Definition
Audiovisual materials at Yale University Library include analog audio and video formats, digital audio and video formats, and film.
External Resources
One Format Does Not Fit All: FADGI Audio-Visual Working Group’s Diverse Approaches to Format Guidance (October 31, 2013)
Carl Fleischhauer, “Format Considerations in Audio-Visual Preservation Reformatting: Snapshots from the Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines Initiative,” Information Standards Quarterly 22, no. 2 (Spring 2010): 34-40.
Library of Congress Audio-Visual Conservation Resources (Last updated: 8/3/2007)
Guidelines
Below is a chart showing AV preservation format recommendations YUL is considering adopting in accordance with a consulting report submitted by Audiovisual Preservations Solutions in June 2013. Two competing standards are currently in use at YUL: (1) uncompressed 10-bit video, which results in large files, and (2) mxf-wrapper motion JPEG 2000, which is not 100% open source.
Format |
Preservation Master |
Access Master |
Access Copy |
| Audio-Analog |
- Broadcast Wav File (BWF) wrapper - PCM uncompressed - 24-bit - 96kHz |
n/a |
- MPEG Audio Layer 3 (MP3) - Bitrate 256Kbps |
| Audio-Digital |
- Broadcast Wav File (BWF) wrapper - Native uncompressed data at original sample rate and bit-depth |
n/a |
- MPEG Audio Layer 3 (MP3) - Bitrate 256Kbps |
| Video - Analog Standard Definition |
- Quicktime wrapper (.mov extension) - Video encoded as 10-bit YUV 4:2:2 uncompressed (v210) - Audio encoded as uncompressed PCM, 48kHz - Maintain original aspect ratio, recording standard, interlacing, number of audio channels, and auxiliary information such as original timecode and closed captioning |
- Quicktime wrapper (.mov extension) - Video encoded as DV - Audio encoded as uncompressed PCM, 48kHz - Maintain original aspect ratio, recording standard, interlacing, number of audio channels, and auxiliary information such as original timecode and closed captioning |
- MPEG4 wrapper (.mp4 extension) - Video encoded as H.264 - Audio encoded as uncompressed AAC, 44.1kHz, 256Kbps - Bitrate 5.0Mbps |
| Video-Digital |
- Native encoding and data rate in Quicktime wrapper (.mov extension), e.g. DV for MiniDV and DVCam - Maintain original aspect ratio, recording standard, interlacing, number of audio channels, and auxiliary information such as original timecode and closed captioning |
n/a |
- MPEG4 wrapper (.mp4 extension) - Video encoded as H.264 - Audio encoded as AAC, 44.1kHz, 256kbps - Bitrate 5.0Mbps |
| Film |
16 and 8 mm: - 2k 10-bit RGB 4:4:4 DPX log - Uncompressed 96kHz/ 24-bit Broadcast Wav File (BWF) for audio 35 mm: - 4k 10-bit RGB 4:4:4 DPX log - Uncompressed 96kHz/ 24-bit Broadcast Wav File (BWF) for audio |
- MXF wrapper - AVC-Ultra |
- MPEG4 wrapper (.mp4 extension) - Video encoded as H.264 - Audio encoded as uncompressed AAC, 44.1kHz, 256kbps - Bitrate of 5.0mbps |