example, a disk player performs the function of playing the output of the system 100.

[0065] In various embodiments, control signals are communicated between the system 100 and the display 165, speakers 175, or other peripheral devices 185 using signaling such as AV. Link, CEC, or other communications protocols that enable device-to-device control with or without user intervention. The output devices may be communicatively coupled to system 100 via dedicated connections through respective interfaces 160, 170, and 180. Alternatively, the output devices may be connected to system 100 using the communications channel 190 via the communications interface 150. The display 165 and speakers 175 may be integrated in a single unit with the other components of system 100 in an electronic device, for example, a television. In various embodiments, the display interface 160 includes a display driver, for example, a timing controller (T Con) chip.

[0066] The display 165 and speaker 175 may alternatively be separate from one or more of the other components, for example, if the RF portion of input 105 is part of a separate set-top box. In various embodiments in which the display 165 and speakers 175 are external components, the output signal may be provided via dedicated output connections, including, for example, HDMI ports, USB ports, or COMP outputs.

[0067] The embodiments can be carried out by computer software implemented by the processor 110 or by hardware, or by a combination of hardware and software. As a non-limiting example, the embodiments can be implemented by one or more integrated circuits. The memory 120 can be of any type appropriate to the technical environment and can be implemented using any appropriate data storage technology, such as optical memory devices, magnetic memory devices, semiconductor-based memory devices, fixed memory, and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. The processor 110 can be of any type appropriate to the technical environment, and can encompass one or more of microprocessors, general purpose computers, special purpose computers, and processors based on a multi-core architecture, as non-limiting examples.

[0068] Unless indicated otherwise, or technically precluded, the aspects described in this application can be used individually or in combination. Various numeric values are used in the present application. The specific values are for example purposes and the aspects described are not limited to these specific values.

[0069] This disclosure has described various pieces of information, such as for example syntax, that can be transmitted or stored, for example. This information can be packaged or arranged in a variety of manners, including for example manners common in video standards such as putting the information into an SPS, a PPS, a NAL unit, a header (for example, a NAL unit header, or a slice header), or an SEI message. Other manners are also available, including for example manners common for system level or application level standards such as putting the information into one or more of the following: a. SDP (session description protocol), a format for describing multimedia communication sessions for the purposes of session announcement and session invitation, for example as described in RFCs and used in conjunction with RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol) transmission. b. DASH MPD (Media Presentation Description) Descriptors, for example as used in DASH and transmitted over HTTP, a Descriptor is associated with a Representation or collection of Representations to provide additional characteristic to the content Representation. c. RTP header extensions, for example as used during RTP streaming. d. ISO Base Media File Format, for example as used in OMAF and using boxes which are object-oriented building blocks defined by a unique type identifier and length also known as 'atoms' in some specifications. e. HLS (HTTP live Streaming) manifest transmitted over HTTP. A manifest can be associated, for example, to a version or collection of versions of a content to provide characteristics of the version or collection of versions.

[0070] When a figure is presented as a flow diagram, it should be understood that it also provides a block diagram of a corresponding apparatus. Similarly, when a figure is presented as a block diagram, it should be understood that it also provides a flow diagram of a corresponding method / process.

[0071] The implementations and aspects described herein can be implemented in, for example, a method or a process, an apparatus, a software program, a data stream, or a signal. Even if only discussed in the context of a single form of implementation (for example, discussed only as a method), the implementation of features discussed can also be implemented in other forms (for example, an apparatus or program). An apparatus can be implemented in, for example, appropriate hardware, software, and firmware. The methods can be implemented in, for example, a processor, which refers to processing devices in general, including, for example, a computer, a microprocessor, an integrated circuit, or a programmable logic device. Processors also include communication devices, such as, for example, computers, cell phones, portable / personal digital assistants ("PDAs"), and other devices that facilitate communication of information between end-users.

[0072] Reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” or “one implementation” or “an implementation”, as well as other variations thereof, means that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, and so forth described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” or “in one implementation” or “in an implementation”, as well any other variations, appearing in various places throughout this application are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

[0073] Additionally, this application may refer to “determining” various pieces of information. Determining the information can include one or more of, for example, estimating the information, calculating the information, predicting the information, or retrieving the information from memory.

[0074] Further, this application may refer to “accessing” various pieces of information. Accessing the information can include one or more of, for example, receiving the information, retrieving the information (for example, from memory), storing the information, moving the information, copying the information, calculating the information, determining the information, predicting the information, or estimating the information.

[0075] Additionally, this application may refer to “receiving” various pieces of information. Receiving is, as with “accessing”, intended to be a broad term. Receiving the information can include one or more of, for example, accessing the information, or retrieving the information (for example, from memory). Further, “receiving” is typically involved, in one way or another, during operations such as, for example, storing the information, processing the information, transmitting the information, moving the information, copying the information, erasing the information, calculating the information, determining the information, predicting the information, or estimating the information.

