In this paper, an integrated information system is presented that offers enhanced search and retrieval capabilities to users of heterogeneous digital audiovisual (a/v) archives. This novel system exploits the advances in handling a/v content and related metadata, as introduced by MPEG-4 and worked out by MPEG-7, to offer advanced access services characterized by the tri-fold 'semantic phrasing of the request (query)', 'unified handling' and 'personalized response'. The proposed system is targeting the intelligent extraction of semantic information from a/v and text related data taking into account the nature of useful queries that users may issue, and the context determined by user profiles. From a technical point of view, it will play the role of an intermediate access server residing between the end users and multiple heterogeneous audiovisual archives organized according to new MPEG standards.