DALLAS—Ark Multicasting recently conducted a successful pilot of its last mile edge caching technology over the ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV standard.
The demo consisted of Ark caching 4K, HD and SD video files on a consumer edge device for video on-demand. The files were transmitted from a Low Power TV broadcast over-the-air environment. The consumer edge caching took place simultaneously with live linear TV seen on a Sony ATSC 3.0 TV separate from the caching device.
The files originated from Ark’s Dallas headquarters and were sent via FTP to Southwick, Mass. The pilot was conducted in partnership with Hitachi-Comark and the Comark Digital Services integration team.
Ark says that the demonstration validates many of the planned uses for ATSC 3.0. Also, “localized data caching means less buffering, faster downloads and better overall broadband,” said Ark CEO Joshua Weiss.
“It’s very exciting to see new and innovative implementations of ATSC 3.0 come to life,” added Madeleine Noland, president of ATSC. “Edge caching content in the home can serve a wide variety of purposes from relieving congestion on two-way IP networks to providing needed connectivity to rural or under-served populations. ... Kudos to Ark and Comark for their collaboration on this important use case.”
