Tying It All Together—A Watershed Moment in the Media Industry

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Publisher: SMPTE — White Plains, NY, USA
Doc Type: Journal Article
Content Type: Original Research
Abbreviated Title: SMPTE Mot. Imag J.
Volume: 121, No. 2, pp. 49–57
Abstract: In July of 1998, the joint SMPTE/European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Task Force for Harmonized Standards for the Exchange of Program Material as Bitstreams published its Final Report: Analyses and Results. Now some 13 years later, the basic framework outlined in this report is becoming a reality. However, more than this, the framework allows innovative media companies and manufacturers to expand the power and possibilities of the framework well beyond what was envisioned when the report was published. This paper connects the dots among serial digital interface (SDI), image compression, the invention of the Advanced Authoring Format/Material eXchange Format (AAF/MXF) data model, the MXF wrapper format, the subsequent development of AS-02, AS-03, and other MXF application specifications, developments in high-speed networking technology and network security, the SMPTE 2022 Standard for Professional Video over IP transmission, the recent activities of the Hollywood-based ETC's Interoperable Mastering Format (IMF), which has recently moved into SMPTE, and the Advanced Media Workflow Association/European Broadcasting Union (AMWA/EBU) Task Force on the Framework for Interoperable Media Services (FIMS), concentrating on service-oriented media workflows. I posit that we are at a watershed moment in the industry, which will create new opportunities, and even perhaps new media businesses that do not exist today.
Publication Date: 2012-03-01
DOI: 10.5594/j18148
ISSN: Print: 1545-0279
Link: https://doi.org/10.5594/j18148
Author(s): Brad Gilmer
Copyright: © 2012 Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, Inc.

Bibliographic Reference(s)

1. Joint SMPTE/EBU Task Force for Harmonized Standards for the Exchange of Program Material as Bitstreams published its Final Report: Analyses and Results: July 1998 EXTERNAL
10. The core specification for MXF is SMPTE ST 377-1:2009: Material Exchange Format (MXF) File Format Specification, available from http://www.smpte.org/ . Implementers may also find SMPTE EG41: MXF Engineering Guide useful EXTERNAL
11. It is important to note that nothing in the MXF specifications constrains the format of the video and audio wrapped in the MXF file. Therefore, it is possible to be able to understand the content of the MXF wrapper but still be unable to view the essence due to video/audio codec interoperability issues EXTERNAL
12. SMPTE RDD 09-2009 MXF Interoperability Specification of Sony MPEG Long GOP Products EXTERNAL
13. http://www.digitalproductionpartnership.co.uk EXTERNAL
14. Completed AMWA Specifications are available at http://www.amwa.tv/ . Test utilities and golden files are available to AMWA members EXTERNAL
15. Red Bee is one of the origination facilities for the BBC in London EXTERNAL
16. AS-02—MXF for versioning specification available at http://www.amwa.tv/ EXTERNAL
17. More information on FIMS is available at http://wiki.amwa.tv/ebu/ EXTERNAL
18. For a good overview of Software as a Service, see “Software as a service overview” by Infoworld.com at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGUPSvswmY0 EXTERNAL
2. For more information on the Video Services Forum see http://www.vid-eoservicesforum.org/ EXTERNAL
3. For more information on the Advanced Media Workflow Association see http://www.amwa.tv/ EXTERNAL
4. Film was actually very hard&excl; One of the first tasks the SMPE (the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, a precursor to the current SMPTE) took on was the standardization of film. Without this effort, film technology would have wallowed for many years. For an excellent description of these early standardization efforts, see Technological History of Motion Pictures and Television: An Anthology from the Pages of the “Journal of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers” by Raymond Fielding (hardcover, Jan. 31, 1980) EXTERNAL
5. Videotape was actually a little tricky too. Of course you had the different video standards, NTSC (National Television System Committee), PAL (Phase Alternating Line), and SECAM (Séquentiel couleur à mémoire), and you also had some incompatibility issues within a format (Sony vs. Ampex 1″, for example). However, by and large, video tape was comparatively straightforward EXTERNAL
6. DVD specifications are maintained by the DVD Forum ( http://www.dvd-forum.org/ ) as “books” such as the DVD-Rom Book, DVD-Audio Book, etc EXTERNAL
7. http://www.etcenter.org/ EXTERNAL
8. Ibid EXTERNAL
9. QuickTime is also frequently deployed in professional applications. The specification is owned by Apple ( http://www.apple.com/quicktime/ ) EXTERNAL

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Brad Gilmer; Tying It All Together—A Watershed Moment in the Media Industry, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 121, Issue: 2, March 2012); SMPTE, 2012. Available at https://doi.org/10.5594/j18148

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Brad Gilmer; Tying It All Together—A Watershed Moment in the Media Industry, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 121, Issue: 2, March 2012); SMPTE, 2012
doi: 10.5594/j18148
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<li>
Brad Gilmer; <cite id="bib-10-5594-j18148">Tying It All Together—A Watershed Moment in the Media Industry</cite>, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 121, Issue: 2, March 2012); SMPTE, 2012
<span class="doi">10.5594/j18148</span>
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