What 12 Watts Can Do
Akamai + Cires21 Put VPUs to the Test
Voices of Video Chris Milsted from Akamai and Dennis Mungai from Cires 21
In this Voices of Video episode, Akamai’s Chris Milsted and Cires21’s Dennis Mungai share the results of a real-world benchmarking study that compared GPU and VPU performance using production-grade workflows.
The test results? A NETINT VPU delivered 19 simultaneous 1080p60 streams at just 12 watts, outperforming the GPU on efficiency while matching quality on AV1 and HEVC encoding.
But this conversation goes beyond just the numbers. Chris and Dennis explore how energy restrictions in Europe, rising demand for AV1, and the need for scalable, container-friendly infrastructure are driving a new wave of interest in ASIC-based encoding.
From NVMe-based cloud deployment to predictable resource scaling, the episode offers a data-backed look at how VPUs are reshaping modern video workflows, and why this shift might just be inevitable.
Chris Milsted, Solution Architect at Akamai
Chris Milsted is a Technical Solutions Architect at Akamai, where he helps shape the future of energy-efficient cloud infrastructure. With a deep background in Kubernetes, open source, and scalable video workflows, Chris has held senior engineering roles at VMware, Ondat, and Red Hat. He recently led benchmarking efforts comparing VPUs and GPUs in live transcoding environments, demonstrating dramatic improvements in power efficiency and cost-per-stream. Chris is a frequent speaker at KubeCon and a published IBM Redbook author.
Dennis Mungai - R&D Video Specialist at Cires21
Dennis Mungai is an R&D Video Specialist at Cires21, focused on architecting high-performance, hardware-accelerated video workflows. His expertise spans Linux kernel-level development, FPGA integration, GPU offloading (CUDA, OneVPL, Vulkan), and ASIC-based encoding pipelines. He leads efforts in low-latency video transport, multi-bitrate ladder optimization, and cloud-agnostic deployment. Active in the Linux Foundation, IEEE, and AFRINIC, Dennis drives innovation across broadcast, research, and HPC environments.
Mark Donnigan - Head of Strategic Marketing at NETINT Technologies
Mark Donnigan is the Head of Strategic Marketing at NETINT Technologies, where his extensive experience and innovative approach have significantly contributed to the company's growth and industry standing. With a background that combines deep technical understanding and strategic marketing expertise, Mark has been instrumental in positioning NETINT as a leader in ASIC Video Processing Units (VPUs) for ultra-high density video encoding and streaming. His work at NETINT involves not just promoting the brand and its products but also shaping the future direction of the video streaming and encoding market.