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This short paper examines the technological feasibility of a "video on demand service that is provided from a centralized location over a digital network. The video on demand service is considered to be a service similar to the currently popular videotape rental services. The problem is divided into two parts: communications and database access. It is argued that the incremental communications cost is small, as long as one assumes that there is already a network with sufficient bandwidth to the customer. A solution to the database access problem is presented which could be implemented with technology available in no more than 10 years.

AURORA is one of five U.S. testbeds charged with exploring applications of, and technologies necessary for, networks operating at gigabit per second or higher bandwidths. AURORA is also an experiment in collaboration, where government support (through the Corporation for National Research Initiatives, which is in turn funded by DARPA and the NSF) has spurred interaction among centers of excellence in industry, academia, and government.The emphasis of the AURORA testbed, distinct from the other four testbeds, is research into the supporting technologies for gigabit networking. Our targets include new software architectures, network abstractions, hardware technologies, and applications. This paper provides an overview of the goals and methodologies employed in AURORA, and reports preliminary results from our first year of research.