Energy efficiency was a topic of importance at Mile High Video 2025, though we fear the subject will not become a headline issue until regulators step in, at which point most attendees will have long retired. While presenters in Denver offered insights into energy consumption reduction, the underlying question remains about whether there is an economic argument compelling enough for content providers to invest in greener technologies. Austria’s ITEC Alpen-Adria Klagenfurt University was well represented on this front at MHV. One talk proposed an energy-efficient FFmpeg alternative using large language models (LLMs). The irony of using energy-hungry AI models to improve energy efficiency wasn’t lost on the audience. One of the key points raised was the carbon footprint of AI-driven video…