Sony Interactive Entertainment announces a new acquisition: iSIZE (small AI-powered video streaming improvement company)

[Yurinka]

Sony Interactive Entertainment to Acquire iSIZE, a UK-based Company Specializing in Deep Learning for Video Delivery

We are thrilled to announce that Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (“SIE”) has entered into an agreement to acquire iSIZE, a UK-based company specializing in deep learning for video delivery. iSIZE builds AI-powered solutions to deliver bitrate savings and quality improvements for the media and entertainment industry. 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.

Founded in 2016 and based in London, iSIZE has a team of talented engineers and technical experts who have developed a suite of software solutions to optimize video. For example, the company built an AI-based perceptual preprocessing solution that allows conventional, third-party encoders to produce higher quality video at a significantly lower bitrate.

We look forward to welcoming the iSIZE team to SIE.

*Terms of this transaction, including the acquisition cost, are not disclosed due to contractual commitments.

https://sonyinteractive.com/en/sony...ializing-in-deep-learning-for-video-delivery/

Seems to be a small company, with 22 people listed in LinkedIn and mentioned to have 20-50 people in some websites. They have an AI based tech that noticiably improves video streaming quality and removes compression artifacts while using lower bitrate, something that would help to improve the image quality and latency for cloud gaming, Remote Play or Share Play, plus the videos in the PSN store or any Sony video streaming based app as Crunchyroll or Sony Pictures Core.

And not only that, I assume this same tech may even be adapted to use it for games to do Sony's own version of DLSS or FSR to upscale game resolutions in real time, in addition to further reduce the PS5 game SSD sizes and download times since the game videos could now be stored in lower bitrate and have better quality.

If the demos they have in their website are representative, their results are impressive and the improvement very noticiable.

SIE filled many interesting patents in the last couple weeks

As always, many may be updates of previous ones and many may not be implemented on final commercial products, but I think there's a lot of interesting stuff here. Published October 26th, 2023: Multi unit deformable controller Correlating gestures on deformable controller to computer simulation...

icon-era.com

As always, many may be updates of previous ones and many may not be implemented on final commercial products, but I think there's a lot of interesting stuff here.

In a recent thread I mentioned that in the last couple of weeks SIE registered more patents than usual, some of them may be related to this:

• Foveated enhancement of non-XR games within a HMD system
• Method and system for saving a snapshot of gameplay and used to begin later execution of the game by any user as executed on a game cloud system
• Recommending game streams for spectating based on recognized or predicted gaming activity
• Image processing system and method
• Image processing apparatus and method
• Instant streaming of a mobile user interface to a device of a secondary user without application install
• Sensor system, image processing apparatus, image processing method, and program
• Enhaced screen share for online computer applications

 

[Johnic]

 

[Gods&Monsters]

Treat yourself Jim Ryan. Buy all the leftover shite before you go.

Treat Yourself.

 

[Bryank75]

 

[Eggman]

Probably using their tech in their updated cloud gaming for PS5 which is great quality

 

[Danja1187]

They already have too many devs, need more layoffs before they acquire anyone

 

[anonpuffs]

 

[Bryank75]

Fuck the cloud...

 

[Yurinka]

Fuck the cloud...

View attachment 2949

This tech has more possible usages than cloud gaming:

It may end also be applied to improve image quality in-game for when upscaling as in DLSS/FSR, plus reducing game sizes because videos would require less space while also having better image quality. It can also be used to improve remote play, share play and the image quality of the videos stored in the PSN store or the PS app.

 

[nongkris]

Whenever I see the word GAAS, PC, or Cloud I know it was Jim Ryan's idea. All of his acquisitions have to do with everything but actual singe player games to look forward to.

 

[Yurinka]

Whenever I see the word GAAS, PC, or Cloud I know it was Jim Ryan's idea. All of his acquisitions have to do with everything but actual singe player games to look forward to.

This acquisition can benefit single player games -even played locally, not during remote play or via cloud gaming- in multiple ways as mentioned in the OP.

He acquired Insomniac, who did work on sigle player games as Ratchet or Spider-Man
He acquired Bluepoint, who did work on the single player games Demon's Souls or God of War Ragnarok
He acquired Valkyrie, who did work on single player games like GoWR
He acquired Housemarque, who did work on single player games like Returnal
He acquired Firesprite (+ Fabrik), who did work on single player games like Horizon CoM
He acquired Nixxes, who ported single player games
He acquired Audeze, who makes audio tech also enjoyed in SP gmes
etc

And well, regarding GaaS most Sony GaaS were greenlighted before he became CEO and most of the knon games greenlighted during his period aren't GaaS. And the PS cloud gaming has been there since 10 years ago.

