Interoperable Master Format: Implementing the Remedy to Content Distribution Versionitis is Not a Question of "If" but "When" Says OWNZONES CEO Dan Goman
(Photo : Interoperable Master Format: Implementing the Remedy to Content Distribution Versionitis is Not a Question of "If" but "When" Says OWNZONES CEO Dan Goman)

Within less than a decade, the landscape of content distribution has exploded. Gone are the days when traditional media distribution channels such as theater releases, telecommunication networks, or cable television providers were the only devices a media company was expected to distribute their programming on, as the streaming revolution has released consumers from the bonds of their television set. Today, anybody with an internet connection can access content from a multitude of compatible devices, whether that be a smart TV, their smartphone or tablet, personal computers, or even most gaming consoles. 

The novel coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns implemented have considerably increased the demand for more content worldwide. Americans in particular streamed 85% more minutes of video in March of this year than the same month in 2019 and binge viewing (defined as watching over 3 episodes in the same session) grew more than 25% over the last two weeks of March versus the two weeks prior. These circumstances have exacerbated another ailment content distribution services have been facing as a result of the rapid growth in their sector: "versionitis," or a situation in which their libraries contain many different (and possibly incompatible) versions of the same title due to the increased necessity for multiple variants of the same content. This has led in many cases to disorganization and time-consuming considerations when it comes to managing and delivering content. 

Take a look at the facts: if a content creator wants to distribute a title globally, they must take into account mastering the title for different distribution formats such as TV, censor, airplane, or theatrical, in different resolutions to accommodate the different network conditions and internet speeds of playback devices, varying aspect ratios for different screens, and dubbing and subtitles for as many languages as possible. This is without even delving into the multitude of versions needed to distribute between broadcast, satellite, cable, discs, VoD, and OTT. As a result, you are looking at potentially hundreds of different versions of the same master title, taking up massive amounts of valuable storage and begging for disorganization.

Thankfully, a solution to this has already been devised, known as the interoperable master format (IMF). A standard rather than a specific form of technology, it was created by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) to aid in streamlining the management and processing of multiple versions of material. The framework allows content creators to have one master file per title that contains within it the individual components such as video, audio, subtitle data, and dynamic metadata. They can then "cut and paste" these separate track files together as needed without creating a massive new file each time. If the idea of converting every single title in your library to this format sounds daunting, businesses like the SaaS company OWNZONES have created quick and painless automated solutions to conversion, and CEO and founder Dan Goman has said "it's no longer a question of if companies should adopt IMF, but when."

The history of IMF

The changeover from analogue to digital video began in the 1990's -- earlier than many may realize. However, as can happen with new and rapidly developing technologies such as in the case of Blu-Ray and HD DVD for example, several competing formats were being developed that were non-interoperable. With everyone adopting their own preferred formats and workflows, many in the media industry were concerned with the rising difficulties in project collaboration, exchanging content, and distributing the project to multiple endpoints. 

To remedy the situation, SMPTE worked in tandem with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to come up with a standardization process for digital video to better facilitate asset management and exchange of information. They went through several iterations over the next two decades, setting a precedent and laying the groundwork for new developments for interoperability in post-production with Advanced Authoring Format (AAF) in the 1990's. The file format was mainly used for internal editing and was designed to facilitate multi-platform, multi-vendor interoperability for digital video production. The 2000's saw the standardization of the exchange of content and metadata into a simple package with what eventually became the Digital Cinema Package (DCP), and in 2007 it was combined with the AS-02 MFX format to create what is now known as IMF. 

The creation of IMF was all based on utilization by the Hollywood film industry, but as the SVOD industry ballooned, Netflix took notice of the component-based workflow format as a solution to their own scaling issues. In licencing almost all of their content from other owners, they found themselves in the unfortunate situation of holding a vast amount of titles in various file formats and specifications. This disorganization was beginning to cause issues with their formatting, dubbed audio, and subtitles, not to mention the ever-growing cost of storage due to inordinately large file sizes, so in 2014 they announced that they prefer all UHD content submissions for streaming on their platform to be formatted as an IMF package. By switching their workflow to become IMF-based they were able to save themselves time, money, and manual processing work, increasing their efficiency and helping them maintain their position on the cutting edge of the streaming industry. 

With Netflix being the biggest name in the SVOD industry at the time, this was nothing short of a game-changer for IMF adoption in the OTT space. The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA), a trade association that focuses on serving the community of individuals and businesses who provide creative and technical expertise, support, tools, and infrastructure to the industry, has since begun advocating for the broad use of IMF. They house the IMF User Group, whose members include the likes of OWNZONES, Disney, Fox, Apply, Sony, Amazon, and Netflix itself among others. As organizations like HPA and SMPTE champion the merits of IMF, it continues to evolve beyond Hollywood studios and find its place within the OTT and broadcasting industries. 

Why it's time for everybody to adopt IMF

In addition to the obvious organizational benefits of adopting IMF, it can also help considerably cut costs associated with data and storage. Whether you are using on-prem data servers or utilizing cloud computing technology, large media files can amass a storage requirement that quickly takes a huge chunk out of your operations budget. The time and manpower necessary to navigate and maintain such files can also equate to dollars lost in your employees expending unnecessary energy on an outdated system of organization. It can also aid in disaster recovery. Whether that be caused by hardware or software failure, a network or power outage, physical damage to a building like fire or flooding, or human error which can lead to security and data breaches, downtime is the biggest drain on money and resources when a disaster strikes, and employing the IMF system means your organized and condensed content library is already primed for a rapid restoration. 

IMF has evolved considerably and continues to do so with each passing year. Cloud computing technology is proving to be a natural fit for IMF implementation, and together as a workflow they have the potential to revolutionize the post-production industry. Additionally, the coronavirus pandemic has greatly increased the need to adopt the IMF standard. Broadcasters and streaming services alike must now navigate how to best move forward with the increased demand for content that shelter-in-place orders across the country and the world have created, and by utilizing IMF they can ensure their content is reaching the widest possible audience. 

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