Adobe Bridge, Canto, Kyno, and Mediainfo are among the most popular Media Asset Management (MAM) and Media Display software used by creators. With countless Media Asset Management and Metadata Display programs, choosing the best one as a solo content creator or for your production team is challenging.
Three criteria can help narrow the search down:
Cost
Collaboration Capacity
Feature Set
Adobe Bridge
Adobe Bridge is a Media Asset Manager part of Adobe Creative Cloud that enables you to effectively organize, store, browse, and alter the metadata of your assets.
Where to find: Adobe's Website
Cost: FREE for Windows and $0.99 for Mac
For Collaborators:
Adobe Bridge's Shared Cache stores media from multiple users, enabling them to “browse, add, view, edit, or search their assets. Your entire team can preview and make changes to the metadata within the database"[1].
For Solo Creators:
Bridge helps organize your assets and is contoured to diverse asset types, including vectors, 3D, and Raw Files, making it a versatile MAM.
Feature Set
PROS:
Integration: Adobe Bridge is compatible with the entire Adobe Creative Suite. Select the Tools tab to access and import directly from Bridge into Adobe Media Encoder, Premiere Pro, Illustrator, and Photoshop [2].
Labeling: Star rating and color coordinating features allow you to separate high-quality and low-quality assets and visually organize them.
Metadata: With Bridge, you can view comprehensive metadata, edit tags, rename files, and add keywords.
Batch Rename System: You can rename multiple files simultaneously with the Batch Rename System [3].
Interface: View thumbnails of content and previews to sort through your assets. The Review Mode in Bridge enables you to "sort through an entire range or series of images"[4].
Raw Files: Adobe Bridge can transfer raw footage to Adobe Camera Raw, letting you preview and edit your raw media[5].
CONS:
Reviews: Adobe Bridge users assert that the program does not have a simple interface for those learning to use the software or those seeking a more facile setup[6].
Subclips: Other MAM software offer subclip and marker features, letting you select the best parts of your clips. Bridge requires you to create sub-clips in Premiere Pro, meaning you will have to export individual clips to organize them. The program does not allow you to select the best parts of your footage within Adobe Bridge itself.
Canto
Canto is a corporate Media Asset Manager designed for large-scale production companies to manage, share, search, and edit their media assets.
Where to find: Download Canto at https://www.canto.com/
Canto has app integrations for mac, windows, and google called Canto Connect, enabling the direct upload of files in bulk from your desktop. Its core feature is its seamless cloud storage platform.
Cost: The cost varies depending on your production needs. Filecamp estimates that canto prices can start at $600 per month [7].
For Collaborators:
Canto is for large teams, allowing multiple users to categorize, edit, and track metadata. With Canto’s Workspaces, users can create private libraries to collaborate with specific team members[8]. This gives access to selected users and conceals the private files in the main library. Canto's Workflow function lets you comment, approve, and reject assets in the shared space [9].
For Solo Creators:
Canto is for large production teams with copious assets[10]. However, if you are a solo creator looking for an efficient means to share your assets with clients it may be beneficial if you are willing to bear the high expense.
Feature Set:
PROS:
Integrations: Canto is compatible with Adobe Premiere Pro, Illustrator, Indesign, Photoshop, and Figma[11]. You can easily view all files stored in Canto within the app you’re working on.
List View: You can see thumbnails, filename, upload date, and additional file details, and enlarge thumbnails with the masonry grid view [6].
Preview Mode: Edit description, filename, keywords, tags, approval status, and copyright information[12].
Collections: Create Collections to share and store assets with clients [13].
Customized Search: Enables you to use keywords, tags, and filters [14].
Mobile Devices: Canto is available not only on your laptop and desktop but also on your phone, making your files accessible on multiple devices [15].
CONS:
Cost: Canto is made for large-scale production teams and production companies, making it more expensive and less conducive for solo creators and smaller teams.
Mediainfo
Mediainfo is a Media Display software that deciphers and provides extensive metadata. Mediainfo details format, file size, bit rates, tag dates, XML, codec IDs, and countless other metadata.
Where to Find: Windows, Mac Store, or mediaarea.net
Cost: Free version for Windows and $0.99 for Mac
For Collaborators:
There is no way to share your metadata with your team, making it a less optimal tool for team collaboration.
For Solo Creators:
Mediainfo is a fantastic resource for viewing all of your metadata, but it is not a Media Asset Manager for storing and saving metadata.
Feature Set:
PROS:
Data Display: Mediainfo provides metadata for containers, video, audio, text, and chapters [16].
Analytics: Mediainfo provides analytics for containers, tags, videos, audio, and subtitles [17].
Organizational Tools: Drag and drop assets into its database to see your comprehensive metadata immediately [18].
CONS:
Organization: Mediainfo is a metadata information source rather than a Media Asset Management tool. It does not organize your assets in an accessible way, and there is no search bar for footage.
