Chapter One:

Overview of multimedia and multimedia systems

Information Technology
3rd Year
Multimedia Systems
2016 E.C Dawit Teklu(MSc.)
1
 Outlines
 overview of multimedia and multimedia systems
 why multimedia
 types of media
 application areas

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 What is multimedia?
• Multi: more than one
• Medium (singular): middle, intermediary, mean
• Media (plural): means for conveying information
 Media in the press, newspaper, radio and TV context - mass media
 Media in communications: cables, satellite, network – transmission media
 Media in computer storage: floppy, CD, DVD, HD, USB – storage media
 Media in HCI context: text, image, audio, video, CG – interaction media
Multimedia is a presentation of a computer application
incorporating media elements such as text, graphics, animations
, audio, and video.
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 What is Multimedia in terms of Computing

Computing: Computer-based technologies and applications

 What computers? Various forms of computers/devices!
In terms of computing, four fundamental multimedia attributes:
1. Digitized: All media including audio/video are represented in digital
format
2. Distributed: The information conveyed is remote, either pre-produced and
stored or produced in real-time, distributed over networks
3. Interactive: When the user is given the option of controlling the
elements of the multimedia project .
4. Integrated: The media are treated in a uniform way, presented in an
orchestrated way, but are possible to manipulate independently
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 What is Multimedia in terms of Computing

Definition of Multimedia:
Computer-based techniques of text, images, audio, video, graphics,
animation, and any other medium where every type of information
can be represented, processed, stored, transmitted, produced and
presented digitally.

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 Multimedia can be classified
LINEAR
• A Multimedia Project is identified as Linear when:
– It is not interactive
– User have no control over the content that is being showed to them.
• Example:
– A movie
– A non-interactive lecture / demo show

NON-LINEAR
• A Multimedia Project is identified as Non-Linear when:
– It is interactive , users have control over the content that is being showed to them.
– Users are given navigational control
• Example:
– Games
– Courseware
– Interactive CD
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Benefits of Multimedia

10% of what they read

20% of what they hear

30% of what they see

50% of what they hear and see

80% of what they hear, see and say

90% of what they hear, see, say

and touch
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What are the media components?
 Text - ASCII/Unicode, HTML, Postscript,
PDF
 Audio – Sound, music, speech, structured
audio (e.g. MIDI)
 Still Image - Facsimile, photo, scanned
image
 Video (Moving Images) – Movie, a
sequence of pictures
 Graphics – Computer produced image
 Animation – A sequence of graphics
images

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 Classification of media types
Time/Space
nature

Sound Video Animation

Continuous
or time-based

Photo Text Graphics

Discrete
or space-based
Origin
Captured Synthesized
from real world by computer
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 Captured Versus Synthesized Media
• Captured media refers to information types captured from the real world (e.g.
Still pictures, moving pictures, and sound).
• Synthesized media refers to information types synthesized by the computers (e.g.
Text, graphics and computer animation).

Discrete Versus Continuous Media

• Discrete media refers to media involving space dimension only (e.g. Still
images, text and graphics). Discrete media is also referred to as static media
or non-time-based media or non-temporal media or space-based media.
• Continuous (time based) media refers to time-based media (e.g. Sound,
moving images, and animation). Continuous media is also referred to as
dynamic media or time-based media or temporal media.
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 Characteristics of Multimedia System
1. They must be computer-controlled.
User is able to view, hear, and see using a Multimedia PC System.
2. They are integrated.
At least one discrete and one continuous media combined for information presentatio
n design sharing
3. The information they handle must be represented digitally.
Consists of various form of media i.e. text, graphics, audio, video, and animations; cr
eated, stored, processed, and transmitted DIGITALLY.
4. The interface to the final user may permit interactivity.
User is able to navigate, interact, create, and communicate.

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General Overview of a Multimedia System

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 Benefits of using multimedia in software

• Ease of use
User friendly, increase user’s effectiveness
• Intuitive Interface
Allows user to determine functions of an application by their own
intuition
• Immersive Experience
 Software application takes over the entire computer screen, allows user
to focus on application

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 Benefits of using multimedia in software

• Self-paced interaction and better retention

- allows information processing at one’s own pace

• Better understanding
- simultaneous presentation of different media provides richer & broader
range of information.

• Cost effectiveness
- less training, less technical support
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 Multimedia applications
• Examples of typical present multimedia applications include:
– Digital video editing and production systems.
– Electronic newspapers/magazines.
– World Wide Web.
– On-line reference works: e.g. encyclopedias, games, etc.
– Home shopping.
– Interactive TV.
– Multimedia courseware.
– Video conferencing.
– Video-on-demand.
– Interactive movies.

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 Where to use multimedia ?

