Overview
ISO/IEC 23090-8:2025 - Information technology - Coded representation of immersive media - Part 8: Network based media processing (NBMP) - defines a framework for network-based media processing that standardizes interfaces, data formats and APIs among entities connected via digital networks for remote media processing. The standard describes how media is uploaded, how processing tasks are instantiated and configured, and how dynamic media processing pipelines (workflows) are created and accessed in real time or deferred modes. It also specifies media and metadata formats exchanged between media sources, workflow managers and media processing entities (MPEs).
Key technical topics and requirements
- NBMP architecture and workflow model: Logical architecture, workflow processing model, task allocation and distribution, and workflow graph semantics.
- APIs and REST resources: Definitions for Workflow APIs, Task APIs, Function Discovery APIs and MPE APIs to support discovery, instantiation, configuration and monitoring of media processing tasks.
- Descriptors and JSON schemas: Standardized descriptor types (scheme, general, input, output, processing, requirements, configuration, startup, client-assistance, failover, events) with JSON schema definitions for interoperability.
- Task and workflow lifecycles: Lifecycle management for tasks and workflows including instantiation, state transitions and impacts across entities.
- MPE capabilities and discovery: Mechanisms to describe media processing entity capabilities and enable function discovery and selection.
- Supported protocols and interoperability: Specification of supported network protocols and mapping between logical definitions, data objects and REST resources.
- Media and metadata formats: Standardized formats for exchanging media content and metadata across sources, workflow managers and processing entities.
Practical applications and users
This standard is directly applicable to implementations that require scalable, interoperable media processing over networks, such as:
- Cloud-based transcoding, real-time streaming and adaptive streaming services
- Immersive media processing for VR/AR/360 video workflows
- Live production pipelines, remote media editing and collaborative content creation
- Media analytics, automated metadata extraction, indexing and enrichment services
- Content delivery networks (CDNs) and edge processing platforms that require dynamic pipeline composition
Primary users and implementers:
- System architects and platform engineers designing media-processing platforms
- Cloud and edge service providers offering media processing APIs
- Media processing engine vendors and integrators
- Broadcast and OTT solution developers, AV software architects
- Standards implementers and interoperability test labs
Related standards
- Part of the ISO/IEC 23090 series on coded representation of immersive media. Implementers should consider other parts of the ISO/IEC 23090 family for codec, container and metadata specifications that complement NBMP.