 

[Jim Ryan]

This acquisition can benefit single player games -even played locally, not during remote play or via cloud gaming- in multiple ways as mentioned in the OP.

He acquired Insomniac, who did work on sigle player games as Ratchet or Spider-Man
He acquired Bluepoint, who did work on the single player games Demon's Souls or God of War Ragnarok
He acquired Valkyrie, who did work on single player games like GoWR
He acquired Housemarque, who did work on single player games like Returnal
He acquired Firesprite (+ Fabrik), who did work on single player games like Horizon CoM
He acquired Nixxes, who ported single player games
He acquired Audeze, who makes audio tech also enjoyed in SP gmes
etc

And well, regarding GaaS most Sony GaaS were greenlighted before he became CEO and most of the knon games greenlighted during his period aren't GaaS. And the PS cloud gaming has been there since 10 years ago.

Only insomniac has any gamer cache out of them... The rest mean little to nothing.

 

[Zzero]

I wouldn't complain until I hear what they paid for it.

 

[Remember_Spinal]

Only insomniac has any gamer cache out of them... The rest mean little to nothing.

Bluepoint is 1 of 3 studios that put out a 90+ rated game this generation

 

[8BiTw0LF]

Seems like a good acquisition. If they'll be able to send low bitrate files that will display as high bitrate on our end, it's a total win.

 

[Killer_Sakoman]

This acquisition can benefit single player games -even played locally, not during remote play or via cloud gaming- in multiple ways as mentioned in the OP.

He acquired Insomniac, who did work on sigle player games as Ratchet or Spider-Man
He acquired Bluepoint, who did work on the single player games Demon's Souls or God of War Ragnarok
He acquired Valkyrie, who did work on single player games like GoWR
He acquired Housemarque, who did work on single player games like Returnal
He acquired Firesprite (+ Fabrik), who did work on single player games like Horizon CoM
He acquired Nixxes, who ported single player games
He acquired Audeze, who makes audio tech also enjoyed in SP gmes
etc

And well, regarding GaaS most Sony GaaS were greenlighted before he became CEO and most of the knon games greenlighted during his period aren't GaaS. And the PS cloud gaming has been there since 10 years ago.

Nuh, it is about high quality video streaming with low bitrate. It's purely for cloud streaming. DLSS type AI solutions are totally different.

 

[Yurinka]

Nuh, it is about high quality video streaming with low bitrate. It's purely for cloud streaming. DLSS type AI solutions are totally different.

DLSS is essentially the same, to use deep learning (AI) to improve image quality in real time in a succession of (optionally scaled in terms of resolution) frames.

The difference is that Nvidia applies it to in-game rendering and this company applies it to a video streaming rendering.

Sony now could use it for both, in addition to improve image quality and reduce the file size of videos stored inside future games.

 

[Remember_Spinal]

BUT ITS NOT SQUARE ENIX OR CAPCOM, THANKS JIM RYAN

 

[reziel]

BUT ITS NOT SQUARE ENIX OR CAPCOM, THANKS JIM RYAN

Relax there's still next year.

 

[Danja1187]

This acquisition can benefit single player games -even played locally, not during remote play or via cloud gaming- in multiple ways as mentioned in the OP.

He acquired Insomniac, who did work on sigle player games as Ratchet or Spider-Man
He acquired Bluepoint, who did work on the single player games Demon's Souls or God of War Ragnarok
He acquired Valkyrie, who did work on single player games like GoWR
He acquired Housemarque, who did work on single player games like Returnal
He acquired Firesprite (+ Fabrik), who did work on single player games like Horizon CoM
He acquired Nixxes, who ported single player games
He acquired Audeze, who makes audio tech also enjoyed in SP gmes
etc

And well, regarding GaaS most Sony GaaS were greenlighted before he became CEO and most of the knon games greenlighted during his period aren't GaaS. And the PS cloud gaming has been there since 10 years ago.

It was Shawn Layden that struck the Insomniac deal actually then shortly after he was apparently forced out when Jim Ryan won the CEO race.

Housemarque acquisition was bidded on the success and Critical reception of Returnal... This was Shu's doing... Not Jim.