This paper is concerned with the generation, acquisition, standardized representation and transport of video metadata. The use of MPEG standards in the design and development of interoperable media architectures and web services is discussed. A high-level discussion of several algorithms for metadata extraction is presented. Some architectural and algorithmic issues encountered when designing services for real-time processing of video streams, as opposed to traditional offline media processing, are addressed. A prototype real-time video analysis system for generating MPEG-7 Audiovisual Description Profile from MPEG-2 transport stream encapsulated video is presented. Such a capability can enable a range of new services such as content-based personalization of live broadcasts given that the MPEG-7 based data models fit in well with specifications for advanced television services such as TV-Anytime and Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions IPTV Interoperability Forum.