Add section: FAST channel technical stack (playout, EPG, SCTE-35, SSAI)

[alexbj75]

Summary

FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) channels are conceptually mentioned in the repo, but there is no technical stack description. Given that FAST has become "the new normal" in 2025–2026 for ad-supported streaming, this section needs a practical architecture overview.

What's currently missing

A FAST channel requires multiple components working together:

1. Playout engine — scheduling + stitching of VOD assets into a continuous linear feed
2. EPG generation — XMLTV or HbbTV-compatible electronic program guide
3. SSAI integration — server-side ad insertion triggered by SCTE-35 markers
4. SCTE-35 ad marker insertion — signaling ad break opportunities in the HLS/DASH output
5. Delivery — HLS/DASH output to CDN

Eyevinn OSS reference implementations

Eyevinn has two directly relevant open source tools that should be referenced:

• channel-engine — https://github.com/Eyevinn/channel-engine — VOD2Live FAST channel engine in Node.js, used in production
• docker-fast — https://github.com/Eyevinn/docker-fast — complete FAST Channel Engine as a Docker container, the easiest starting point

These are among Eyevinn's most starred repos and are primary lead generators. Including them here with proper context serves both educational and commercial purposes.

Suggested content

A new technical subsection under FAST/Virtual Channels:

• Component overview (playout + EPG + SSAI + delivery)
• When to use FAST vs. traditional VOD/live
• Eyevinn channel-engine and docker-fast as reference implementations
• Link to OSC for hosted deployment option