12.5 Conclusion

iTV content is delivered through a number of file formats. This chapter presented a short overview of graphics formats (GIF, JPG, PNG, MNG), audio formats (AU, MIDI, MP3, CDA, WAV), video formats (MPEG, QuickTime, AVI), and asset management formats (UMID, KLV, DPX, GXF, AAF, ZIP, JAR). The detailed specification of each of these formats is appropriate to include in an overview chapter. The reader is encouraged to use the references as a starting point for a detailed analysis and implementation of each of these formats.

All of the formats described here are supported by commercial off the shelf products that can be leveraged and licensed. Typically, a system integrator only needs to be familiar with the concepts and features associated with each format. Nevertheless, understanding the structure of these data formats provides simple insights into contexts in which they are applicable and techniques that could be used to process them. Further, when licensing and intellectual property issues arise, implementers need to understand many aspects of the specification in great detail.