
Mining the AI Potential
Once upon a time, there was an industry that called programmatic code software and not artificial intelligence .
In media storage, you've probably heard AI used in the context of image searching your media archive to find a matching actor's face
Because AI has become an almost ubiquitously used phrase, and therefore somewhat grating, it would be easy to dismiss it from our thoughts but is there anything behind the term that we should be taking notice of?
Search: The Final Frontier
Google processes a lot of data. Some estimates say that Google handle 1.2 trillion searches per annum. I don't know, but I'd imagine 99.999% of those searches are based around language. However, in a world where an estimated 80% of data is unstructured, and the vast majority of that unstructured data is video data, it is clear that search has a long way to go.
The next stage is to be able to search video and, for reasons we will briefly touch on, often the techniques used to analyse video and to allow meaningful search of video is described as AI.
Why is it called AI? A few years ago we'd have called it: image searching; video searching or software algorithms , but since the success of Apple Siri, Amazon Echo etc., the general public psyche and lexicon has begun to consider any such technology artificial intelligence . This is even if it doesn't have a self-learning feedback loop or some other mechanism of analysis enhancement over time. So, though it irks me, let's join the bandwagon and call it AI video analysis and search as well.
What cannot be ignored is that this is exciting. Video archives that previously sat dormant can now be queried for all types of things:
What footage of Princess Diana do we have?
Have we ever shot a news item on that street before?
Who has ever played number 7 for England?
Those image searching algorithms are nascent but are quickly being realised. On the other hand, semantic video analysis is more basic to date but will answer more and more questions such as:
This part of the movie is a car chase
Alert! Look at this CCTV stream because a street fight has broken out
This movie is a modern day remake of the magnificent seven
Cars on this road have gone from 100% driven to 30% self-driven in the past 5 years
Unstructured data (or unstructured information) is information that either does not have a pre-defined data model or is not organized in a pre-defined manner. Unstructured information is typically text-heavy, but may contain data such as dates, numbers, and facts as well.
So AI video analysis and search is beginning to be able to unlock the value in media archives, and this importantly allows better reuse of media assets for all types of analysis, documentary making, sports fan lookups, and countless other usages. This will only go from strength to strength, but, is that really what AI in media archiving is all about?
AI: Beyond Image Searching
Although the trend is to think about AI in the context of search that would certainly limit our definition.
One of the key challenges with storage today is data gravity . Or, to put it simply, having the video data where it needs to be processed and when it needs to be processed, is a mixture of moving data to where it needs to be seen or processed, or, moving to process to where the data is. Ingenious storage systems are needed to manage this. Take for instance a production that is to be post-produced by teams in different countries. Assets should be available to those teams as and when they are ready to work on those assets. That's where artificial intelligence can come in: moving assets around for us.
Furthermore, artificial intelligence can manage this in a manner that also protects data against any kind of loss and with security in mind. AI storage becomes your 24/7 super-administrator so that you don't need to spend your days making data transfers or worrying about data security.
The term AI in media storage then should not be limited to purely AI searching; it is also about AI data management.
Can Video Search Change the Industry Dynamics for Video Owners?
All in all the media industry should be hugely excited about the new video search techniques coming on to the market for the simple reason that they allow the holders of media archives to better monetise and re-use content.
But could it be that this is just the beginning? Will AI production mixed with video search be able to cut new content? Will video search allow a whole new analytics industry to develop new Googles new Facebooks? Could it be that the owners of video archives will gain more of their revenue from that archive than they do from new content?
The future is uncertain, but the foundations of that future are here and now.
Data gravity is an analogy of the nature of data and its ability to attract additional applications and services. The Law of Gravity states that the attraction between objects is directly proportional to their weight (or mass). Dave McCrory coined the term data gravity to describe the phenomenon in which the number or quantity and the speed at which services, applications, and even customers are attracted to data increases as the mass of the data also increases.
The Object Matrix View
Our conclusion for AI, in general, is that the term will quickly become redundant (again) since it is being used too ubiquitously! However
For AI Search our conclusions are:
Includes image search, object searching, semantic analysis and speech to text
It will revolutionise how and why we hold video archives
It will monetise archives in new ways: keeping archives offline will no longer be viable
It will move from niche to mainstream over the coming years
For AI data management our conclusions are:
It will move data and data processing algorithms
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
03/09/2026
Yospace will be at IBC from 11th - 14th September (booth 5.C78). For more inform...
03/09/2026
NEP Group has announced leadership changes at Creative Technology Group. Founder and CEO Graham Andrews will step away from day-to-day leadership at the end of ...
03/09/2026
The NFL and TikTok have announced a multi-year partnership renewal expanding the league's presence on the platform. NFL posts on TikTok increased more than ...
03/09/2026
Grass Valley has appointed Ronny Van Geel as Vice President, Cameras. Van Geel began his career in 1999 at Philips DVS and moved into product management in 2005...
03/09/2026
Telestream has announced Vantage Super Resolution, an AI-powered upscaling capability for the Vantage media workflow platform, developed in collaboration with N...
