Interoperable Master Format

The core of IMF is the Composition, illustrated in the first image, which consists of a single Composition Playlist and a collection of Track Files. Each Composition corresponds to a single audio-visual master.

File:IMF Composition (CPL) Example.png

Each Track File contains a specific essence corresponding to a single aspect of the presentation. Track Files are both organized and limited by parameters such as resolution, color space, frame rate, audio sound field, etc. Track Files of disparate parameters may not be mixed in a Composition. Track Files use a constrained version of the MXF OP1a format Material Exchange Format

The Composition Playlist is an XML document.{{Cite journal |date=May 2020 |title=ST 2067-3:2020 - SMPTE Standard - Interoperable Master Format — Composition Playlist |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9097510 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025204418/https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9097510 |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 October 2020 |journal=St 2067-3:2020 |pages=1–35 |doi=10.5594/SMPTE.ST2067-3.2020|isbn=978-1-68303-214-4 |doi-access=free }} It assembles the Track Files{{Cite journal |date=May 2020 |title=ST 2067-5:2020 - SMPTE Standard - Interoperable Master Format — Essence Component |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9099734 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021025124/https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9099734 |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 October 2020 |journal=St 2067-5:2020 |pages=1–15 |doi=10.5594/SMPTE.ST2067-5.2020|isbn=978-1-68303-213-7 |doi-access=free }} onto virtual tracks that are synchronized onto a timeline. It also contains metadata associated with that timeline.The combination of a Composition Playlist and the Track Files it references is called a Composition.

Each Composition represents a different version of an audio-visual work. Separating the Composition Playlist from the Track Files allows reuse of Track Files across multiple Compositions, as shown in the reuse example diagram. File:IMF Track File Re-use Example.svg

IMF is specified in the ST 2067 family of standards managed by SMPTE.

IMF is organized into three main categories:

• core constraints, to which all IMF implementations conform and representing the bulk of the IMF standard;
• applications, which target specific use cases; and
• plug-ins, which contain optional technology that can be used across multiple applications.

The core constraints are specified in SMPTE ST 2067-2 (Core Constraints).{{Cite journal |date=May 2020 |title=ST 2067-2:2020 - SMPTE Standard - Interoperable Master Format — Core Constraints |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9097478 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025194936/https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9097478 |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 October 2020 |journal=St 2067-2:2020 |pages=1–43 |doi=10.5594/SMPTE.ST2067-2.2020|isbn=978-1-68303-211-3 |doi-access=free }} An example of an application is Application #2E, which is specified in SMPTE ST 2067-21{{Cite journal |date=May 2020 |title=ST 2067-21:2020 - SMPTE Standard - Interoperable Master Format — Application #2E |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9097487 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929152305/https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9097487 |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 September 2020 |journal=St 2067-21:2021 |pages=1–34 |doi=10.5594/SMPTE.ST2067-21.2020|isbn=978-1-68303-212-0 |doi-access=free }} and targets studio masters. One of the plugins is the Immersive Audio Bitstream Level 0 Plug-in, which is specified in SMPTE ST 2067-201{{Cite journal |date=January 2021 |title=ST 2067-201:2021 - SMPTE Standard - Immersive Audio Bitstream Level 0 Plug-in |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9343937 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203090109/https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9343937/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 February 2021 |journal=St 2067-201:2021 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.5594/SMPTE.ST2067-201.2021|isbn=978-1-68303-238-0 }} and adds support for immersive sound.

IMF is specified by professional content creators for delivery of their content, including: BBC,{{Cite web |title=TechnicalDeliveryStandardsBBCUHDiPlayerSupplement.pdf |url=https://www.dropbox.com/s/tkvwxksgy3izpca/TechnicalDeliveryStandardsBBCUHDiPlayerSupplement.pdf?dl=0 |access-date=2022-03-04 |website=Dropbox |language=en}} Netflix{{Cite web |title=Netflix Branded Delivery Specifications v4.1 |url=https://partnerhelp.netflixstudios.com/hc/en-us/articles/214806618-Netflix-Branded-Delivery-Specifications-v4-1 |access-date=2022-03-04 |website=Netflix {{!}} Partner Help Center |language=en-US}} and Disney{{Cite web |date=2021-04-27 |title=Disney Media Tech Specs |url=https://mediatechspecs.disney.com/#/mastering/video/imf-master-packages |access-date=2022-03-04 |website=mediatechspecs.disney.com}}

In partnership with SMPTE, the DPP has published recommendations for broadcast workflows with IMF{{Cite web |title=DPP and SMPTE publish major updates to IMF documentation |url=https://www.thedpp.com/news/dpp-and-smpte-publish-major-updates-to-imf-specification |access-date=2022-09-02 |website=The DPP |language=en-GB}}

IMF supports a wide range of audio-visual essence and metadata, including:

• Video up to 8192x6224 rasters, lossy and lossless compression, high-dynamic range, wide color gamut and stereoscopic 3D,
• 24-bit 48 kHz channel-based sound, arranged in arbitrary configurations
• Immersive Audio Bitstream (IAB) immersive sound{{Cite journal |date=June 2019 |title=ST 2098-2:2019 - SMPTE Standard - Immersive Audio Bitstream Specification |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8752533 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027233737/https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8752533 |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 October 2020 |journal=St 2098-2:2019 |pages=1–54 |doi=10.5594/SMPTE.ST2098-2.2019|isbn=978-1-68303-178-9 |doi-access=free }}
• Subtitles and captions that conform to the TTML Profiles for Internet Media Subtitles and Captions 1.1 (IMSC 1.1) W3C Recommendation{{Cite web |title=TTML Profiles for Internet Media Subtitles and Captions 1.1 |url=https://www.w3.org/TR/ttml-imsc1.1/Overview.html |access-date=2022-03-04 |website=www.w3.org}}

The need for IMF arose from various projects in the film and television industries{{Cite web |title=© 2011 AmberFin Limited Loose Coupling for Multipurpose Distribution Bruce Devlin Chief Technical Officer. - ppt download |url=https://slideplayer.com/slide/7416420/ |access-date=2022-04-01 |website=slideplayer.com}} that identified component-based working as a more efficient mechanism for handling the very large volumes of very large files created when delivering cinema and television content around the globe.{{Cite web |last=Blog |first=Netflix Technology |date=2017-04-19 |title=The Netflix IMF Workflow |url=https://netflixtechblog.com/the-netflix-imf-workflow-f45dd72ed700 |access-date=2022-04-01 |website=Medium |language=en}} With help from the Entertainment Technology Center,{{Cite web |title=ETC |url=https://www.etcenter.org/imf-version-1-0-launches/ |access-date=2022-04-01 |website=www.etcenter.org}} the SMPTE created the first version of the standard in 2013. The IMF User Group (IMF UG) was created by the Hollywood Professional Association shortly after and the IMF UG fosters active discussions between content owners, technologists, logistics specialists and software providers on best current practice for delivering large volumes of localized content in a resource efficient manner. The IMF UG has created an IMF explainer in multiple languages{{Cite web |title=EXPLAINER: Interoperable Master Format (IMF) – IMF UG |url=https://www.imfug.com/explainer/ |access-date=2022-04-01 |language=en-US}}

Numerous media processing companies support IMF in its various iterations. This section describes several known manufacturers' implementations.

This section describes several known open source IMF implementations.

{{SMPTE standards}}

Category:Standards

{{Improve categories|date=October 2022}}