Viidata

Viidata is a term used in theoretical discussions and experimental projects to describe an integrated model for storing and exchanging video content alongside structured metadata. The concept aims to improve search, provenance, and interoperability across systems that handle video by pairing media with a formal metadata payload.

Core idea and structure: Viidata envisions a data model that organizes video into segments or frames, with per-frame metadata such as timestamps, camera and sensor settings, compression parameters, and color space, plus higher-level annotations, licensing, and provenance information. The model supports references to external vocabularies and ontologies to enable rich semantic search and reuse across applications.

Encoding and interoperability: Datasets built on the viidata concept are typically imagined to use machine-readable encodings such as JSON-LD or CBOR. Serializations are intended to be compatible with existing standards and practices, including EXIF, XMP, IPTC, IIIF, and the W3C Web of Things, to facilitate integration with media management systems, analytics pipelines, and content delivery workflows.

Status and adoption: As of now, viidata is not a formal international standard. It appears primarily in academic proposals, vendor documentation, and open-source experiments. Proponents argue that a standardized metadata framework could streamline video archiving, machine learning data curation, and rights management, while critics note fragmentation risks and privacy considerations.

See also: video metadata, EXIF, XMP, IPTC, IIIF, digital asset management, media provenance.