Bruce’s Shorts | 4.6 - What is SMPTE MCA and why do I need it?
In the fourth season of ‘Bruce’s Shorts’, Bruce Devlin takes a look at the Interoperable Master Format (IMF). Ever wondered why we don’t label the audio channels in files? This episode will help you find out.
Traditionally, audio channel designation was a house standard defined in a broadcaster's delivery specification. This has generally led to the need the remap the audio tracks at the ingest of files to a facility. Why isn't there a common way of labelling the audio? What track goes where and what language is being used?
That's where the Multi-Channel Audio (MCA) labelling specification comes in. MCA works at three levels:
- channel labels
- group of channel labels
- group of group labels
The MCA labelling specification is SMPTE ST-377-4, a labeling framework for multichannel audio essence in MXF file structures. It specifies the basic object model, structures and metadata items for the MCA Labeling Framework.
This standard enables text-based representation of Multichannel Audio Labels and defines one such representation.
IMF is standardised by the SMPTE as ST 2067.
You might also like...
HDR & WCG For Broadcast: Part 3 - Achieving Simultaneous HDR-SDR Workflows
Welcome to Part 3 of ‘HDR & WCG For Broadcast’ - a major 10 article exploration of the science and practical applications of all aspects of High Dynamic Range and Wide Color Gamut for broadcast production. Part 3 discusses the creative challenges of HDR…
IP Security For Broadcasters: Part 4 - MACsec Explained
IPsec and VPN provide much improved security over untrusted networks such as the internet. However, security may need to improve within a local area network, and to achieve this we have MACsec in our arsenal of security solutions.
Standards: Part 23 - Media Types Vs MIME Types
Media Types describe the container and content format when delivering media over a network. Historically they were described as MIME Types.
Building Software Defined Infrastructure: Part 1 - System Topologies
Welcome to Part 1 of Building Software Defined Infrastructure - a new multi-part content collection from Tony Orme. This series is for broadcast engineering & IT teams seeking to deepen their technical understanding of the microservices based IT technologies that are…
IP Security For Broadcasters: Part 3 - IPsec Explained
One of the great advantages of the internet is that it relies on open standards that promote routing of IP packets between multiple networks. But this provides many challenges when considering security. The good news is that we have solutions…