Proxy Video is a form of metadata. It consists of highly compressed, very low resolution video (with sound) that mirrors a high resolution original master digital recording. Since proxy AV data is timecode synchronized with the original, much smaller in size, and can be sent faster than real-time over TCP/IP networks, it can be used quickly for viewing, scripting and editing.
In many applications, such as television news, it saves time to edit the proxy AV data first and then automatically edit the high-resolution data based on the proxy. Using this method, editing can occur in the field on laptop computers equipped with nonlinear editing software. Use of proxy data is a practical alternative to shipping videotapes or scheduling satellite feeds from remote locations.
The ability to use proxy video in a file-based, networked video facility is considered a major enhancement to workflow in many types of television production. It enables a producer sitting at a PC in New York to send a video clip from a VTR in Moscow to a server in Los Angeles.