| In 2013 ORF detected in its archives a defective collection of MXF files, which originated from an earlier mass migration project of SD video tapes. In total, about eight thousand hours of video material were affected to a degree that no further usage was possible.Re-ingestion of the original video tapes was not an option because of cost and time constraints. ORF was looking for a software solution that is capable to repair the damaged files. Because there was none available it was decided to solve that problem within the DAVID project.
ORF sent a representative subset of damaged files to DAVID partner Cube-Tec International for pre-investigation. Cube-Tecs engineers were able to analyse the origin and symptomatic of the occurring errors. As a result, a customized repair tool has been developed. This version can now fully automatically detect the occurring errors in different combinations, in the MXF container as well as in the MPEG bitstream. With this new procedure, errors are fixed selectively, and at the same time the bitstream is wrapped into a fully standard-compliant MXF file. Neither re-encoding nor re-wrapping would have solved these problems. Transcoding was no option, because of the quality reasons, re-ingest would have been the only alternative. Additionally, an MD5-checksum is created to allow easy independent checks of the file integrity at any time. The progress of the repair process as well as results of the file checks are automatically monitored and reported monthly in consolidated form directly to the ORF. The Cube-Tec team provide the operation and maintenance of this repair service via remote supervision. |
Dr. Roman Meßmer (ORF) “The multitude of file formats, codecs and wrappers leads to great uncertainty when evaluating video files and their usability in the future. Creation of a file archive of the “national memory” needs a thorough look at long term compatibility. With the DAVID project partner Cube-Tec we found a highly specialized technology provider able to develop specialized file-based quality control solutions.Jörg Houpert (Cube-Tec) “An automatic repair of non-standard conform MXF files is by far the most cost-effective way to gain control of exploding MXF file libraries. The results from the DAVID project will help to develop future functions in intelligent products for media archives, like the MXF Legalizer. This way eliminating complex interoperability issues in MXF file libraries as well as ensure standard conformity will be feasible.” |
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