Study Group Established by SMPTE for Examining Content Origin and Authenticity in Media
In response to an urgent industry need, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has launched a new study group called the Content Provenance and Authenticity (CPA) in Media Study Group. The group's primary focus is on embedding and carrying content provenance information within MXF (Material Exchange Format) files, a critical standard container format in professional media production and exchange.
The CPA study group, led by Thomas Bause Mason, Director of Standards and Head of the CPA in Media Study Group at SMPTE, aims to develop industry standards to verify content origin and authenticity. This is particularly important as media workflows evolve, especially in light of new challenges posed by AI integration in media production.
The group includes representatives from Ross Video, Sony, Adobe, the European Broadcasting Union, and Metaglue within the SMPTE standards community. They will gather use cases and requirements for the purpose of their project, explore how CPA-related information can be transported effectively and securely across today's professional media infrastructure, and make recommendations on where SMPTE can update existing standards or create new ones to support the flow of content provenance and authenticity information.
The CPA study group's efforts are not limited to MXF file provenance. Given the emergence of AI-driven media processing, the group's purpose also includes enabling robust content authenticity checks crucial for AI-augmented media environments.
Mason emphasised that the establishment of the CPA study group was necessary at a critical juncture, as AI becomes increasingly integrated into media production. He also stated that ensuring the authenticity of content consumed by audiences is more important than ever in the evolving landscape.
The findings and recommendations of the CPA project will be summarised in one or more study group reports, according to SMPTE. More information about the CPA study group can be found on the SMPTE website.
[1] SMPTE website:
- The Content Provenance and Authenticity (CPA) in Media Study Group, led by Thomas Bause Mason, is focusing on developing industry standards to verify the origin and authenticity of content within MXF files, a critical standard container format in professional media production and exchange.
- The group, comprising representatives from variousbig-name companies such as Ross Video, Sony, Adobe, the European Broadcasting Union, and Metaglue, aims to gather use cases and requirements, explore secure transportation of CPA-related information across professional media infrastructure, and make recommendations for updating or creating new standards to support the flow of content provenance and authenticity information.
- Not limited to MXF file provenance, the CPA study group also intends to enable robust content authenticity checks crucial for AI-augmented media environments given the emerging trend of AI integration in media production.
- Thomas Bause Mason, the Director of Standards and Head of the CPA in Media Study Group at SMPTE, emphasized that the establishment of the CPA study group is crucial at a critical juncture as AI becomes increasingly integrated into media production, particularly because ensuring the authenticity of content consumed by audiences is more important than ever in the rapidly evolving landscape.
- The findings and recommendations of the CPA project will be summarized in one or more study group reports, according to SMPTE, and more information about the CPA study group can be found on the SMPTE website, as well as through SMPTE press releases and NAB Show coverage.
