Post-production houses must do more to help production companies move away from tape, according to the BBC’s Digital Production Partnership (DPP) lead.

Speaking at BVE North last week, BBC North production controller Mark Harrison said the reluctance of the production community to adopt file-based workflows was because of the complexity and cost associated with a move away from tape.

“Post companies, step up to the plate,” Harrison told delegates in Manchester.

“Now is your moment. Don’t sweat assets that are in place for a different, older model.”

He said there was a need for a managed storage solution and workflow advice, which he described as “more of a service-based model and less of a big shiny box model”.

Harrison presented findings from cross-broadcaster initiative DPP’s recent report, The Reluctant Revolution: Breaking Down the Barriers to Digital Production in Television, at the seminar.

He urged post facilities to bridge the gap between IT providers and production companies.

“Post facilities are a trusted gateway. Global IT companies have no cachet in the production world, where post-production companies - much smaller businesses that large IT companies have never heard of - have built up relationships and trust with producers over the years by looking after their projects. This could be a profitable time for anyone making the right play.”

Harrison confirmed that the DPP’s spec for the common standard for file-based delivery will be published by “early January”.

It will be based on MXF AVCI and AMWA’s (Advanced Media Workflow Association) AS11.

An app to help deliver programmes that comply with the spec will be available in the spring.