MMC Technical Metadata

Release: 1.9 | October 17, 2024

The purpose of this page is to define Warner Bros. Discovery’s requirements for the successful delivery of content and technical metadata using MovieLabs Media Manifest Core (MMC).

Media Manifest Core

Warner Bros. Discovery has standardized on MMC, which is an industry-standard from the MovieLabs family of specifications, to accompany all packages or assets delivered to the Warner Bros. Discovery Media Supply Chain (MSC). The Media Manifest Core has a simple metadata structure able to express relationships between media elements and technical metadata that is discrete from the physical form and location of the assets. Warner Bros. Discovery is currently utilizing Media Manifest version 1.10. The XML schema is available for download on the MMC Samples page.

Warner Bros. Discovery's manifest requirement is a well-defined subset of the overall content in MMC. Specifically, we support the following key features:

• Inventory - The inventory of media, including video, audio, text tracks, and artwork.
  • Video - Description of the parent video track.
  • Audio - Description of one or more audio tracks.
  • Subtitle - Metadata about subtitle tracks.
  • Metadata - Additional metadata describing the content.
• Presentations
  • Markers - Representation of timed events in the video track.
• Picture Groups - Metadata about artwork referenced in inventory.

In addition to metadata requirements, Warner Bros. Discovery relies on consistent taxonomy and controlled vocabulary for various fields. For accepted values, see Controlled Vocabulary.

Identifiers

As prescribed by the MMC specification, the primary requirement for identifiers is global uniqueness. In order to comply with the MMC specification, providers MUST supply identifiers in the following format:

md:[idtype]:[scheme]:[SSID]:[additional information]

Parameter Definitions

<idtype> - the type of identifier. See Common Metadata 2.9 for more details on identifier types.

<scheme> - the namespace of the identifier. We accept registered identifiers with EIDR, TMS, Gracenote or any Common Metadata recognized naming scheme. We also accept the private house scheme used in the distributor org.

<SSID> - The scheme specific ID or SSID is a string that corresponds with IDs in scheme. For example: 58D1-A4D9-E968-F592-5435-M for EIDR scheme

Examples

The parent ContentID MUST be the identification of the edit-level entity in the distributor org. It MUST be specified within the InventoryMetadata-type, which can contain: Content ID, basic metadata or reference to a metadata container.

Language

Language tags must be in accordance with BCP 47. Values should be chosen from the Language Metadata Table and contain the maximum possible specificity. For example, en-US representing “English as spoken in the United States” is preferable to en and es-419 “Spanish as spoken in Latin America” is preferable to es.

Metadata

The purpose of this section is to contain Basic Metadata. Contributors to Warner Bros. Discovery MUST use this section of the MMC to provide the Content ID, Work Type and distribution organization. The VersionIntent section should be used to convey the network for distribution (e.g. “MAX”). See Controlled Vocabulary for allowed values.

The ContentID must match the previously established Title Record ID for the movie, episode, or series in the above format, in order to match the content to the Descriptive Metadata. See ACD Onboarding for more information.

Snippet

<manifest:Metadata ContentID="md:cid:eidr-s:961B-5417-8551-0544-8586-V">
  <manifest:BasicMetadata ContentID="md:cid:eidr-s:961B-5417-8551-0544-8586-V">
    <md:LocalizedInfo language="en" default="true"/>
    <md:ReleaseYear>2020</md:ReleaseYear>
    <md:WorkType>Movie</md:WorkType>
    <md:WorkTypeDetail>Feature</md:WorkTypeDetail>
    <md:VersionIntent>
      <md:Terms termName="Network">
        <md:Text>HBO Max</md:Text>
      </md:Terms>
    </md:VersionIntent>
    <md:AssociatedOrg role="distributor">
    <!-- Distributor is the entity responsible for delivering the package to Warner Bros. Discovery via ACD. -->
      <md:DisplayName>Deluxe</md:DisplayName>
      <md:SortName>Deluxe</md:SortName>
   </md:AssociatedOrg>
   <md:AssociatedOrg role="producer">
   <!-- Producer is the entity responsible for either creating or providing the content for distribution. -->
      <md:DisplayName>Sony</md:DisplayName>
      <md:SortName>Sony</md:SortName>
   </md:AssociatedOrg>
  </manifest:BasicMetadata>
</manifest:Metadata>

Audio

This section describes the two tracks for audio. The first example is for 5.1 Surround English and the second is for Dual Mono Spanish.