[0076] It is to be appreciated that the use of any of the following “ / ”, “and / or”, and “at least one of’, for example, in the cases of “A / B”, “A and / or B” and “at least one of A and B”, is intended to encompass the selection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of the second listed option (B) only, or the selection of both options (A and B). As a further example, in the cases of “A, B, and / or C” and “at least one of A, B, and C”, such phrasing is intended to encompass the selection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of the second listed option (B) only, or the selection of the third listed option (C) only, or the selection of the first and the second listed options (A and B) only, or the selection of the first and third listed options (A and C) only, or the selection of the second and third listed options (B and C) only, or the selection of all three options (A and B and C). This may be extended, as is clear to one of ordinary skill in this and related arts, for as many items as are listed.

[0077] As will be evident to one of ordinary skill in the art, implementations can produce a variety of signals formatted to carry information that can be, for example, stored or transmitted. The information can include, for example, instructions for performing a method, or data produced by one of the described implementations. For example, a signal can be formatted to carry the bitstream of a described embodiment. Such a signal can be formatted, for example, as an electromagnetic wave (for example, using a radio frequency portion of spectrum) or as a baseband signal. The formatting can include, for example, encoding a data stream and modulating a carrier with the encoded data stream. The information that the signal carries can be, for example, analog or digital information. The signal can be transmitted over a variety of different wired or wireless links, as is known. The signal can be stored on a processor-readable medium.

[0078] Many examples are described herein. Features of examples may be provided alone or in any combination, across various claim categories and types. Further, examples may include one or more of the features, devices, or aspects described herein, alone or in any combination, across various claim categories and types. For example, features described herein may be implemented by creating and / or transmitting and / or receiving and / or decoding a bitstream or signal. For example, features described herein may be implemented a method, process, apparatus, medium storing instructions, medium storing data, or signal. For example, features described herein may be implemented by a TV, set-top box, cell phone, tablet, or other electronic device that performs decoding. The TV, set-top box, cell phone, tablet, or other electronic device may display (e.g. using a monitor, screen, or other type of display) a resulting image (e.g., an image from residual reconstruction of the video bitstream). The TV, set-top box, cell phone, tablet, or other electronic device may receive a signal including an encoded image and perform decoding. A number of embodiments has been described above. Features of these embodiments can be provided alone or in any combination, across various claim categories and types.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method comprising: determining (SI 02), for each frame of a video to be displayed on a plurality of display devices, an energy value and a corresponding value of gas emissions, the video being transmitted by a broadcaster; summing (SI 04), over all frames of the video, the energy values to obtain an energy value for the video; summing (SI 06), over all frames of the video, the values of gas emissions to obtain a value of gas emissions for the video; and reporting by the broadcaster the energy value and the value of gas emissions for the video.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining, for each frame of the video to be displayed on the plurality of display devices, an energy value and a value of gas emissions comprises : determining (S203, S204, S206) a number of display devices for each display device type ; determining (S200, S201, S202), for each display device type, an energy value; multiplying (S208, S210, S212), for each device type, the number of display devices with the energy value to obtain a global energy value for each display device type; and summing (S213), over the display device types, the global energy values to obtain an energy value for the frame.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining, for each frame of the video to be displayed on the plurality of display devices, an energy value and a value of gas emissions comprises : multiplying (S214, S216, S218), for each display device type, the global energy value by a national gas emission intensity to obtain a gas emissions value; and summing (S220), over the display device types, the gas emissions values to obtain a global value of gas emissions for the frame.

4. The method of claim 2 or 3, wherein determining the number of display devices for each display device type comprises, for each display device type, multiplying an audience size with a percentage of display devices of the display device type.

5. The method of claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein determining, for each display device type, an energy value comprises multiplying a frame duration by an average power consumption used to display the frame on a display of the display device type.

6. An apparatus comprising one or more processors and at least one memory coupled to said one or more processors, wherein said one or more processors are configured to perform : determining (SI 02), for each frame of a video to be displayed on a plurality of display devices, an energy value and a corresponding value of gas emissions; summing (SI 04), over all frames of the video, the energy values to obtain an energy value for the video; summing (SI 06), over all frames of the video, the values of gas emissions to obtain a value of gas emissions for the video; and reporting the energy value and the value of gas emissions for the video.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein determining, for each frame of the video to be displayed on the plurality of display devices, an energy value and a value of gas emissions comprises : determining a number of display devices for each display device type ; determining for each display device type, an energy value; multiplying, for each device type, the number of display devices with the energy value to obtain a global energy value for each display device type; and summing, over the display device types, the global energy values to obtain an energy value for the frame.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein determining, for each frame of the video to be displayed on the plurality of display devices, an energy value and a value of gas emissions comprises : multiplying, for each display device type, the global energy value by a national gas emission intensity to obtain a gas emissions value; and summing, over the display device types, the gas emissions values to obtain a global value of gas emissions for the frame.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 or 8, wherein determining the number of display devices for each display device type comprises, for each display device type, multiplying an audience size with a percentage of display devices of the display device type.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, 8 or 9, wherein determining, for each display device type, an energy value comprises multiplying a frame duration by an average power consumption used to display the frame on a display of the display device type.

11. A computer program comprising program code instructions for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1-5 when executed by a processor.

12. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions for implementing the method of any one of claims 1-5.

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