SMPTE Standards have played a significant role in the media technology industry for well over a century. An integral part of the technical infrastructure in media, the Standards community is constantly innovating, creating new Standards, updating old ones, and creating Engineering Reports that highlight technology.
In 2025, the Standards Community performed the following work:
ST 428-24: Digital Cinema Distribution Master (DCDM)image essence is regularly exchanged between post-production facilities, typically using the constrained TIFF files specified at SMPTE RP 428-5.Such exchange is time-consuming and costly because of the size of these files –on the order of 10 TB for a motion picture. This document specifies a means of mapping DCDM images into packed images such that file size is reduced. Though it was finished in 2024, this Standard was released in January of 2025.
ST 381-3: This standard specifies the mapping of all AVC coding data as defined in ISO/IEC 14496-10 | Rec. ITU-T H.264 into the Material Exchange Format Generic Container (MXF-GC) based on the MXF MPEG mapping standard (SMPTE ST 381-2). This is a revision of a 2013 Standard.
ST 2123: This Engineering Document publishes Metadata Registers, as defined in the following specifications: SMPTE ST 335, SMPTE ST395, SMPTE ST 400, SMPTE ST 2003, and SMPTE ST 2088. This Standard is a revision.
ST 2134: This document defines an MXF Descriptive Metadata Scheme for Compatible Time Labels (DMS-TLC). DMS-TLC is intended for use in systems that encode, decode or modify MXF files or transcode MXF files to or from other formats including binary KLV and text XML or JSON.
RDD 60: This SMPTE Registered Disclosure Document (RDD) specifies a method of mapping immersive audio essence, as defined in SMPTE ST 2098-2, to the MXF Generic Container. The mapping supports interleaving with video essence and data in a frame-wrapped manner compatible with requirements for MXF archival and repository file formats.
RDD 61: This RDD specifies the mapping of ARRICORE essence as a Picture Essence track of the MXF Constrained Generic Container in frame-wrapped form. It defines the ARRICORE bitstream, the KLV coding, essence container label values, essence coding labels, and SubDescriptor values describing the mapping, as well as the composition of the content package. It also states the layout of MXF Files containing ARRICORE essence, and constraints on applications producing such files.
RP 428-22: This recommended practice specifies a minimal, compliant, and functionally empty SMPTE ST 428-7 Subtitle file, providing no visible effect upon playout.
ST 2126: This standard specifies a status reporting and logging method to manage the challenges of a microservice architecture. It starts with an overview, followed by a brief overview of jobs, the log entry structure, transaction tracker, and details about how job progress and status are logged.
ST 2110-30: This standard specifies the real-time, RTP-based transport of PCM digital audio streams over IP networks by reference to AES67. An SDP-based signaling method is defined for metadata necessary to receive and interpret the stream. Non-PCM digital audio signals including compressed audio signals are outside the scope of this standard. This is are vision of a 2017 Standard.
ER 1011: This report includes high-level technical background on AI/ML algorithms and systems. It discusses how AI/ML technologies are being used to generate media and automate routine or mundane tasks in the production of media. It discusses security and ethical implications of AI/ML systems. The report surveys standards relevant to the use of AI/ML in media and discusses opportunities for future standards work. It highlights the importance of data and how collaboration could help in the creation of new datasets. This is a revision of an Engineering Report from 2023.
ST 2094-60: This document specifies the color volume transform metadata items for Application #6, a specialized model of the generalized color volume transform defined by the core components document SMPTE ST 2094-1. This color volume transform is based on five anchor points. The metadata set characterizes HDR-SDR conversions within the mastering process.
ST 2139: This standard defines a USB-C Alternate Mode, referred to as Signal Sync Alternate Mode (SSAM), for conveying synchronization signals over a USB Type-C Connection. It specifies the use of USB Power Delivery Specification messaging to negotiate entry into the Mode and to configure signal routing between directly connected USB Type-C ports. It also defines the electrical characteristics of the synchronization signals.
These Standards, reports, and best practices are the culmination of our TC community’s efforts and will transform the industry for the better. 2026 will be another great year for the Standards community and will pave the way for another century of transformative solutions.