AAF Achieving Critical Mass As Users Demand It And Vendors Release AAF Enabled Product At NAB 2003
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - April 8, 2024 - The Advance Authoring Format (AAF) is reaching critical mass at NAB 2003, and successfully moving into the main stream of the broadcast and post industries.
AAF is available on the show floor at NAB 2003 from major industry equipment suppliers in a broad range of products from non-linear Editors, HD finishing, audio editing, film visualizing, datacine control and color correction systems, through to large scale integrated media solutions for news and sports.
"This has been an exciting year for the AAF. The range of companies implementing AAF in product continues to grow, and users have begun to expect AAF support when planning purchase decisions" says Brad Gilmer, AAF Association executive director, "The users response to the AAF Awareness Events in Los Angeles and London has been exceptionally positive."
Broadcast customers now require AAF to be implemented - it's increasingly a condition of new implementation contracts.. During the past year broadcasters have made it clear that interoperability using AAF is not only important, but will be a driving factor in purchasing decisions.
"Commitment to working with open standards is core to the BBC's strategic technology roadmap. This has been made very clear to existing suppliers and is a prime agenda item in early discussions with new suppliers and contacts. AAF and MXF are at the heart of this strategy; their successful implementation is the enabler for the evolution of broadcasting.
Standardized metadata is not an option - it is absolutely key to enable broadcaster to evolve working practice and systems in a multi-supplier world. Current major BBC projects have specified AAF and delivery of AAF compliant products has now begun" said Mike Hawkesworth, principal technologist, BBC Technology Direction.
"We will continue to embrace and support the AAF format, working to integrate products from manufacturers who provide AAF compliant products" said Gavin Schutz, CTO of Ascent Media, "We view AAF as being an enabling technology for distributing interoperable file based content between our facilities and to our client base - AAF is a core component in our digital asset management and digital imaging strategic initiatives.'
"The lack of interconnectivity has been one of the biggest problems in post production since it became computerized - and a solution is long overdue - the AAF initiative meets that need and is essential for all sectors of the industry" said Bill Cullen, chairman of London post group, M2.
During the past year major vendors have invested significantly in AAF with new or expanded support in flagship products from Avid, BBC Technology, Da Vinci, Digidesign, Nucoda, Lietch | DPS, and Quantel.
"AAF represents an important watershed for the industry" says Michael Koetter, VP of Engineering, of BBC Technology. "The lines between production and post-production are blurring, and the processes have become more complex. AAF not only simplifies the integration of essential tools, it extends workflows beyond the islands of production to support non-linear collaborative production."
"Being able to exchange metadata between applications is fundamental to the success of a modern digital post-production environment," said Simon Cuff, CEO, Nucoda. "We will continue to support the AAF standard in future products and look forward to further involvement with the AAF Association and its members."
Advanced Authoring Format (AAF) and OMF import and export will be offered through a new interoperability option for the upcoming 8.2 version of dpsVelocityQ and dpsVelocity from Lietch DPS. "AAF support makes it easy for users to interchange projects and media between our products and other post production tools," said Brad Nogar, Leitch vice president and general manager for post production. "This easy interoperability will be a tremendous benefit for collaborative workflows, and for users upgrading to dpsVelocity or dpsVelocityQ from other non-linear editing platforms."
"Managing rich media content's massive data requires a rock-solid information infrastructure. Delivering rich media content means storing, protecting, managing, sharing, distributing massive volumes of data" says Keith Younger, EMC. "The Advanced Authoring Format will allow you to communicate across virtually any combination of applications, and connectivity protocols-while maintaining the highest levels of performance and protecting intellectual media digital assets"
ABOUT THE AAF ASSOCIATION:
Incorporated in January 2000, the AAF Association, Inc. is a broadly-based trade association promoting the development and adoption of AAF technology throughout the media industry. With membership embracing many major players in the industry, it intends to help deliver the full benefits of digital media to content creators including those working in film, television, Internet and post production. Membership in the AAF Association is open at various levels to any interested parties. To learn more, please contact us at: [email protected]
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Brad Gilmer, Executive Director, AAF Association
(770) 414-9952, [email protected]
Ed McDermid, Marketing Director, AAF Association
(408) 380 1504, [email protected]
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