Consider adding metadata for programme duration

[nigelmegitt]

... which might be longer than the end time of the last Script Event.

[nigelmegitt]

@ewanrsmith can you add any more info about this?

[ewanrsmith]

The compilation process differs between clients / playout providers, with some requiring that a compiled asset match the total duration of the media and others requiring that the asset conform to the programme duration. In each case, this value should be either explicitly captured in the DAPT metadata or indirectly by capturing the programme and media start time and end times. It's not clear that this is currently the case, so to compile a DAPT asset that information must be stored externally.

Do let me know if my reading of the documentation is incorrect!

[nigelmegitt]

Thanks @ewanrsmith - "compilation" isn't something that's explicitly mentioned in DAPT at the moment. It would be useful to have a quick explainer of what that process is, and how it could go wrong without adequate metadata. Also, what is the difference between the media duration and the programme duration in this context?

[ewanrsmith]

Compilation is the Starfish term for what I believe is more widely known as mixing, so the process by which WAV recordings of individual descriptions are mixed into a programme or media-length WAV file to be wrapped into media, or played alongside it. Depending on the equipment downstream, the broadcaster might be expecting to receive a WAV that's the same duration as its corresponding TX media or they might expect it to start playing from the first frame of the programme. If these compilation/mixing instructions are to be fully captured by DAPT then it will need to record both values; this assume some assets will be recompiled for different broadcasters and so may need to include handles of a different length in each case.