Sony acquires UK AI company to improve video streaming

Sony has acquired iSize, a UK-based company using AI technology to improve video delivery.

The company aims to deliver bitrate savings and quality improvements for the media and entertainment industry, including allowing video to be streamed at a lower bitrate and using AI to upscale to higher quality.

"The acquisition provides SIE with significant expertise in applying machine learning to video processing, which will benefit a range of our R&D efforts as well as our video and streaming services," reads a press release on the acquisition.

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According to its website, iSize can provide bitrate savings, machine learning, and energy efficiency to video delivery. Other solutions include video processing to remove compression artifacts through AI, and "live photorealistic generative 2D/3D avatar technology".

It's unclear exactly how Sony will use this technology, be it for video game streaming, its Sony Pictures Core app for film streaming, or simply trailers on the PSN store.

PlayStation Plus Premium members now have access to the Core app, which allows users to buy and rent Sony films from their PS4 and PS5 consoles. It includes up to 2000 titles.

Further, PlayStation 5 games can now be cloud streamed on PS Plus. The dashboard has since been updated to include a logo indicating streamable games.