5.1 Surround English Snippet

<manifest:Audio AudioTrackID="md:audtrackid:org:bbc.co.uk:123456:main.audio.en.primary">
  <md:Description>5.1 Surround</md:Description>
  <md:Type>primary</md:Type>
  <md:Encoding>
    <md:Codec>PCM</md:Codec>
    <md:ChannelMapping>L,R,C,LFE,LS,RS</md:ChannelMapping>
  </md:Encoding>
  <md:Language>en</md:Language>
  <md:Channels>6</md:Channels>
  <md:TrackReference>1</md:TrackReference>
  <manifest:ContainerReference>
    <manifest:ContainerLocation>movie.mxf</manifest:ContainerLocation>
  </manifest:ContainerReference>
</manifest:Audio>

Dual Mono Spanish Snippet

<manifest:Audio AudioTrackID="md:audtrackid:org:bbc.co.uk:123456:main.audio.es-419.primary">
  <md:Description>Dual Mono</md:Description>
  <md:Type>primary</md:Type>
  <md:Encoding>
    <md:Codec>PCM</md:Codec>
    <md:ChannelMapping>M1,M2</md:ChannelMapping>
  </md:Encoding>
  <md:Language>es-419</md:Language>
  <md:Channels>2</md:Channels>
  <md:TrackReference>2</md:TrackReference>
  <manifest:ContainerReference>
    <manifest:ContainerLocation>movie.mxf</manifest:ContainerLocation>
  </manifest:ContainerReference>
</manifest:Audio>

Dubbing Cards

Dubbing cards can be delivered as images or can be embedded in the video sequence. A video sequence can contain multiple dub cards. The dubbing cards must be included in either the Image or Video Inventory section (in accordance with the delivery method). Within the Image/Video Inventory a CardsetList -> Cardset element is used to define a dubbing card with the following fields:

Image Delivery

Dubbing cards delivered as images must be included in the Image Inventory section and include all technical metadata fields as described in Inventory, except for Purpose and Language. An image can have one and only one Cardset. One CardsetList with one Cardset must be included in the Image Inventory in order to properly deliver dubbing cards. As noted in the Sequence description above, the Sequence field is used for ordering only within the specified language.

Snippet

Example delivery of a sequence of two Brazilian Portuguese dubcards and one Latin American Spanish dubcard as images:

<Image ImageID="md:imageid:org:titleid.turner.com:SA_VICVAL0064:main.image.dubcard.pt-br.1">
  <md:Width>1920</md:Width>
  <md:Height>1080</md:Height>
  <md:Encoding>PNG</md:Encoding>
  <md:PictureDetails>
    <md:ActiveWidthPixels>1440</md:ActiveWidthPixels>
    <md:ActiveHeightPixels>1080</md:ActiveHeightPixels>
  </md:PictureDetails>
  <md:CardsetList>
    <md:Cardset>
      <md:Type>DubbingCredit</md:Type>
      <md:Sequence>1</md:Sequence>
      <md:Language>pt-BR</md:Language>
    </md:Cardset>
  </md:CardsetList>
  <ContainerReference>
    <ContainerLocation>pt-br_card.png</ContainerLocation>
  </ContainerReference>
</Image>
<Image ImageID="md:imageid:org:titleid.turner.com:SA_VICVAL0064:main.image.dubcard.pt-br.2">
  <md:Width>1920</md:Width>
  <md:Height>1080</md:Height>
  <md:Encoding>PNG</md:Encoding>
  <md:PictureDetails>
    <md:ActiveWidthPixels>1440</md:ActiveWidthPixels>
    <md:ActiveHeightPixels>1080</md:ActiveHeightPixels>
  </md:PictureDetails>
  <md:CardsetList>
    <md:Cardset>
      <md:Type>DubbingCredit</md:Type>
      <md:Sequence>2</md:Sequence>
      <md:Language>pt-BR</md:Language>
    </md:Cardset>
  </md:CardsetList>
  <ContainerReference>
    <ContainerLocation>pt-br_card_02.png</ContainerLocation>
  </ContainerReference>
</Image>
<Image ImageID="md:imageid:org:titleid.turner.com:SA_VICVAL0064:main.image.dubcard.es-419.1">
  <md:Width>1920</md:Width>
  <md:Height>1080</md:Height>
  <md:Encoding>PNG</md:Encoding>
  <md:PictureDetails>
    <md:ActiveWidthPixels>1440</md:ActiveWidthPixels>
    <md:ActiveHeightPixels>1080</md:ActiveHeightPixels>
  </md:PictureDetails>
  <md:CardsetList>
    <md:Cardset>
      <md:Type>DubbingCredit</md:Type>
      <md:Sequence>1</md:Sequence>
      <md:Language>es-419</md:Language>
    </md:Cardset>
  </md:CardsetList>
  <ContainerReference>
    <ContainerLocation>es-419_card.png</ContainerLocation>
  </ContainerReference>
</Image>

