Background
QC processes have developed slowly over many years, based on linear workflows that were unique to each broadcaster and targeted at a single traditional broadcast output.
Now traditional television is just one of many destinations for content and each has its own QC requirements and its own file format checks that have to be passed before delivery!
What to check?
Planning a QC process starts with the question: “What are the QC requirements for the each of the programme's destinations?”
That is to say, what quality checks will a Broadcaster, Publisher or Buyer of a programme want carried out and what standards and tolerances do they want each programme to be measured against?
Once this is known, it is possible to put together a number of checks (QC Items) into one or more groups (QC Templates) so the programme can be tested.
It’s these QC Templates that make up the backbone of a QC workflow.