The new educational program is dedicated to facilitating more effective implementation of key SMPTE standards and, in turn, empowering media companies to save both time and money.

The SMPTE, the organization whose standards work has supported a century of technological advances in entertainment technology, is partnering with industry experts to deliver “IMF Essentials: What You Need to Know,” an educational program focused on the Interoperable Master Format (IMF) family of standards (SMPTE ST 2067).

“As a leader in standards development for the media and entertainment industry, SMPTE is uniquely positioned to educate industry members about these standards — after all, no one knows SMPTE standards the way SMPTE does,” said Richard Welsh, who will begin his term as SMPTE vice president of education in January 2017. “The Society is committed to supporting professionals around the world to understand the basis and background of SMPTE standards, and the IMF Essentials and other courses are an exciting demonstration of that commitment.”

This latest addition to the SMPTE Virtual Classroom is designed to provide media mastering and services professionals — from developers to operations staff — a comprehensive understanding of how this component-based high-fidelity format addresses the proliferation of content versions (video, audio, and timed text) needed to service distribution channels worldwide.

SMPTE Virtual Classroom programs include both independent study and live, instructor-led coaching sessions that cover more complex topics and activities. Each program begins and ends on specific dates and includes established learning goals for that period. Successful completion of these courses is determined by course activity completion and graded assessments.

The IMF Essentials program embodies the SMPTE Board of Governors’ strategic vision for education. It is the first in a series of SMPTE Virtual Classroom courses dedicated to facilitating more effective implementation of key SMPTE standards and, in turn, empowering media companies to save both time and money. Developed and facilitated by Bruce Devlin, SMPTE governor for the U.K. Region, and Pierre-Anthony Lemieux, chair of the SMPTE technology committee for media packaging and interchange (TC 35PM) and lead editor of the standard, the course will examine the purpose of the IMF standard, how it works, how it is used, and how it improves content interchange.

Devlin and Lemieux will guide participants through the details of the IMF family of standards, moving from the high-level requirements to the low-level details in a structured, easy-to-understand way. As they progress through course modules, participants will learn how to build a delivery specification based on an existing IMF application specification and how the many layers of IMF contribute to optimized IMF applications and workflow.

The first course will begin on January 23 and run for five weeks and accommodate a maximum of 20 registrants. Further details about the SMPTE Virtual Classroom, including information about how to register, is available at www.smpte.org