EBU/SMPTE joint task force for harmonised standards for the exchange of television programmes as bit streams-a progress report

The increasing use of computer and IT based equipment in television production has lead to the requirement of interfaces allowing universal content (data) exchange between systems of different vendors. The joint EBU/SMPTE task force on the “harmonisation of standards for the exchange television programmes as bit streams” which was established at IBC in 1996 has responded to this need and has since then focused its work on user requirements in the area of compression, data transport systems, interfaces, file formats and metadata. This paper offers an overview of the work accomplished by the task force from its beginning in September 1996 until June ´97