FIAT/ORF Meeting in Vienna

Digital Revolution Hits Video Sector: Pressure Grows For International Standardisation. Fiat/Orf Hold Kick-Off Meeting In Vienna

Head of ORF Archive Department and Vice-president of FIAT/IFTA, Dr Peter Dusek, compared the concept of an electronic media number for the film and broadcasting industry with the Köchel catalogue of Mozart's works and the ISBN number used in the book industry. His comparison was accurate, aptly summing up the issue.

"The digital revolution has now got the video sector by the scruff of the neck. The explosion in the number of reception channels is having a huge effect on the forms of production and broadcasting used in television. What we need is an internationally accepted form of standardisation as a guide for broadcasters, producers, exploitation companies and viewers alike", explained Herbert Hayduck, Head of Documentation at ORF in his opening speech at the kick-off meeting on electronic media numbers, which was held on 27 March at ORF's offices in Vienna. Together with Wolfgang Dehn, Head of Documentation and Archives at Südwestfunk and a member of the FIAT/IFTA Executive Council, Herbert Hayduck was at the event as a representative of the FIAT/IFTA Documentation Commission.

At the invitation of the FIAT/IFTA Documentation Commission and ORF, representatives of the world's associations of film producers, as well as technology developers from the film industry, met to present their proposed solutions to the problem. The result was astounding. The four approaches presented varied immensely, not just in terms of content, but also as far as the time scale envisaged for their implementation was concerned.

The Fédération Internationale des Associations des Producteurs de Film (FIAPF) broke down their concept of an International Standard Audiovisual Number (ISAN) into 14 characteristic features. This system, which was primarily developed by international exploitation companies, "identifies work units, but the channel of distribution is unimportant. The number is a business toll and was developed by the industry for the industry", explained André Chabeau, FIAPF representative in Vienna. The plan is for the ISAN to be introduced in late 1999, with the working group responsible concluding its work in summer 1998.

Meanwhile, Jürgen Heitmann from the Society of Moving Pictures Television Engineers (SMPTE) presented the UMID or Unique Material Identifier, which is to be presented to the public for the first time in June of this year. According to Heitmann, this solution, which is supported by Sony and Microsoft, involves a "permanent electronic watermark". Audiovisual programmes are stored in one data format, completely irrespective of the type of archived data carrier or the type of TV or film format used for production. "Our main aim is to enable archived material to be used again and to be used simply and quickly. This means it's not the physical data carrier - be it a tape or film - but the information stored in bits and bytes that's important", said Heitmann, summing up the UMID.

A third development - this time from IBM Deutschland - involves making every single film element more easily identifiable and making this information permanently available by incorporating it into the digital stream of video material. Werner Kriechbaum explained the advances that had been made in defining this standard for MPEG-4 and MPEG-7. However, any form of international standardisation is, in his view, not likely before the year 2001.

Since October 1997, the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) has made it possible to identify digital information on the Internet. At the same time, the DOI provides a link between the information and the respective holders of the rights to the material with the aim of facilitating electronic trade/the exchange of data through the Internet. Unlike the other three solutions proposed, this project is based on existing material and uses existing numbers for codes. "DOI is a tool for the Internet and hence represents one sensible way of enhancing the ISAN system", added Norman Paskin, managing director of DOI.

Representatives from the various broadcasting companies - headed by FIAT/IFTA -did, however, agree that efforts had to be made as soon as possible to find a joint solution. "We are under pressure. The exchange of programmes and the increase in the number of digital television channels is set to continue growing. The content of audiovisual broadcasts must be subject to international standardisation in the near future", warned Wolfgang Dehn.

The participants have agreed on the following specific steps: FIAT/IFTA in its capacity as a grouping of broadcasting companies will draw up a list of requirements for an electronic media number, the aim being to complete this in the next twelve months. A working group including one of the developers, such as the FIAPF, will then be set up as part of this process. There was no doubt at the end of the meeting in Vienna that the road towards an internationally accepted form of standardisation would be paved with difficulties, but, precisely because of the problems, would pose an exciting challenge.

Birgit Brabeck

From left to right:
Dr. Norman Paskin, Konrad Bonkosch M.A., Dr. Peter Dusek, Werner Kriechbaum, Herbert Hayduck, Marius Schwarz, Wolfgang Ebbeche, André Chaubeau, Wolfgang Dehn