Reuters will be the first news agency in the world to deliver video, scripts and story information to broadcasters in a single integrated digital file when it debuts a new service at the end of 2003, writes Will Strauss.
Receiving Reuters 24-hour video news content via digital files will mean broadcasters no longer have to monitor, or manually record, incoming feeds. It will allow vital supporting information to be linked to the video as it travels throughout the newsroom. Video files, instead of linear video feeds, will cut broadcasters' workloads and make the management of the video through the production process as seamless as possible.
Each file will include both the video news story and vital information about it, known as metadata, including source detail, re-usage rights, shot lists and scripts, creating an inextricable link between the visuals and auxiliary information.
The service will be tested by 15 Reuters clients around the world and is due for launch to the rest of the industry by the end of the year. The innovation aims to provide a faster, better and more efficient service for the increasing number of broadcasters using digital technology to move, exchange and store content in file format within their own production facilities. Reuters video files will be created in Material Exchange Format (MXF). Each file will be created in both 525 and 625I standards.
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