Embedded Video Delivery

Dubbing cards that are embedded in a video sequence should be included in the Video Inventory section to convey language metadata for the dub cards. As previously mentioned, the CardsetList -> Cardset element of the Video Inventory is used to define a dubbing card.

Snippet

Example sequence of three dub cards embedded in a video:

<manifest:Video VideoTrackID="md:vidtrackid:org:titleid.turner.com:SA_VICVAL0064:main.video">
    <md:Type>primary</md:Type>
    <md:Encoding>
        <md:Codec>JPEG2000</md:Codec>
        <md:ActualLength>PT1H40M27.13S</md:ActualLength>
    </md:Encoding>
    <md:Picture>
        <md:AspectRatio>16:9</md:AspectRatio>
        <md:WidthPixels>1920</md:WidthPixels>
        <md:HeightPixels>1080</md:HeightPixels>
        <md:ActiveWidthPixels>1920</md:ActiveWidthPixels>
        <md:ActiveHeightPixels>1080</md:ActiveHeightPixels>
        <md:FrameRate multiplier="1000/1001">24</md:FrameRate>
        <md:Progressive>true</md:Progressive>
    </md:Picture>
    <md:ColorType>color</md:ColorType>
    <md:SubtitleLanguage type="normal">en-US</md:SubtitleLanguage>
    <md:CardsetList>
        <md:Cardset>
            <md:Type>DubbingCredit</md:Type>
            <md:Sequence>1</md:Sequence>
            <md:Language>pt-BR</md:Language>
        </md:Cardset>
        <md:Cardset>
            <md:Type>DubbingCredit</md:Type>
            <md:Sequence>2</md:Sequence>
            <md:Language>es-CL</md:Language>
        </md:Cardset>
        <md:Cardset>
            <md:Type>DubbingCredit</md:Type>
            <md:Sequence>3</md:Sequence>
            <md:Language>es-419</md:Language>
        </md:Cardset>
    </md:CardsetList>
    <manifest:ContainerReference>
        <manifest:ContainerLocation>movie.mxf</manifest:ContainerLocation>
    </manifest:ContainerReference>
</manifest:Video>

The Markers section of the Presentation element is used to denote the in and out timecode for each dub card sequence:

<manifest:Markers>
    <manifest:Marker>
        <manifest:Timecode dropframe="false" format="hh:mm:ss:ff">01:59:30:00</manifest:Timecode>
        <manifest:DisplayLabel>First Frame Dubbing Credit</manifest:DisplayLabel>
        <manifest:Label namespace="warnermedia.com">FFDC</manifest:Label>
    </manifest:Marker>
    <manifest:Marker>
        <manifest:Timecode dropframe="false" format="hh:mm:ss:ff">01:59:35:00</manifest:Timecode>
        <manifest:DisplayLabel>Last Frame Dubbing Credit</manifest:DisplayLabel>
        <manifest:Label namespace="warnermedia.com">LFDC</manifest:Label>
    </manifest:Marker>
    <manifest:Marker>
        <manifest:Timecode dropframe="false" format="hh:mm:ss:ff">01:59:35:00</manifest:Timecode>
        <manifest:DisplayLabel>First Frame Dubbing Credit</manifest:DisplayLabel>
        <manifest:Label namespace="warnermedia.com">FFDC</manifest:Label>
    </manifest:Marker>
    <manifest:Marker>
        <manifest:Timecode dropframe="false" format="hh:mm:ss:ff">01:59:40:00</manifest:Timecode>
        <manifest:DisplayLabel>Last Frame Dubbing Credit</manifest:DisplayLabel>
        <manifest:Label namespace="warnermedia.com">LFDC</manifest:Label>
    </manifest:Marker>
    <manifest:Marker>
        <manifest:Timecode dropframe="false" format="hh:mm:ss:ff">01:59:40:00</manifest:Timecode>
        <manifest:DisplayLabel>First Frame Dubbing Credit</manifest:DisplayLabel>
        <manifest:Label namespace="warnermedia.com">FFDC</manifest:Label>
    </manifest:Marker>
    <manifest:Marker>
        <manifest:Timecode dropframe="false" format="hh:mm:ss:ff">01:59:45:00</manifest:Timecode>
        <manifest:DisplayLabel>Last Frame Dubbing Credit</manifest:DisplayLabel>
        <manifest:Label namespace="warnermedia.com">LFDC</manifest:Label>
    </manifest:Marker>
</manifest:Markers>

