CineGrid Exchange

The CineGrid Exchange (CX) is a distributed digital media repository designed to support CineGrid Member-driven testbeds for digital media asset management, distribution and preservation applications.  The Exchange consists of digital media (visual and aural) of varying resolution, subject matter and format made accessible to CineGrid Members via secure high-speed networks.  

A broad range of finished programs and raw source material at 8K, 4K, 2K, HD, or SD resolutions - monoscopic, stereoscopic, digital still or motion pictures -  as well as digital audio in a variety of formats comprise the Exchange. Artistic, educational, documentary or commercial work, created as computer generated animations, scientific visualizations, or live action/camera compositions are among the Exchange assets.  Available digital file formats and compression encoding vary depending upon original source material provided by Contributors.  Over time additional formats and resolutions may be included.  

CX assets fall into the following categories:

• copyrighted works and other finished programs which in most cases include opening titles, closing credits, mixed audio and copyright notice
• test patterns/signals
• raw source materials which can include compressed and/or uncompressed live action sequences, computer generated clips or still frames, and uncompressed mixed or unmixed digital audio  

Exchange assets are stored at multiple sites linked by secure photonic networks at the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) at University of California, San Diego, Keio University - DMC, and University of Amsterdam & SARA (Amsterdam Lighthouse).

CineGrid Exchange Content Usage

The CineGrid Exchange has negotiated certain content usage rights for CineGrid Members from the content copyright holders. These content contributors maintain copyright to their work.  Certain usage restrictions apply:

• CineGrid Gold, Silver and Bronze Members have access to all finished programs and test patterns/signals held in Exchange repositories.  Finished programs can only be used for playback in demonstrations or for distribution between CineGrid Members.  In most cases, finished programs must be shown in their entirety and should not be edited, excerpted or altered in any way unless specific prior written permission is granted by the copyright holder.
• In addition to the above, CineGrid Gold and Silver Members also have access to Exchange raw source material.  This material can be edited, transcoded, and/or used for experimentation and research these CineGrid Members without restriction.

CineGrid Exchange Content is only available to CineGrid Members in good standing. CineGrid Content Usage Agreements specify that Exchange content is only made available for non-commercial use. Under all circumstances, CineGrid Members must endeavor, to the best of their reasonable abilities, to prevent distribution and disclosure of CineGrid content beyond CineGrid networks, particularly to broadcast television and the Internet, or elsewhere.

For further information or to arrange for distribution of CineGrid Exchange content from one of the Exchange repositories, CineGrid members should contact the CineGrid Exchange Director, Dana Plepys at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .