Editing Advanced Authoring Format (section)

== Differences from MXF ==
AAF is designed to be a data representation of works in progress, as compared to [[Material Exchange Format]] (MXF), which is for exchanging finished media products. While MXF uses a [[KLV|Key Length Value]] (KLV) format for storage,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000013.shtml|title=Material Exchange Format (MXF)|date=2012-01-17|website=Library of Congress|access-date=2019-02-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wilkinson|first=Jim|last2=Devlin|first2=Bruce|date=September 2002|title=The Material Exchange Format (MXF) and its Application|journal=SMPTE Journal|volume=111|issue=9|pages=378–384|doi=10.5594/J18346|issn=0036-1682}}</ref> AAF uses the [[Microsoft]] [[COM Structured Storage|Structured Storage]] system.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000004.shtml|title=Advanced Authoring Format (AAF) Object, Version 1.1|date=2011-12-16|website=Library of Congress|access-date=2019-02-11}}</ref>

MXF was developed as a subtype of the AAF data model, under a zero-divergence policy, which allows for workflows that mix AAF and MXF.<ref name=":0" /> Specifically, all MXF metadata can be understood by AAF, but not all AAF metadata can be understood by MXF (and would be filtered out during encoding as a result).<ref name=":0" />