Eurofins IMF solutions for digital media
August 22, 2019
Eurofins Digital Testing, a global player in end-to-end quality assurance (QA) and testing services, will offer software solutions to help studios, post-production companies, broadcasters and distributors adopt the Interoperable Mastering Format (IMF), aimed at streamlining associated workflows and reducing costs.
IMF is a Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) standard for providing a single, interchangeable master file format from which tailored versions of the same piece of content can be rendered for different audiences, which incorporates the Material Exchange Format (MXF) container format.
Based on an exclusive, global licensing agreement with the Institut für Rundfunktechnik (IRT), the joint research centre of the German, Austrian and Swiss public service broadcasters, Eurofins will build upon proven technology from the IRT to develop new solutions that combine technical media validation with production and distribution workflow business intelligence. Specifically, Eurofins’ IMF solutions will be derived from IMF and MXF Analyser products developed by the IRT. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. IMF and MXF solutions will be available directly from Eurofins beginning September 2019.
“The market for media content is global, which means that several different versions of every media title must meet the technical requirements for many different distribution channels and localized applications,” said Johan Craeybeckx, Business Line Director at Eurofins. “IMF is the solution to versioning and localising at scale—enabling faster workflows and reductions in storage costs. Eurofins’ solutions for IMF will enable studios, post-production houses, distributors and broadcasters to optimise their IMF quality assurance processes at every stage in the content supply chain.”
“At IRT, our mission has always been to explore, observe and develop new technologies that adapt broadcasting to new market environments and needs,” said Michael Hagemeyer, Managing Director of IRT. “The IMF format plays a significant role in the future of broadcast and OTT media, and we are confident that Eurofins, a proven-leader in quality assurance, is ideally placed to carry this mission forward and lower the barriers to adoption of the standards at this critical point for the digital media industry.”