SMPTE, a global organization dedicated to advancing interoperability in media, has joined forces with Avid, a leader in media technology for broadcast customers, to release a new standard for the VC-3 codec in interoperable master format (IMF). This standard, designated as SMPTE ST 2067-70, outlines the application of the IMF framework for utilizing VC-3 as defined in SMPTE ST 2019-1.
The VC-3 standard, a codec implementation provided by Avid under the DNx brand, serves as a primary production codec for various media organizations worldwide. It is extensively used for critical broadcast functions, including capture, editing, rendering, base transcoding, and long-term archiving.
"For many of Avid’s customers, the DNx family of codecs, VC-3, is used in their productions as a mezzanine format to maximize quality while obtaining superior editing performance on common off-the-shelf desktop and server platforms," said Avid VP of Technology, Shailendra Mathur. "This newly published standard will ensure that the same mezzanine-quality codec used in production can now be passed through to the IMF mastering stage for distribution."
IMF is a significant international media standard that delivers a unified, interchangeable master file format and structure for content distribution. The IMF family of SMPTE Standards (SMPTE ST 2067) simplifies the storage of all audiovisual content required for creating different versions for distribution across various territories and platforms. It is a vital component of modern, large-scale content fulfillment and has been instrumental in developing streamlined delivery and processing systems for versioning. The IMF package itself can be used for B2B content exchange between content owners, post facilities, and distribution platforms.
Since VC-3 is a primary production codec used by a wide range of broadcasters, the new ST 2067-70 standard encompasses its usage with IMF. This enables delivery in VC-3 codecs that align closely with the IMF principles of maintaining the highest possible quality for future distribution, reversion, and archiving. The standard allows any broadcast facility to deliver final assets for broadcast/archive while preserving as much of the original creative intent as possible. It also offers the flexibility to utilize a constant bit rate (CBR) codec profile, which provides predictability for storage and network transport. The standardization will lead to time and cost savings while eliminating quality degradation, as previously encoded content can be passed through without requiring transcoding into a different format.
The DPP, an organization representing media technology and production companies across the media supply chain, initiated the collaboration between SMPTE and Avid as co-proponents for the development of this standard. This standard offers significant workflow advantages over existing alternatives, including the ease of inserting changes before creating a final IMF deliverable, potentially resulting in faster turnaround times.
"It has been great to support the collaboration between Avid and SMPTE to enable the use of VC-3 codec within the IMF framework," said DPP Technology Strategist David Thompson. "This addition meets a clear business need for companies who use VC-3 as their primary production codec and wish to adopt IMF for distribution and archiving."
"We are pleased to be working with SMPTE on improvements to the DNx family of codecs, VC-3, for the benefit of our valued member partners in the DPP," said Avid Chief Technology Officer Kevin Riley. "Avid understands that improving DNx is critical to our customers in keeping existent media processing chains intact. This new standard maintains the ability for our DNx codec to be storage- and network-friendly while also producing time and cost savings, as the delivery format can now match the production codec used by our partners and customers."