Multimodal data
What is a multimodal data plane?
A multimodal data plane is the layer that stores media, runs transforms, and serves retrieval as one system of record, rather than glue between a bucket, a warehouse, and an index.
Updated · Part of What is a multimodal database?
How it works
- Media, metadata, and embeddings share one schema.
- Transforms are columns, so there is no second pipeline product to keep in sync.
- Queries and HTTP read that same schema.
What it is not
It is not an observability dashboard, and it is not a lakehouse that only catalogs files.
multimodal data plane: this, and the thing it is confused with
| This | Not this | |
|---|---|---|
| System of record | The table that holds the media | A dashboard about the table |
| Glue | None between store, index, and job | Bucket plus warehouse plus vector DB |
| Who it is for | The application that inserts media | An analyst browsing file listings |
Where Pixeltable fits
Pixeltable is that data plane for media and models: one schema for storage, computed columns, and retrieval.
Questions
- How does multimodal data plane work?
- Media, metadata, and embeddings share one schema. Transforms are columns, so there is no second pipeline product to keep in sync. Queries and HTTP read that same schema.
- What is multimodal data plane often confused with?
- It is not an observability dashboard, and it is not a lakehouse that only catalogs files.