Report from the Standards Vice President: Standards for File-Based Workflows

The convergence of the television, computer and communications industries is well under way, having been anticipated for quite some time. Video and audio compression methods, server technology and digital networking, are all making a ?significant impact on television ?production, post-production, and distribution. Accompanying these technological changes are potential benefits in reduced cost, improved operating efficiencies and creativity, and increased marketability of ?material. Countering the potential benefits are threats of confusion, complexity, variable technical performance, and higher costs if not properly managed. “The technological changes will dramatically alter the way in which television is produced and distributed in the future.”
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This quote from the Joint EBU/SMPTE Task Force for Harmonized Standards for the Exchange of Programme Material as Bitstreams final report, published almost 20 years ago, predicted the revolutionary changes that digital technology would bring to television industry over the next decade and beyond.