Delta Protocol: Live Media Reinvented
Objectives
Champions: EBU, RAI, IET, SMPTE
Participants: Google Cloud, V-Nova
This project aims to accelerate the redefinition of video transmission, shifting from frame-by-frame delivery to scene understanding and semantic intelligence.
By changing the unit of transport from pixels to meaning, Delta Protocol introduces a new model for live streaming: one that transmits less but delivers more.
AI-powered delta streaming reframes live media as an intelligent system connecting camera, cloud, and consumer, prioritising what matters, rather than sending everything.
Innovation
The Delta Protocol Accelerator will establish technical validation and architectural direction for AI-native transmission. It explores how separating persistent continuity from meaningful change can enable more efficient and flexible live delivery without multiplying encoded streams.
Personalisation moves from duplication to composition. This approach can:
- reduce redundant transport and compute
- lower CDN egress, storage, and re-encoding overhead
- simplify processing layers and improve latency
- enable more adaptive, data-native live experiences
- reduce energy and processing demands across the supply chain
Industry Collaboration
This challenge requires a multi-party coalition across the ecosystem. The project seeks expertise in:
- Computer vision and signal processing
- AI / ML intelligence
- Visual data formats and coding innovation
- Encoding and packaging
- Cloud and compute orchestration
- CDN and distribution
- Rights protection and watermarking
- Devices and client platforms
Together, we can define an open reference architecture for AI-native transmission, preserving broadcast integrity while enabling semantic transport, edge composition, and scalable personalisation.
Watch the Kickstart Pitch: