History of the Open Media Project

Initially funded by a Knight NewsChallenge grant, in 2008 Open Media Foundation (formerly Deproduction) updated the Drupal modules used in the automated, user-driven operation at Denver Open Media into a generalized solution that would work for other stations with a variety sizes and workflows. In early 2009, OMF began implementing a beta version of the tools at Denver Open Media and six other public access stations that agreed to partner in the project. The initial beta partners were: Amherst Community Television, Boston Neighborhood Network, channelAustin, Davis Media Access, Denver Open Media, Portland Community Media, Urbana Public Television.

At the end of 2009, the modules developed as part of the project were be released as an installation profile making it easier for additional groups to adopt the tools. This installation profile hasn't been updated in almost a year and no longer pulls current releases of the included modules. It is recommended that you avoid this profile and instead visit the individual module pages to obtain current releases. Open Media Founation is currently working on an updated and stable version of the install profile. An updated version of the install profile is expected within the next few months. .

As of 2010, locations using the Open Media Project can have video content uploaded, transcoded and downloaded between their station and Internet Archive. This functionality is an important step toward fully automated video sharing. Additionally, user-based and rules-based automated scheduling has been significantly developed and currently work with both Telvue and Tightrope playback servers. Open Media Foundation will soon begin work on integrating these scheduling functions with Leightronix playback servers.