Kyno
Kyno is a Media Asset Management software for large and small-scale production teams. With Kyno, your entire team can browse, label, rate, and edit the metadata of your shared assets in one place.
Where to find: https://lesspain.software/kyno/
Cost: $159.00 annually
For Collaborators:
Kyno allows multiple users to make changes to metadata stored on the shared folders you upload to your cloud storage of choice, making it beneficial for collaborators.
For Solo Creators:
While Kyno is primarily for collaborators, its numerous integrations and user-friendly interface make it a viable option for solo creators.
Feature Set:
PROS:
Integrations: Kyno integrates with the Adobe Creative Suite, DaVinci, Medinfo, and Dropbox. You can quickly transfer media and the metadata you created from Kyno to your selected application [19].
Drilldown: With the Drilldown feature, you can see a preview of all assets in your uploaded folder without having to navigate through subfolders [20].
Interface: Kyno's list and icon views allow you to preview thumbnails, tags, and additional metadata.
Detail View: You can see your assets full screen, play back your videos, place markers, and set ratings and tags. You can also see all of your metadata here.
Subclips: This allows you to mark in and out points and select the best parts of your clips, streamlining your editing process.
CONS:
Slow Syncing: Kyno can download folders and files from your drive, but saving and syncing your metadata can take adequate time.
360 Files: Kyno does not currently have an integrated 360 video viewing feature. You have to create proxies in a 360 viewer and upload them separately.
HERE'S A HELPFUL COMPARISON CHART!
References:
[1] “Work with Bridge Shared Cache.” Work with Shared and Centrally Managed Bridge Cache, Adobe Support, 26 Apr. 2021, https://helpx.adobe.com/bridge/using/centrally-manage-bridge-cache.html.
[2] Vepakomma, Teja. “Adobe Bridge Levels up Workflows with Premiere Pro Integration and New Asset Management Features.” Adobe Blog, https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2020/10/20/adobe-bridge-levels-up-workflows-with-premiere-pro.
[3] Patterson, Steve. “How to Manage and Organize Your Images with Adobe Bridge.” Photoshop Essentials, 8 June 2021, https://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/what-is-adobe-bridge/.
[4] Patterson, Steve. “How to Manage and Organize Your Images with Adobe Bridge.” Photoshop Essentials, 8 June 2021, https://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/what-is-adobe-bridge/.
[5] Sahil.Chawla, et al. “🔎 What Is Adobe Bridge and Who It Is for Now?” Https://Community.adobe.com, 9 June 2022, https://community.adobe.com/t5/bridge-discussions/what-is-adobe-bridge-and-who-it-is-for-now/td-p/11389495.
[6] Adobe Bridge Reviews & Ratings 2022 - Trustradius. https://www.trustradius.com/products/adobe-bridge/reviews.
[7] “Canto Alternative.” Filecamp, 24 June 2022, https://filecamp.com/canto-alternative/.
[8] “Collaborate with Portals and Workspaces.” Canto, 14 June 2021, https://www.canto.com/features/collaborate/.
[9] “Collaborate with Portals and Workspaces.” Canto, 14 June 2021, https://www.canto.com/features/collaborate/.
[10] “The 7 Best Metadata Editors Available in 2021.” Canto, 17 Feb. 2021, https://www.canto.com/blog/metadata-editor/.
[11] “Collaborate with Portals and Workspaces.” Canto, 14 June 2021, https://www.canto.com/features/collaborate/.
[12] “Edit/View Metadata.” Help Center, https://support.canto.com/en/support/solutions/articles/9000203940-edit-view-metadata.
[13] “How to Share Albums within My Collections: Canto.” Help Center, https://support.canto.com/en/support/solutions/articles/9000150894-share-my-collections.
[14] “Basic Search Function.” Help Center, https://support.canto.com/en/support/solutions/articles/9000030753-basic-search-function.
[15] “How to Access Canto from Your Mobile Device: Canto.” Help Center, https://support.canto.com/en/support/solutions/articles/9000138687-access-canto-on-your-mobile-device.
[16] MediaArea. “MediaInfo Is a Convenient Unified Display of the Most Relevant Technical and Tag Data for Video and Audio Files.” MediaArea, 23 June 2022, https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo.
[17] MediaArea. “MediaInfo Is a Convenient Unified Display of the Most Relevant Technical and Tag Data for Video and Audio Files.” MediaArea, 23 June 2022, https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo.
[18] MediaArea. “MediaInfo Is a Convenient Unified Display of the Most Relevant Technical and Tag Data for Video and Audio Files.” MediaArea, 23 June 2022, https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo.
[19] Signiant. “Media Management and Workflow Software.” Kyno, https://lesspain.software/kyno/integrations/.
[20] Signiant. “Media Management and Workflow Software.” Kyno, https://lesspain.software/kyno/features/.