The Airline Passenger Experience Association’s APEX Technology Committee will host its annual APEX TECH conference on 28-29 February at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel LAX in Los Angeles. This year’s event is expected to be one of the best-ever APEX TECHs. The panels and workshop sessions on Day Two of APEX TECH will provide the IFE industry with a comprehensive roadmap of the IFE content delivery supply chain for the next several years, opines Michael Childers, long-time content management consultant. But it’s time to accelerate progress in many areas, he argues in this Op-Ed for Runway Girl Network.

The effort to integrate inflight entertainment content delivery technology into the broader content delivery ecosystem of the media and entertainment industry began in earnest in 2015 when the APEX Technology Committee codified the Common Media Application Format (CMAF), a container and set of standards for video streaming that works with protocols like MPEG-DASH and HLS, supporting the packaging and delivery of various forms of HTTP-based media. It was formally adopted by APEX as part of the “Media and Device IFE Ecosystem System Specification (APEX 0415)” in 2015 and has been updated three times since.

But this industry must take steps to keep pace with that broader ecosystem in several vital areas, including the adoption of uniform content identifiers, establishing order entry best practices, implementation of automated metadata, moving post-production into the cloud, implementing programmatic advertising, automating the Content Integration process, and making progress toward the implementation of the Interoperable Master Format (IMF) in IFE.

As digital content delivery matures, and becomes increasingly automated, the supply chain is becoming increasingly dependent on metadata. This begins with content identification metadata, specifically EIDR and LMT. EIDR stands for Entertainment Identifier Registry, a public registry that provides a unique identifier for audiovisual content across the global media and entertainment industry, and LMT stands for Language Metadata Table that provides a unique identifier for languages used in audiovisual works around the world.

Content identifiers help to ensure that every unit of content and all its versions and variations — like multiple airline-edited versions and language combinations — are uniquely and accurately identified.

APEX TECH will offer a panel discussion on “smart” metadata, including EIDR, LMT, Ad-ID and ADS — the Authenticated Data Specification that opens a new world of content provenance metadata that can be used to ensure the authenticity of content and support rights management. The panel will be moderated by Rob Delf, CEO of Fabric, and will include Michael Valdez, Panasonic Avionics; André Valera, Conetic; Sam Allen, Stellar; Juraj Siska, IdeaNova; and Richard Kroon, EIDR. Hollie Choi, Managing Director of EIDR, assisted in the organization of the panel.

In the afternoon, the co-chairs of the new “Smart” Metadata Working Group, Andy Beer of Spafax/The Hub, and Wilson Capitão of Touch, will lead a workshop on implementation of EIDR, LMT, Ad-ID and ADS. The Working Group will then move forward with codification of these basic content identifiers and will investigate the potential role of content provenance metadata in rights management and IFE advertising reporting.

MovieLabs’ Digital Distribution Framework

APEX 0415 was developed with the input of the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE), which no longer exists, but responsibility for that ecosystem is, in large part, now the province of MovieLabs, a 501(c)(6) research and development technology joint venture of the major Hollywood studios.

For automation of digital workflows and supply chain efficiency, MovieLabs recommends adoption of a suite of compatible standards and specifications. They cover core aspects of online distributiion, including identification, metadata, avails, asset delivery, and reporting. Developed and delivered through industry collaboration, these standards and technologies enable automation, cost reduction, and improved  consumer experiences across the industry.

Collectively, these are called the MovieLabs Digital Distribution Framework (MDDF). EIDR — the Emmy Award-winning Entertainment Identifier Registry — is wholly-owned by MovieLabs. The Media Entertainment Core (MEC) is part of the MDDF metadata framework, conceptually sitting above Common Data and Media Manifest (also codified in APEX 0415). According to Richard W. Kroon, Director of Technical Operations at EIDR, and a panelist at TECH, it simplifies and harmonizes the older schemas with a particular focus on metadata delivery. It is a primary component of the Authenticated Data Specification (ADS).

EIDR provides the disambiguated, unique, and persistent identifier for ADS; it is universal, providing consistency to data aggregators, content distributors, and publishers like airlines.

Integration of IFE and C

One of the most significant changes in the content delivery supply in the history of IFE will be the integration of IFE and connectivity and the use of edge caching, as content storage onboard the aircraft decreases and content is delivered to the aircraft externally. This migration will once again be taken up at TECH. Phillip Watson, Chief Engineer at Panasonic Avionics, will moderate an edge caching panel on 29 February, joined by Jeremy Desmauts, Broadpeak; Jim Nelson, Siden; Sigfried Luft, Netskrt; Esdra Lamy, Warner Bros Discovery; and Estibaliz Asian, Anuvu.

Several member of the IFE community are members of the Streaming Video Technology Association (SVTA) and its Edge Caching Working Group, and APEX has a liaison relationship with SVTA, giving APEX access to SVTA technology. Andy Rosen, consultant, and this writer are APEX liaisons to SVTA.

The APEX Technology Committee, chaired by Jonas von Krüchten, Director of Strategy and Business Development at AERQ, is considering establishment of an Edge Caching Working Group to work formally with SVTA and to detail an edge caching specification for IFEC.

Data Management

Inflight entertainment content is increasingly seeking to source three kinds of data: a) GDPR-protected personal passenger data, b) environmental data, such as destination, city pairs, and cabin class; and c) behavioral data, such as content choice, beverage choice, and meal choice. This data will drive use cases such as 1) content recommendation and discovery with personalized playlists, 2) personalized advertising, and 3) onboard e-commerce.

Combining these three kinds of external data with metadata embedded in the content — such as product placement and advertising placement flags — will help to ensure a personalized passenger experience and abundant revenue generating opportunities.

