ST 360:2009 - SMPTE Standard - General Exchange Format

This Standard specifies a file exchange format for the transfer of simple clips and compound clips between television program storage systems. This Standard provides documentation of formats and contents, including specification of packet types, contents, and order. Informative information on a control scheme, a protocol stack, and an interface is included. Physical links (data network technology) are not specified in this Standard. Any appropriate physical link may be used. Simple clips and compound clips, as defined in this Standard, are specified as alternatives to traditional approaches to transferring television programming between storage devices. This Standard defines two simple constructs for transfer of material: 1) A simple clip format in which all audio, video and time code tracks start and stop coincidentally and where the audio and video tracks are contiguous, and; 2) A compound clip format, which is a collection of audio, video, and time code tracks, any of which may contain several segments, with cut transitions between the segments. Transitions may occur on each track independently of the other tracks. This Standard is independent of material format, whether compressed or not, and allows material to be transferred across a network before recording has finished. The transferred material specified in this Standard includes Motion JPEG (MJPEG), MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and DV-based video compression standards, with associated audio, time code, and user data that may include user-defined metadata. The video, audio, and time code material is time multiplexed to provide immediate availability at the receiver.