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| 'I didn't have a computer until the third year of university: Pakistani engineer who helped make video streaming fast |
Waqar Zia was told one day by his former colleagues that the work for which he had worked for more than a decade had finally been not only recognized but also honored.
It was also a source of pride for him because he was the only person to represent Pakistan during that time.
"Our work had not received any recognition for so many years, so I left the field and the job, but when old friends told me about the award, I was surprised."
It was the work that revolutionized the world of video streaming, whether you're watching a viral video on TikTok, making a video call on Zoom, listening to a lecture on YouTube, or enjoying your favorite show or movie on Netflix, this research made all this possible on such a large scale.
In fact, Waqar worked with a team of engineers that made video streaming easier and faster for users around the world.
Until the late 2000s, it was difficult to play video on a mobile or computer.
The video would freeze or wait excessively long in buffering when the internet speed fluctuated. Even if a video was played, its quality would drop.
To solve this, in 2009, Google, Microsoft, Apple, and other major technology companies started working together on a new standard for video streaming, which was introduced in 2012.
Today, the 'Dash' standard is considered the global standard for on-demand video and live streaming over the Internet.
This technology compresses any video, divides it into small parts, and stores it on the server in different qualities. Then, during streaming, the quality is adjusted by sensing the user's internet speed so that the video plays without stuttering. Thus, your mobile can play good quality video even on slow internet.
According to some estimates, videos account for more than half of internet traffic today, with users spending hours a day on YouTube, TikTok, Netflix, and other streaming websites.
According to Waqar, all this was possible because of 'Dash'. He is among the researchers who were awarded a 2022 Technology Emmy Award for this service.
'I didn't have a computer until my third year of university
Waqar, who hails from Rawalpindi, Punjab province, Pakistan, says that during his childhood, his relatives used to say that this child does not play with toys but breaks them, and he will become an engineer. "When I looked at a toy, I was always curious as to how it worked."
When he enrolled in Electrical Engineering at the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Taxila in 1996, he did not have a computer at home.
He tells the BBC that in those days, the university also lacked resources related to computers and software. "While we were there, a computer lab was set up and in the final year we got experience (in computer programming)."
Waqar recalls that he didn't have a computer until his third year of university, but during Inter, "I used to have a programmable calculator on which I used to program games."
His interest in software programming grew during his final year of university, after which he pursued a Masters's in Information and Communication Systems in Germany.
He explains that 'after Ph.D., a professor told that work is being done to bring such video streaming that does not take much time in loading or buffering because the video was stuck due to the ups and downs of the Internet speed.'
A team of experts from major Internet companies started working on a technology called 'Dash', which can be simply called a unified video programming language.
For this, Microsoft, Netflix, Apple, and other big companies joined hands. Waqar himself represented major technology companies like LG, Qualcomm, and Apple for this work.
From 2010 to 2020, Waqar has been working with major technology companies in research on adaptive streaming and currently works as a standard lead at technology giant Apple in Germany.
How did these engineers make video streaming faster?
Waqar explains that a significant change in thinking was made primarily to make video streaming faster. According to him, earlier the server pushed the video to the receiver for streaming. The problem was that routers would block the transfer while the server didn't know whether the device playing the video had good or bad internet.
We overturned that thought. Instead of the server sending the video to the receiver, we decided that the receiver would pull the video from the server. In this way, the receiver will know how much-downloading capacity is available and the router will not be able to block it.
He points out that Dash technology also increased video compression capabilities that supported more video and audio standards.
"Pakistanis are less in technology research"
According to Waqar, tech companies knew that the majority of Internet traffic in the future would go to videos, and therefore put a lot of effort into popularizing the Dash standard.
He recalls that 'from 2010 to 2020 I used this technology worked on Y and at that time I didn't think we would get any award. Other companies, including YouTube, had started using it, but I used to regret that we were not appreciated for it.
He even changed his department and job. Then he suddenly got the news that the effort had been awarded Emmy Awards in the technology category. His name is also included in the list of experts who have rendered significant services in this regard.
Waqar says that the representation of Pakistan in technology research abroad is very less compared to other countries.
"I think the reason for this is that when I was working in research for ten years, I used to hear the same advice from Pakistanis to get out of this field, there is no growth in it."
"If you want to move up, join sales and marketing," he was told.
In his opinion, he was lucky that he could not follow these suggestions. I wanted to do something new since childhood. Yes, money is important too, but do what makes you happy.'