SMPTE Introduces Technical Specifications

SMPTE, the organization whose standards work has supported a century of advances in entertainment technology and whose membership spans the globe, announces SMPTE Technical Specifications (TSPs), a new offering to complement SMPTE Standards by being proactive to rapidly evolving industry technologies and workflows.

The announcement comes with the publication of the first TSP that has document number “SMPTE TSP 2121:2018” and is titled “IMF Application DPP (ProRes).” This TSP was proposed by the Digital Production Partnership (DPP), and it builds on the existing Interoperable Master Format (IMF) standard developed and published by SMPTE, which was originally designed for streamlining the distribution of premium feature film content.

“The global market for quality content has brought enormous opportunity for media organizations by creating demand for different versions of master material. That opportunity brings with it great complexity,” said DPP Managing Director Mark Harrison. “That’s the issue that ‘IMF Application DPP (ProRes)’ solves: it enables faster, less expensive, and higher quality versioning for specific broadcast and online applications, along with financial and operational benefits brought by reduced storage and improved flexibility and tracking.”

SMPTE highlighted the new specifications route for technology developments at the HPA Tech Retreat in Palm Desert, California, earlier this year. SMPTE specifications join the family of SMPTE technical publications, including Standards, Recommended Practices (RPs), Engineering Guidelines (EGs), and Registered Disclosure Documents (RDDs), that assist manufacturers, engineers, and technologists in developing new products and services for broadcast, cinema, and online applications.

SMPTE TSPs will enable industry groups and business users, such as the DPP, to create public and robust delivery documents, to constrain standards, and to foster new workflows that engender long-term interoperability.

“Specifications are a part of SMPTE’s future,” said SMPTE Standards Vice President Bruce Devlin. “With ‘IMF Application DPP (ProRes),’ we are beginning a new chapter in SMPTE’s activities to encourage global interoperability and to foster the emergence of new and stable technologies.”

The DPP will now launch a compliance testing program for “SMPTE TSP 2121:2018 IMF Application DPP (ProRes).” This program will provide buyers and sellers with the confidence that DPP-tested tools and IMF packages will be interoperable and can be exchanged globally.

“SMPTE TSP 2121:2018 IMF Application DPP (ProRes)” represents a significant milestone in industry collaboration. The DPP worked with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), North American Broadcasters Association (NABA), and the IMF User Group to create the specification.

The new TSP 2121:2018 is now published on the SMPTE website at smpte.org/technical-specifications, where inquiries may also be made about creating a TSP.

Further information about the DPP is available at digitalproductionpartnership.co.uk/.