In today’s rapidly changing television and film world, file based content has almost completely supplanted tape as a means of distribution, and actual broadcast of movies, television shows, VOD programming, pay per view, and all other forms of visual media. Companies like Netflix and Itunes, use file based broadcasing exclusively, content is edited, submitted, and made available for download on digital files such as Apple Quicktime. These files are edited on Final Cut Pro , or Avid, and output to .mov files which are sent to the distributor, or network.
Being that the product is no longer output to video tape such as HDCAM, the quality control process also take place in the digital realm. File based Quality Control is an area that we have embraced going back over 7 years. We perform a complete quality test on the file from head to tail just as we would a tape in the past. Some files can be sent to us via FTP, or through share services such as Signiant, thereby eliminating the need for shipping or delivery of content back and forth to the customer.
Clients can send us their self-contained quicktime files (.mov) which we will perform a 100% QC report on, the best codec to export is the Apple pro res 422, whether in 4K, Hi-Def, or standard def. Other file types that are used include .mxf (avid) and .avi among others. Once QC is completed we email the reports, back to the client. If fixes need to be made we can take care of those needs, often with the client sending over the fixes via the internet. Independent film-makers, who submit their movies to Netflix, or Itunes, will be required to provide a Quality Control report, many distributors will also require files to be QC’d before submission; there are many specifications that need to be met. Here at QC Central we have performed hundreds of file based QC’s over the past few years for film directors, producers, and networks such as The Reelz Channel.
Please Contact us if you would like more info about file based video/audio quality control.