The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) and MovieLabs announced they have released a new specification for the delivery of media assets related to online motion picture and television content.
For more information visit: www.entmerch.org ; www.movielabs.com
Unedited press release follows:
EMA and MovieLabs Release Media Manifest Delivery Core
NEW SCHEMA SIMPLIFIES DELIVERY PROCESS OF MEDIA ASSETS FOR ONLINE VIDEO
(January 15, 2016) … The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) and Motion Pictures Laboratories, Inc. (MovieLabs) today released the Media Manifest Delivery Core specification, a simplified schema for the delivery of media assets related to online motion picture and television content.
The Media Manifest Delivery Core, jointly developed by EMA and MovieLabs with participation from EMA-member companies, derives from the more-encompassing Media Manifest specification and will be used to identify assets – such as video and audio files, trailers, subtitles, closed captions, and images – that are delivered to an online distributor for a video title. In doing so, the Media Manifest Delivery Core organizes the “packaging” of the multitude of files needed for online video and the various versions required in countries around the world to enable retailers to deliver and manage the user experience. The specification enables automation and allows online retailers to scale up global operations and deliver assets to 100+ countries with much greater efficiency and speed.
Key members of EMA have been working together to push this new standard in order to more rapidly scale up international expansion.
“The reality of getting online video from the content provider, through the retailer, and ultimately to the consumer is quite complex, and EMA is committed to identifying and promoting ways to generate greater efficiencies in the digital supply chain,” noted Mark Fisher, President & CEO of EMA. “The Media Manifest Delivery Core is a significant contribution to that effort and will help ensure the highest quality user experiences across all platforms. We were pleased to work with MovieLabs to help refine the Media Manifest Delivery Core.”
“This is a key element in the process of helping online retailers expand internationally,” declared Craig Seidel, Vice President Distribution Technology at MovieLabs, “This schema will automate the process. More automation cuts errors, increases efficiency and turnaround, eases support for multiple language deliveries, and future proofs the full offering lifecycle.”
The Media Manifest Delivery Core is keyed to the EMA Content Availability Metadata (“Avails”) specification. (Avails are the communications from content providers to retailers about when a video title will be available online and in which territories, plus the language, run-time, format, and the like.)
The Media Manifest Delivery Core was refined by a workgroup consisting of EMA-member digital retailers and MovieLabs, and the schema was proven in actual practice by one of those retailers.
The Media Manifest Delivery Core specification is available at http://www.movielabs.com/md/mmc/.
About EMA
The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) is the not-for-profit international trade association dedicated to advancing the interests of the $35 billion home entertainment industry. EMA-member companies operate approximately 35,000 retail outlets in the U.S. and 45,000 around the world that sell and/or rent DVDs, computer and console video games, and digitally distributed versions of these products. Membership comprises the full spectrum of retailers (from single-store specialists to multi-line mass merchants, and both brick and mortar and online stores), distributors, the home video divisions of major and independent motion picture studios, video game publishers, and other related businesses that constitute and support the home entertainment industry. EMA was established in April 2006 through the merger of the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) and the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA).
About Motion Picture Laboratories
Motion Picture Laboratories, Inc. (MovieLabs) is a non-profit technology research laboratory founded by Paramount Pictures Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Universal City Studios LLLP, Walt Disney Pictures and Television, and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. MovieLabs began operations in 2006 with the goal of driving innovation to create business opportunities and deliver tangible solutions to challenges that Hollywood faces in transitioning to digital distribution. MovieLabs is a driving force behind a suite of technology initiatives enabling automation between content providers and online distributors.