Media Glossary & Terminology
Ever wonder with all the terms being used in the Media industry? Here is a sneak peak of all the glossary.
| Item | Description |
| Analog | Media software which has a physical quality and presence. |
| Asset | Uniquely identifiabse container for a file with descriptive metadata and, depending the asset class, a processing workflow |
| Asset class | Specification of an asset to identify certain characteristics based on their asset kind |
| Asset description | A descriptive attribute for a file |
| Asset kind | Asset characteristics with mimetype. etc |
| Asset Management System (AMS) | Manages database library of VOD Assets and associated metadata |
| Barker | A promotional loop video played within a window in the On Demand GUI |
| Broadcasting | Refers to content carried over air waves. Usually designed to appeal to a broad audience segment. |
| Closed Captioning (CC) | Embedded technology to provide scripted support of the program |
| Cloud Computing | Internet-based computing accessible through a web browser and that uses data farms to store and make available software and information in real time. |
| Commercial | For profit. Also, paid announcements produced for targeted audiences to sell products or ideas. The economic force that finances commercial media. |
| Connote/Connotation | A description of value, meaning or ideology associated with a media text that is added to the text by the audience. |
| Content preparation | Conform, check and format content and localisation |
| Contributor | Any content provider (studio, distributor, content owner) who contributes to AMS |
| Copyright | The laws that require compensation for the use of property and information owned by artists, writers and media producers. |
| Creative Commons | A non-profit organization that seeks to expand how creative work is available for others to use legally. |
| Delivery DD (Due Date) | Planned schedule for delivery of the ingested, fully prepared package which results in lob prioritization for asset processing (QC, transcoding, etc ) and actionable items (if assets haven’t been contributed to AMS yet) |
| Delivery Request | An order of products for a platform, which results in preparatory work to meet the specifications of that platform resulting in a search for reusable metadata (from the title version) and files or the request for contribution to start the ingest process to complete the delivery request. |
| Delivery Request Locked | Certain parts of a delivery may be locked when it is in progress. Updates are possible to a certain extent (restrictions based on certain criteria). These criteria may be subject to change. |
| Delivery SD (Start Date) | Start of window in which deliveries can be submitted to a platform. Particularly useful with certain outlets who have a max per day. |
| Digital | The storage and transmission of information by reducing it to digits and then reassembling it for an exact reproduction. |
| Digital Rights Management (DRM) | A system that seeks to protect the copyright of data circulated via the Internet. |
| Director | The person responsible for the overall look of a video or film product. Directs the action behind and in front of the camera. Sometimes directs the editing process. |
| Editing | The process of arranging, assembling or excluding images, text and sound to produce a completed media product. |
| Editor | The person responsible for assembling the various parts of a media product. |
| Fair Use | The legal guidelines which exempt educators from certain copyright restrictions. Fair use of educational materials allows some media products to be used to a limited degree in the classroom. |
| Filter | Easy to use GUI to easily segment data into smaller subsets |
| First Release Date | Original release date. used for Year |
| Gatekeepers | Those in control of the flow of information. The gatekeeper can choose to accept or reject a piece of information for public consumption. Newspaper publishers, editors and reporters, television producers, press secretaries, government spokespersons, radio station owners and broadcasting executives have all been cited as examples of media gatekeepers. |
| Genre | Specific kinds of media content, e.g., drama, entertainment, information, news, advertising, etc. Each category is defined with traditional conventions, but categories may overlap as in “docu-drama” or “info-tainment.” |
| Genre | A category of media texts characterized by a particular style, form or content. |
| GUI | Graphic User Interface, the application of UpperEast as a user sees and uses it. |
| Ingest | Manual or automated intake of content and metadata |
| Ingestion | The process of receiving assets from a contributor, successfully entering those assets into the AMS, and preparing them according to the specification of the delivery platform to make them available as a delivery package. |
| ISAN | International Standard Audiovisual Number – Unique ISO Identifier for Audiovisual Content for audiovisual works and versions thereof. |
| License ED (End Date) | End of the window in which the product can be leased or rented |
| License SD (Start Date) | Start of the window in which the product can be leased or rented |
| Logo | The copyrighted symbol used to represent a corporation, company or individual. |
| Mash-Up | A song, video or website that is the result of combining multiple songs, videos or websites. |
| Mass Media | Mass media are channels of communication through which messages flow, produced by a few for consumption by many people. As the messages go through the channels, they may become distorted. When people receive mass-media messages, they have no opportunity for immediate feedback with the producers of the messages. |
| Media | Vehicles that carry messages. Common media channels are televisions, radios, telephones and newspapers. |
| Media Targets | Audiences are media targets. Audiences are targeted, sold and delivered to advertisers by media agencies. Groups are targeted on the basis of demographics, media-use patterns, ZIP codes, and polling by those who wish to sell or persuade. |
| Metadata | The information used in describing assets. Metadata is descriptive data associated with a content asset package or file. It may vary in depth from merely identifying the content package title or information to populate an EPG to providing a complete index of different scenes in a movie or providing business rules detailing how the content package may be displayed, copied. or sold. |
| Metadata language | Localisation of the metadata, e.g. in which language a synopsis is written |
| Metadata preparation | Conform, check and format metadata according to the specification of the delivery platform. |
