Automating HD Workflows: Future Challenges for MXF

Nowadays, broadcasters are rapidly adopting integrated, file-based media production architectures for their back-end facilities, while simultaneously facing the transition from Standard Definition (SD) to High Definition (HD) Television. Broadcasters take full advantage of file-based workflows when they apply the standard file formats MXF and AAF to bring about the essential glue for the integration of production systems. Indeed, the use of MXF for the exchange of media materials in SD-TV production is widely accepted, but only because of continued efforts to keep the file format complexity low and because of rigorous testing procedures. In order to deal with interoperability issues, broadcaster-specific MXF Application Specifications have materialized that strictly define the rules of MXF usage in the broadcaster's production environment. These rules can differ per application (production, editing, play-out, archive) and quality level (compression format), and may evolve in due course. — Based on the lessons learned for SD, this paper discusses MXF and AAF's far-reaching, future challenges for mixed SD/HD media production, taking into account the expected impact of HD on the technical architecture. In particular, the forthcoming adoption of the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) paradigm will increasingly enable the automation of broadcaster-specific workflows based on central, reusable services and human interactions. — Firstly, HD-specific MXF requirements, such as surround sound and time labeling are elaborated. The use of additional metadata in MXF for further automating production workflows is mooted and a number of useful applications are suggested: media tracking, quality control and preservation, efficient repurposing based on audio-visual information, etc. Then, refinement of the current MXF strategy and the pros and cons of applying higher MXF operational patterns in order to improve efficiency in multi-platform production scenarios are contemplated on a per-application basis. Finally, an effective strategy is presented for automating the laborious MXF validation processes based on Application Specifications, and subsequent corrective updates, all realized in a service oriented way. — The reflections presented in this paper are valuable for all technical practitioners facing the introduction of file-based workflows for SD and HD production.

Published

2008-10

Content type

Original Research

Keywords

MXF, SOA, workflow automation, Application Specification, HD production

DOI

10.5594/M001047

ISBN

978-1-61482-939-3