In this hybrid VoD schema, the only Administrative Domain that absolutely must be Multicast enabled is the local connection. The local client connection, be it Cable, FTTP, or 5G service must be Multicast enabled. (ATSC 3.0 implementations are Multicast by necessity.) Without the Multicast operation local to the subscriber’s Administrative domain, the dominant savings of this method simply cannot be achieved. This is probably the most accessible Domain in which to make this alteration. It need only be made available for IPv6 connections to clients and need only be made specific a designated list of ports.
While end users on unicast domains could potentially access multicast content using embedded AMT Gateways, these unicast tunnel connections don’t share in the multicast economy. AMT is still a critical interim tool to bridge those pesky upstream Unicast hops. That’s ok, the AMT implementations are few, compared to the quantity of end subscribers connected to their local service provider.
Use of AMT to bridge upstream multicast deficiencies is not as elegant as the mythically perfect, homogeneous Multicast Network. Still it can provide considerable value in facilitating SVoD as the Multicast roads remain under construction.
Hybrid VoD 