Haley Meidell of zeroG will moderate a panel on “Optimizing Passenger Journeys with Environmental, Personal and Behavioral Insights.” Her panel will include Vincent Capana, HRS Crew and Passenger Solutions; Benny Retnamony, eSpace; Kate Groh, West Entertainment; and Paul Colley, Spafax, and will take a deep dive into sourcing this data and implementing it across multiple use cases.

This panel will be complemented by workshops the day before — 28 February — one led by Matthew Blay of Inadvia on exercising inflight advertising potential, a workshop on the relevance of e-commerce use cases led by Laura Ross, Immfly, and a workshop on personalizing the media content offering, led by Ben Fuller, Inflight Dublin.

Cloud-based workflows, automated integration

A critical component of the content delivery supply chain going forward is the use of automated workflows in the cloud — a topic which is much-discussed, but not fully realized, as significant amounts of post-production processing and nearly all of IFE Content Integration is still tethered to ground-based brick and mortar facilities and manual processes.

But change is coming. Content from Disney, HBO, Warner Bros Discovery, and others is now available in IFE via a cloud-based repository implementing automated workflows that shrink the content delivery interval to as little as 24 to 48 hours — hours, not days — helping to defensestrate the 30-day, calendar-fixed exhibition cycle and implement dynamic content updates immediately upon availability.

Along with complementary automated Content Integration processes, these workflows will help IFE to begin to achieve early window parity with D2C, lost as streaming services began to make content available to consumers as early as 45 days from US theatrical openings. One major Hollywood studio attempted to offer a 45-day window in IFE and found that today’s content delivery supply chain could not support it. We should not consider this to be acceptable.

At APEX TECH, Michael Stattmann, founder of castLabs and co-Managing Director of ABOVE, will lead a workshop that will examine how to speed IFE migration into the cloud, and Dirk Ottens, head of content and media strategy at Lufthansa Systems will lead a workshop on streamlining Content Integration.

Challenges that remain

Continued migration of the IFE content delivery supply chain into the broader content delivery ecosystem of the media and entertainment industry is essential. The APEX Technology Committee, which in recent years has enjoyed a cooperative relationship with MovieLabs, must look to expand that relationship into a more formal liaison relationship, looking seriously at adopting MovieLabs Digital Distribution Format (MDDF), beginning with uniform content identifiers like EIDR and LMT, and moving toward ADS as it matures.

After sucessfully codifying Internet Media Subtitles and Captions (IMSC) as the IFE industry standard for closed captions during the tenure of US Department of Transportation’s (DOT) ACCESS Advisory Committee in 2016, DOT asked APEX to establish a working group to develop an accessible IFE user interface for the blind. After considerable effort during 2017, APEX was unable to create a comprehensive specification, but did establish guidelines for the developers of UIs. The APEX Technology Committee is now establishing a new Working Group to again pursue establishment of a specification.

Dr. Pierre-Anthony Lemieux, author of the IMSC captioning standard that is the basis for the APEX closed caption specification, will conduct a workshop at NAB in April 2024 on interoperability challenges in live captioning and subtitling for streaming, and APEX should follow-up to revise our closed caption specification as necessary.

This industry attempted to create a uniform content ordering process as long ago as the mid-1990s, but that initial effort was the victim of industry politics. Since then, the lack of a uniform post-production purchase order and ordering processes has slowed content delivery and plagued it with files that did not meet expectations. APEX must move to establish an industry-standard post-production purchase order supported by globally-accepted content asset identifiers.

Content provenance legislation and requirements are in the offing, and this industry must be prepared to deal with it as it matures. This is a task for which APEX must assume responsibility.

The Interoperable Master Format (IMF) is a container format for the standardized digital delivery and storage of finished audio-visual masters, including movies, episodic content and advertisements.

In IMF, each kind of essence (video, audio, subtitles, etc.) is stored in individual media files (“Track Files”) and the instructions for synchronizing these media files are stored in a separate playlist file (“Composition Playlist”). This component-based approach allows the large media files to be reused across multiple playlists, each representing a different version of the content.

While IMF implementation has been implemented very slowly by the major studios, IMF is being used in some departments at every studio, and it is ideal for IFE. APEX and MovieLabs should jointly investigate the feasibility of adopting IMF as the container for IFE content delivery.

Many challenges and opportunities await. APEX is the only entity that can meet the challenges, aligning with MovieLabs, SVTA, SMPTE, CEA, MESA and others to ensure keeping the IFE content delivery supply chain in the broader media content delivery ecosystem. Currently, the lack of a greater volume of cloud processing, automated workflows, uniform descriptors, and comprehensive best practices leave us paying far too much for digital assets and receiving them far too late to regain our Early Window.

The conversation as to how to move forward will be continued 28-29 February 2024 at APEX TECH.

About the Author

Michael Childers is an APEX Technology Committee Chair Emeritus, having held that position for ten years until 2023; a member Emeritus of the APEX Board of Directors, having held that position for eight years; and recipient of both the APEX Outstanding Contribution Award and the APEX Lifetime Achievement Award. He is an Advisor to the APEX Board on APEX TECH and thought leadership. He has been Chief Consultant, Content and Media Strategy, for Lufthansa Systems since 2011, a consultant to AERQ, and chair of the ABOVE Board of Advisors. He was Managing Director, Content and Media Strategy, for The IMS Company for three years, President and CEO of LightStream Communications Group for five years, COO of Swank Worldwide Entertainment for 12 years, and Vice President Marketing and Operations, Wrightwood Entertainment Ltd. for five years. He was appointed to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) ACCESS Advisory Committee by the Secretary of Transportation in 2016 and served on the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) PED Aviation Rulemaking Committee. He is a long-time member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.

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