As noted above, dub cards must be the same number and must be in the same order in the Video Inventory as in the Marker section to match the dub card language to the timecodes.

Inventory

The purpose of this section in the MMC is to provide technical details regarding the delivered assets. Several fields are required for the DTC workflow, while some are optional and are indicated accordingly.

Picture Groups

Each feature, episode, and series delivery MUST be accompanied by images. A picture group is the selection of images referenced in the inventory section associated with a feature, episode, or series.

A Picture within a group MUST define its purpose. The purpose conveys the use case of the image (e.g. Background, Tile, UniversalSearch) defined within the Warner Bros. Discovery Contribution Specification.

Snippet

<PictureGroups>
  <PictureGroup PictureGroupID="md:picturegroupid:eidr-s:C124-0623-A677-69A8-0B8C">
    <Picture>
<PictureID>md:pictureid:eidr-x:C124-0623-A677-69A8-0B8C:Logo-png.en
</PictureID>
<ImageID>
md:pictureimageid:eidr-sx:C124-0623-A677-69A8-0B8C:Logo-png.en
</ImageID>
<Purpose>Logo</Purpose>
    </Picture>
  </PictureGroup>
</PictureGroups>

Markers

A marker identifies a significant time-code event within a work. A single, “marked” frame may represent one point in time (a single frame’s timecode label) or may be one of a pair of markers describing the start and end of a segment of interest.

• Distinct segments described by first-frame (FF) and last-frame (LF) notation may overlap. Intervals defined by markers are exclusive, meaning the last frame of the current segment is the first frame of the next segment. See snippet below for an example.

• Composition segments (declared using the in-point label FFOC and the out-point label LFOC) MUST bracket a single, contiguous segment of program content. If one were to play all composition segments back-to-back, playback MUST not include non-program material nor exclude any program content.

• Logos, slates, cards and so forth are not program content and SHOULD NOT appear in a playlist of composition segments. However, they MUST be “marked.”

• End-credits and start-credits are not distinct composition segments and MUST be marked independently of the composition segment in which they appear.

Warner Bros. Discovery supports label types described in SMPTE ST 2067-3 and will not recognize or process a distributor’s proprietary marker labels. Currently-recognized labels are listed in the Controlled Vocabulary section.

In addition to the SMPTE labels, we support additional, non-SMPTE labels. Two labels which allow us to distinguish black outside of the bounds of the program from commercial black are:

1. FFVB – First frame of video black
2. LFVB – Last frame of video black

We additionally support labels to identify preview and recap audio segments. See Controlled Vocabulary.

These labels should be noted with the namespace "wbd.com” to denote non-IMF standard labels.

Snippet

<Marker>
  <Timecode dropframe="false">00:59:20:00</Timecode>
  <DisplayLabel language="en">First Frame Head Slate</DisplayLabel>
  <Label>FFHS</Label>
</Marker>


<Marker>
  <Timecode dropframe="false">00:59:30:00</Timecode>
  <DisplayLabel language="en">Last Frame Head Slate</DisplayLabel>
  <Label>LFHS</Label>
</Marker>


<Marker>
  <Timecode dropframe="false">00:59:30:00</manifest:Timecode>
  <DisplayLabel>First Frame Commercial Black</manifest:DisplayLabel>
  <Label namespace="warnermedia.com">FFCB</manifest:Label>
</Marker>


<Marker>
  <Timecode dropframe="false">00:59:45:00</manifest:Timecode>
  <DisplayLabel>Last Frame Commercial Black</manifest:DisplayLabel>
  <Label namespace="warnermedia.com">LFCB</manifest:Label>
</Marker>

Experience

The experience ties together the images and presentation elements. The Type should be “Main” and the “SubType” should match the “WorkTypeDetail” in the BasicMetadata section.

Snippet

<manifest:Experiences>
  <manifest:Experience
    ExperienceID="md:experienceid:eidr-x:961B-5417-8551-0544-8586-V:1" version="1">
    <manifest:ContentID>
      md:cid:eidr-s:961B-5417-8551-0544-8586-V
    </manifest:ContentID>
    <manifest:Audiovisual
      ContentID="md:cid:eidr-s:961B-5417-8551-0544-8586-V">
      <manifest:Type>Main</manifest:Type>
      <manifest:SubType>Feature</manifest:SubType>
      <manifest:PresentationID>
      md:presentationid:eidr-x:961B-5417-8551-0544-8586-V:main
      </manifest:PresentationID>
    </manifest:Audiovisual>
    <manifest:PictureGroupID>
    md:picturegroupid:eidr-x:961B-5417-8551-0544-8586-V:1
    </manifest:PictureGroupID>
  </manifest:Experience>
</manifest:Experiences>
<manifest:ALIDExperienceMaps>
  <manifest:ALIDExperienceMap>
    <manifest:ALID>
      md:alid:eidr-s:961B-5417-8551-0544-8586-V
    </manifest:ALID>
    <manifest:ExperienceID>
      md:experienceid:eidr-x:961B-5417-8551-0544-8586-V:1
    </manifest:ExperienceID>
  </manifest:ALIDExperienceMap>
</manifest:ALIDExperienceMaps>

Redelivery

When redelivering content with the same ContentID, you should increment the updateNum attribute of the top-level Manifest element and use the versionDescription attribute to provide a human-readable reason for redelivery.

For the initial delivery, updateNum must be 1, and can be omitted as it will be assumed to be 1. The first redelivery must have an updateNum of 2 and must be increased on every redelivery.

Example

<manifest:MediaManifest ManifestID="md:manifestid:eidr-s:961B-5417-8551-0544-8586-V" updateNum="2" versionDescription="Fix Version">

Controlled Vocabulary

This section contains the controlled values supported by Warner Bros. Discovery.

Release History

v1.9 October 17, 2024

1. Added VC3, XAVC, and MPEG2 to video codec controlled vocabulary.

v1.8 September 13, 2024

1. Added note to Progressive field in Inventory section that scanOrder should be included.
2. Added PictureDetails ActiveWidthPixels and ActiveHeightPixels to Dubbing Cards Image delivery example.
3. Removed Image Purpose from Controlled Vocabulary.
4. Removed Purpose from Image section of Inventory.
5. Added PictureDetails, ActiveWidthPixels, and ActiveHeightPixels to Inventory.
6. CardsetList, Cardset, Type, Sequence, and Language are now required for images in Inventory.

v1.7 July 17, 2024

1. Updated references of Media Manifest from version 1.9 to version 1.10.
2. Updated references of Common Metadata from version 2.8 to version 2.9.
3. Updated "HBO MAX" example to "MAX".
4. Removed Images section.
5. Removed note from Markers section about timecode format.

v1.6 May 5, 2022

• Added Region/Territory/Country support for images

v1.5 April 13, 2022

• Changed 'WarnerMedia' to 'Warner Bros. Discovery' throughout page

v1.4 January 26, 2022

• Added Embedded Video Delivery to Dubbing Cards section.

v1.3 February 8, 2021

• Added note for dubbing cards. The note directs partners to contact their WarnerMedia representative prior to deliveries (to ensure full MSC support is in place).

v1.2 January 27, 2021

• Added Dubbing Cards section (with XML snippet).

v1.1 November 12, 2020

1. Added Release History to the page.
2. In the Metadata section, added the Producer role.