When a clip enters the system its accompanying metadata is captured as well. The clip's record date is added to the metadata and an expiration date is set according to the workflow.

Metadata includes:

• Two station specific clip attributes (fields), with any number of station specific clip categories within each attribute (e.g. jingles, commercials, announces, promotions, or something completely different).
• Standard attributes like time stamp, expiration date, house number, user ID, clip type (still, clip, loop), video type, source, IN/OUT frame, duration and others.
• Original clip source as well as all copies, transcodings, etc. and their locations.
• Subclips, defined in the database by marking the IN and OUT points and referencing the main clip. There is no need to re-record sub-clips.
• Use counter, to keep track how many times a clip has been broadcast, and last broadcast date. These categories are especially helpful when purging obsolete material.

All metadata descriptions can be used in searches and as criteria in record and purge requests.

Status of metadata always corresponds to the status of the media. For example, a dedicated ASTRA module actively scans the videoservers and the database for any inconsistencies or missing metadata.