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Reference.org
Content reference identifier
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<p>A content reference identifier or CRID is a concept from the standardization work done by the <a href="/facts/TV-Anytime/VtCS5EMY">TV-Anytime</a> forum. It is or closely matches the concept of the <a href="/facts/Uniform_Resource_Locator/pPD5g7Wq">Uniform Resource Locator</a>, or URL, as used on the <a href="/facts/World-Wide_Web/wvnTrWFq">World-Wide Web</a>: </p> <blockquote><p>A unit of content, in a <a href="/facts/Broadcasting/AV1f3dGy">broadcast stream</a>, can be referred to by its globally unique CRID in the same way that a <a href="/facts/Webpage/5JK7xQLe">webpage</a> can be referred to by its globally unique URL on the web.</p></blockquote> <p>The concept of CRID permits referencing contents unambiguously, regardless of their location, i.e., without knowing specific broadcast information (time, date and channel) or how to obtain them through a network, for instance, by means of a streaming service or by downloading a file from an Internet server. </p><p>The receiver must be capable of resolving these unambiguous references, i.e. of translating them into specific data that will allow it to obtain the location of that content in order to acquire it. This makes it possible for recording processes to take place without knowing that information, and even without knowing beforehand the duration of the content to be recorded: a complete series by a simple click, a program that has not been scheduled yet, a set of programs grouped by a specific criterion… </p><p>This framework allows for the separation between the reference to a given content (the CRID) and the necessary information to acquire it, which is called a “locator”. Each CRID may lead to one or more locators which will represent different copies of the same content. They may be identical copies broadcast in different channels or dates, or cost different prices. They may also be distinct copies with different technical parameters such as format or quality. </p><p>It may also be the case that the resolution process of a CRID provides another CRID as a result (for example, its reference in a different network, where it has an alternative identifier assigned by a different operator) or a set of CRIDs (for instance, if the original CRID represents a TV series, in which case the resolution process would result in the list of CRIDs representing each episode). </p><p>From the above it can be concluded that provided that a given content can belong to many groups (each possibly defined by distinctive qualities), it is possible that many CRIDs carry the same content. That is, several CRIDs may be resolved into the same locator. </p><p>A CRID is not exactly a universal, unique and exclusive identifier for a given content. It is closely related to the authority that creates it, to the resolution service provider, and to the content provider in such a way that the same content may have different CRIDs depending on the field in which they are used (for example, a different one for each television operator that has the rights to broadcast the content). </p>