03/09/2026
Solid State Logic (SSL) will debut the TCA Tour at IBC2026 (Hall 8, Stand 8.B45), a portable production system built from System T components in a desktop frame...
03/09/2026
DPA Microphones has announced the 6388 CORE Headset Microphone, making its debut at IBC2026 (Hall 8, Stand D60). The supercardioid headset features a physicall...
03/09/2026
Qvest will present a multi-vendor Dynamic Media Facility (DMF) showcase at IBC2026 (Booth 10.C24), demonstrating how the EBU's DMF architecture can be imple...
03/09/2026
Imagine Communications will showcase the Magellan PanelFlex control surface and other control portfolio updates at IBC2026 (Stand 1.B73, RAI Amsterdam, Septembe...
03/09/2026
Bridge Technologies will announce at IBC2026 (Booth 1.A71) that its VB440 production probe is now available as a software-based solution, deployable on commerci...
03/09/2026
Audio-Technica has unveiled the BP350ST MS (mid-side) microphone in two versions: the camera-mount BP350ST-UL and the boundary or gooseneck-mountable BP350ST-UB...
03/09/2026
Telos Alliance will introduce updates to the J nger Audio flexAI audio processin...
03/09/2026
DUNKMAN, the professional dunk league founded by Shaquille O'Neal in partner...
03/09/2026
Orlando's WRDQ TV 27, WFTV Channel 9 previously named over-the-air broadcast...
03/09/2026
EverPass Media has announced a multi-year commercial distribution agreement with Netflix, expanding on an existing partnership that has delivered NFL Christmas ...
03/09/2026
Yahoo Sports and Apple TV have announced a partnership to deliver alternate broadcasts of select Friday Night Baseball and MLS games on the Yahoo Sports website...
03/09/2026
With another academic year underway, college athletic departments across the cou...
03/09/2026
Facility becomes permanent home of NFL Live on Sept. 9; centerpiece studio for c...
03/09/2026
Create musical synth bass sounds from scratch
Anthony Marinelli Music have recently announced the launch of Bass DNA, a new online course that teaches music...
03/09/2026
Most powerful Tonex hardware to date
IK Multimedia's latest release introduces their most advanced Tonex hardware unit to date, combining their AI Machi...
03/09/2026
Upmix & downmix software upgraded
Penteo Audio Plugins have announced that the latest version of their powerful upmix and downmix software is now available....
03/09/2026
With the start of the new apprenticeship year, young talent has once again begun their professional careers at SGL Carbon's sites in Germany. Recently, the ...
03/09/2026
With the industry increasingly embracing hybrid, software-defined production models, Calrec will preview a series of Argo and ImPulseV software enhancements at ...
03/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/09/2026
Recognizing the ever-increasing demands for media throughput in challenging environments like post-production, two leaders in network technology have worked tog...
03/09/2026
EVS, a leader in live video technology and production infrastructure solutions, and Matrox Video, a leader in software-defined media technology and IP-based vid...
03/09/2026
AJA Debuts OG-FiDO-4 openGear Four-Channel SDI/Fiber Conversion Cards
Brie Clayton September 3, 2026
0 Comments
New product family expands 12G-SDI and...
03/09/2026
Nice Touch launches V2 of its AI edit assistant for professional editors
Brie Clayton September 3, 2026
0 Comments
Built by two editors with twelve ye...
03/09/2026
Accedo, a global provider of video streaming software and services, and MediaKind, a world-leading video technology company and the number one independent provi...
03/09/2026
International research from Big Blue Marble puts a consumer churn number against a technical failure, and sets out what streaming providers must fix before 2030...
03/09/2026
High-performance points of presence power video streaming delivery to large audiences across Latin America with guaranteed quality of experience
Broadpeak , a ...
03/09/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, will unveil the next evolution of Dalia at IBC2026 (7.A43), its media-aware agent...
03/09/2026
CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB), one of the world's largest independent IT and business consulting services firms, will showcase CGI OpenMedia Evolve and CGI d...
03/09/2026
LiveU is participating in the IBC Accelerator Incubator 2026: Smart Stories The New Knowledge Architecture for Content Production, an industry-wide initiative...
03/09/2026
Broadcast Solutions, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast and media industry, has taken another major step in its...
03/09/2026
Quortex today announced that it will showcase how it is accelerating innovation and the transition to IP at IBC 2026. The company will debut its newest intellig...
03/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/09/2026
The EZDRM approach to Revenue Security on streaming video can be visualized as a multi-dimensional set of solutions. A growing dimension of that approach is the...
03/09/2026
From field capture to management, control and production, Kiloview will demonstrate one connected Hybrid AV-over-IP workflow including a complete 4RU producti...
03/09/2026
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced Mediagenix Curation, a new...
03/09/2026
LucidLink, the Emmy-winning cloud-native file streaming platform for instant, secure access to large files, today announced the next step in its vision to make ...
03/09/2026
Fraudulent communications purportedly from Screen Australia 3 September 2026
Screen Australia is aware of scam attempts involving fake emails and promotional m...