Streaming Video Alliance Begins First Tests of Open Caching
Creating an open caching system has been the first priority of the Streaming Video Alliance (SVA), the nonprofit industry group formed in November 2014 to develop best practices for the future of streaming video, and today the group announced that trials are set to begin.
The SVA's Open Caching Working Group created the groundwork for a new content caching layer in April 2015, when it released a document spelling out its guiding principles and attributes. The proposed layer would optimize network capacity allocation and improve the viewer's quality of experience.
Since then, the group has approved its Open Caching Request Routing and HTTPS Delegation Technical Specification. Today's announcement is that trials based on that specification are set to begin. Alliance member companies will put open caching systems in place to optimize delivery and improve the live and on-demand video streaming experience. The specification puts popular content close to the end-viewer via open cache servers placed in ISP networks.
The companies participating (most of whom are members of the working group) are Charter, Limelight Networks, Major League Baseball Advanced Media, Qwilt, Verizon, Viacom, ViaSat, and Yahoo. During the trials they'll test live and on-demand streaming over HTTP and HTTPS, then report back to the working group.
“This is a monumental milestone for the organization and for video streaming,” says Jason Thibeault, executive director of the Streaming Video Alliance. “In addition to demonstrating our ability to create, endorse, and publish the technical specification that will improve streaming experiences across the value chain, we are now bringing our work to market through proof-of-concept trials. This is the strongest possible signal to the industry that our members are determined to put the Alliance’s work into practice and improve the future of streaming profoundly.”
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