| Mezzanine | Working copy of video asset of sufficient quality to generate the highest output, small enough to move around, archive, and work with, in order to free up resources once all major edits and processing are completed. |
| MIME Type | http://www.freeformatter.com/mime-types-list.html#mime-types-list |
| MOD – Movies On Demand | Impulse viewing of a selection of movie programming with full pause, fast forward and reqind functionality for a per transaction charge. Also in use : TVOD |
| Movie version (Release version) | A particular version, or aggregation of elements that affects the content of an audiovisual work. For example, any editorial change that affects the content of an audiovisual work (e.g. artistic content. editing, technical format, distribution) and which requires separate identification for the use or exploitation of that specific content can be treated as a new Version. Example Director’s Cut. |
| Narrowcasting | Producing and designing media content in order to target a highly specific segment of the audience. Narrowcasting is often practiced by magazines, radio stations and cablecasters. Opposite of broadcasting. |
| Objective | The ideal that the media producer or reporter is representing a balanced viewpoint on issues. The ideal that media producers are fair, accurate, unbiased conduits for information. Opposite of subjective. |
| Onboarding (operational) | Entering new publication (delivery) platforms or (ingest) contributors to AMS |
| Order ID | Unique order identification for tracking purposes |
| Podcasting | A method for delivering audio or video files to users who subscribe to them. |
| Preview | Something that a content provider produces to promote a particular piece of content Previews are usually 30 seconds to 1 minute long, and are most often excerpted from Trailer material (see definition) provided by the studios for that asset. |
| Prime Time | That part of a radio or television schedule expected to attract the largest audience. |
| Producer | The final authority in the electronic media production process. Sometimes the producer is the person who raises the money to produce media products. |
| Product Placement | A process that advertisers use to have their brand or product appear in TV shows, movies and video games as part of the production. |
| Provisioning (asset) | Platform, regional and localisation preparation to expect assets to enter into a workflow |
| Ratings (Movie/TV) | Ratings of content for age limits and warnings for content, to advise parents regarding suitability of programming for children. |
| Reasons (Movie/TV Ratings) | A specific reason for the indicated advisory, e.g. nudity, language, violence |
| Region | A geographical, platform defined region that has specific language destination profiles e g Benelux (nl. fr, de) or The Netherlands (nl-NL) |
| Rendition | Transcoding to a compressed format, multiple renditions exist for multiple bitrates. |
| Rights owner | Studio that owns the (original) copyrights |
| Schedule delivery | Scheduler for publication of a delivery to the respective platform once full compliance has been met (validation of content and metadata according to the specification of the platform) |
| Send Delivery (publish) | Publication for a delivery to the respective platform once full compliance has been met (validation of content and metadata according to the specification of the platform) |
| Short synopsis | A brief version of the movie title (for display) of max 256 chars. |
| Show type | Series, Sports, Music, Ad, Miniseries, Movie, Other |
| Sound Effects | Special effects using sound to suggest a story element such as background, time, place, character, etc. Also used to heighten and intensify action or evoke an emotional response. |
| Special Effects | Sound or video used in the editing process to heighten drama or suggest a time, place or story element. Often used as a transition. |
| SVOD – Subscription Video On Demand | Impulse viewing of a selection of programming with full pause, fast forward and rewind functionality for a flat monthly charge. Also in use “Premium On Demand” |
| Synopsis | Full summary of title of max 4096 chars. |
| Technical metadata (metadata) | Descriptive data about technical specification of a file, for example a framerate, duration, crop marks, etc. |
| Trailer | Trailers promote a particular piece of content and range from about one to three minutes in length. They are typically produced by the studios. Depending requirements, they may or may not be encrypted. |
| Type | Type of title version, e.g. movie or episode |
| UPC | Universal Product Code (UPC) is a 12-digit bar code. Used extensively for retail packaging in United States. |
| User Generated Content (UGC) | Online content, including text, graphics, video and audio, found on websites and blogs that individual users create rather than traditional producers, such as commercial broadcasters and production companies. |
| Version (movie) | See “Movie version” |
| Vertical Integration | The process by which a media company acquires another elsewhere in the production process. |
| Video On Demand | On Demand is an entertainment service that allows viewers instant access to content such as movies, cable series, original programs, educational programming, premium channels, news, sports and more. Programming from the content provider is delivered by the consumer’s cable operator. The On Demand content can be free, subscription based, or paid for on a transactional basis. Consumers control what they watch and when, with features such as play, pause, fast-forward, rewind, stop and resume. Also more generally: On Demand |
| Year | Year of release |
Abbreviation used in Media industry
| ABBR | SHORT FOR |
| ACL | Access Control Level |
| ADI | Asset Distribution Interface |
| AVOD | Advertising Video on Demand |
| CA | Conditional Access |
| CC | Closed Captioning |
| DD | Due Date |
| EME | Encrypted Media Extensions |
| GOP | Group of Pictures |
| GUI | Graphic User Interface |
| HDS | Adobe HTTP Dynamic Streaming |
| HLS | Apple HTTP Live Streaming |
| ISAN | International Standard Audiovisual Number |
| MIME | Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (aka Internet Media Type) |
| MOD | Movies on Demand |
| MPEG | Motion Picture Expert Group |
| MPEG-DASH | Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP |
| MSS | Microsoft Smooth Streaming |
| NTSC | National Television System Committee |
| OID | Order ID |
| PID | Program Identification |
| STB | Set-Top Box |
| SVOD | Subscription Video on Demand |
| TVOD | Transaction Video on Demand |
| UE | UpperEast |
| UPC | Universal Product Code |
| VOD | Video on Demand |