Integrated management of multimedia data and conventional data by database systems requires specific extensions and functionality of DBMSs. The open object-oriented database system VODAK provides specific mechanisms based on metaclasses to integrate databases. These mechanisms have been used to integrate a video database available on a video laser disc controlled by a laser disc processor. Using these mechanisms the data model has been tailored such that all the operations needed to view a retrieved video on the screen are made available as database operations. The adaption/extension of the data model could be done independent of a specific application incorporating the video database. The paper briefly outlines the mechanisms provided by VODAK and discusses this approach following a concrete example.

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