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What Is Multimedia

Multimedia involves integrating various media types like text, audio, images, video and animation in digital form. It allows for non-linear representation of information through hypermedia. A multimedia system is capable of processing different media and applications with features like high processing power, storage, synchronization of various media for playback, and compression techniques to handle large file sizes. Popular applications include the World Wide Web, video conferencing, interactive TV and virtual reality.

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anudeep daroji
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76 views

What Is Multimedia

Multimedia involves integrating various media types like text, audio, images, video and animation in digital form. It allows for non-linear representation of information through hypermedia. A multimedia system is capable of processing different media and applications with features like high processing power, storage, synchronization of various media for playback, and compression techniques to handle large file sizes. Popular applications include the World Wide Web, video conferencing, interactive TV and virtual reality.

Uploaded by

anudeep daroji
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is Multimedia?

Multimedia can have a many definitions these include:

Multimedia means that computer information can be represented through audio, video, and
animation in addition to traditional media (i.e., text, graphics drawings, images).

A good general definition is:

Multimedia is the field concerned with the computer-controlled integration of text, graphics,
drawings, still and moving images (Video), animation, audio, and any other media where every
type of information can be represented, stored, transmitted and processed digitally.

A Multimedia Application is an Application which uses a collection of multiple media sources


e.g. text, graphics, images, sound/audio, animation and/or video.

Hypermedia can be considered as one of the multimedia applications

What is HyperText and HyperMedia?


Hypertext is a text which contains links to other texts. The term was invented by Ted Nelson
around 1965.

Hypertext is therefore usually non-linear (as indicated below).

Definition of Hypertext

HyperMedia is not constrained to be text-based. It can include other media, e.g., graphics,
images, and especially the continuous media - sound and video. Apparently, Ted Nelson was
also the first to use this term.
Definition of HyperMedia

The World Wide Web (WWW) is the best example of hypermedia applications.

Multimedia Systems

A Multimedia System is a system capable of processing multimedia data and applications.

A Multimedia System is characterised by the processing, storage, generation, manipulation and


rendition of Multimedia informatio

Characteristics of a Multimedia System


A Multimedia system has four basic characteristics:

 Multimedia systems must be computer controlled.


 Multimedia systems are integrated.
 The information they handle must be represented digitally.
 The interface to the final presentation of media is usually
interactive.

Challenges for Multimedia Systems


Supporting multimedia applications over a computer network renders the application distributed.
This will involve many special computing techniques -- discussed later.

Multimedia systems may have to render a variety of media at the same instant -- a distinction
from normal applications. There is a temporal relationship between many forms of media (e.g.
Video and Audio. There 2 are forms of problems here

 Sequencing within the media -- playing frames in correct


order/time frame in video
 Synchronisation -- inter-media scheduling (e.g. Video and Audio).
Lip synchronisation is clearly important for humans to watch playback
of video and audio and even animation and audio. Ever tried watching
an out of (lip) sync film for a long time?

The key issues multimedia systems need to deal with here are:

 How to represent and store temporal information.


 How to strictly maintain the temporal relationships on play
back/retrieval
 What process are involved in the above.

Data has to represented digitally so many initial source of data needs to be digitise -- translated
from analog source to digital representation. The will involve scanning (graphics, still images),
sampling (audio/video) although digital cameras now exist for direct scene to digital capture of
images and video.

The data is large several Mb easily for audio and video -- therefore storage, transfer (bandwidth)
and processing overheads are high. Data compression techniques very common.

Desirable Features for a Multimedia System


Given the above challenges the following feature a desirable (if not a prerequisite) for a
Multimedia System:

Very High Processing Power


-- needed to deal with large data processing and real time delivery of
media. Special hardware commonplace.
Multimedia Capable File System
-- needed to deliver real-time media -- e.g. Video/Audio Streaming.
Special Hardware/Software needed e.g RAID technology.
Data Representations/File Formats that support multimedia
-- Data representations/file formats should be easy to handle yet allow
for compression/decompression in real-time.
Efficient and High I/O
-- input and output to the file subsystem needs to be efficient and fast.
Needs to allow for real-time recording as well as playback of data. e.g.
Direct to Disk recording systems.
Special Operating System
-- to allow access to file system and process data efficiently and
quickly. Needs to support direct transfers to disk, real-time scheduling,
fast interrupt processing, I/O streaming etc.
Storage and Memory
-- large storage units (of the order of 50 -100 Gb or more) and large
memory (50 -100 Mb or more). Large Caches also required and
frequently of Level 2 and 3 hierarchy for efficient management.
Network Support
-- Client-server systems common as distributed systems common.
Software Tools
-- user friendly tools needed to handle media, design and develop
applications, deliver media.

Components of a Multimedia System


Now let us consider the Components (Hardware and Software) required for a multimedia system:

Capture devices
-- Video Camera, Video Recorder, Audio Microphone, Keyboards,
mice, graphics tablets, 3D input devices, tactile sensors, VR devices.
Digitising/Sampling Hardware
Storage Devices
-- Hard disks, CD-ROMs, Jaz/Zip drives, DVD, etc
Communication Networks
-- Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, ATM, Intranets, Internets.
Computer Systems
-- Multimedia Desktop machines, Workstations, MPEG/VIDEO/DSP
Hardware
Display Devices
-- CD-quality speakers, HDTV,SVGA, Hi-Res monitors, Colour
printers etc.

Applications

Examples of Multimedia Applications include:

 World Wide Web


 Hypermedia courseware
 Video conferencing
 Video-on-demand
 Interactive TV
 Groupware
 Home shopping
 Games
 Virtual reality
 Digital video editing and production systems
 Multimedia Database systems

Trends in Multimedia

Current big applications areas in Multimedia include:


World Wide Web
-- Hypermedia systems -- embrace nearly all multimedia technologies and application areas.
Ever increasing popularity.
MBone
-- Multicast Backbone: Equivalent of conventional TV and Radio on the Internet.
Enabling Technologies
-- developing at a rapid rate to support ever increasing need for Multimedia. Carrier, Switching,
Protocol, Application, Coding/Compression, Database, Processing, and System Integration
Technologies at the forefront of this.

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