• Business
• Government
• Education
• Broadcasting and Entertainment
• Research and Development
• Health
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 Business
Interactive Multimedia Merchandising
• Online-shopping Kiosks
• Virtual shopping / home shopping
http://www.thevirtualmall.co.uk/
Desktop Videoconferencing
• Due to the high cost of transportation and the large amount of employee time spent
traveling to meetings, videoconferencing is on the rise.

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 …continued
Multimedia Travel Systems
• These systems enable the travel agents to show their customers about
where they will travel, what will be their accommodation like, and what
they will be able to do at their destinations.
www.visitmalaysia.com.my
Real Estate
• Multimedia systems enable buyers to visit hundreds of properties
virtually, view on screen photos of homes, inspect floor plans, see street
maps, and study neighborhood demographics.
www.penangtimessquare.com

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 …continued
Corporate Training
• Many corporations have used multimedia to reduce training cost and
improve employee productivity.

Advertising and Electronics Brochures

• The electronic brochure is an advertising and marketing tool that
usually consists of single diskette or CD-ROM sent to targeted
audiences. Corporations are also beginning to offer shareholders annual
reports on CD-ROM.
www.porsche.com
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 Government
Public Service Kiosks
• Multimedia kiosks convey public service information such as jobs and
employment opportunities.
• City-info kiosks offer to citizens and travelers the ability to find
information on addresses, points of interest, shops, restaurants, public
transportation, hours of opening, guided tours, city transport info.

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 …continued
Politics
• Multimedia in general and internet in particular are playing a big role in
politics and virtual campaigning where every political candidate
contesting in an election has a web site.

Consumer Information
• Multimedia based CD-ROMs are available which contains government
information on a wide variety of topics: government forms, list of gover
nment offices in each state, tax preparation etc.

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 Education
Computer Aided Learning
• To assist student through simulation for better understanding such as
volcano eruption, corrosion, language pronunciation, etc.
www.quiz-tree.com

Virtual Campus
• Learning takes place in a virtual classroom using video conferencing and
online lecture so that students all around the world can attend.

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 Broadcasting and Entertainment
Electronic catalogue
• Product features and descriptions are advertised through web, CD and
mobile devices.
• Interactive Movie
• Viewers can decide the direction of the plot of the movie and camera angle.
On-demand News or movies
• News, movies and TV series can be watched on demand through web and
mobile devices.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com
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 …continued
3D or animated movies
• Movies created through advance 3D technology and
animation techniques.

Video Games
• Advances in the field of multimedia have led to
more attractive video and computer games being
available now in the consumer market.

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 …continued
Virtual Reality
• Virtual Reality refers to the use of a computer to immerse the
user into a simulated experience that it seems real. Virtual
reality systems often use special hardware to enhance the
experience, including visual displays.

Cyber Sports
• Cyber Sports is the use of virtual reality to provide computer users with a realistic
sports experience. Two new interactive virtual reality devices let you “Swing” and
“Hit” balls at your PC.

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 Medicine
Virtual Surgery
• Virtual surgery authoring system has been created for producing surgical training
simulation.
• Surgeons can use 3-D images created from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans
of the human body to practice complicated procedures such as brain tumor removal and
reconstructive surgery.

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 …continued
Video Conferencing and Image Retrieval
• The use of imaging techniques (X-Rays, CT, MRI etc) is growing in health care. The
collection, maintenance, processing and distribution of these records can be significantly
improved by using computer based storage and multimedia networking. Once these
records are integrated with the on-line patient information and easily shared by both
local and remote physicians, it results in a large number of benefits like reduced cost and
improved care.

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 Multimedia Products
• Briefing
eg: corporate presentation, sales presentation and educational lectures.

• Reference
eg: encyclopedias, dictionaries

• Database
eg: library system, phone directory

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 …continued
• Education and Training
eg: - Instructor support products – Resource materials for instructors
- Standalone or self-paced products – Learning bmaterials for students to study at
their own pace
• Kiosk
eg: bank machines, mall information centers.

• Entertainment and Games

eg: computer games and movies.

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 Problems with Multimedia
• Investment costs
- multimedia involves high volume of content
- expensive copyright and royalty
• Technical barriers (accessibility issues)
- upgrade IT and PC infrastructure
• Socio psychological barriers
- Generation gap
- Learning rates
- Learning in group/individual
• Legal problems
- Copyright

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 Multimedia Research Topics and Projects
• To the computer science and Information Technolog yresearcher, multimedia
consists of
a wide variety of topics:
1. Multimedia processing and coding: multimedia content
analysis, content-based multimedia retrieval, multimedia
security, audio/image/video processing, compression, etc.
2. Multimedia system support and networking: network
protocols, Internet, operating systems, servers and clients,
quality of service (QoS), and databases.
3. Multimedia tools, end-systems and applications: hypermedia systems, user
interfaces, authoring systems.
4. Multi-modal interaction and integration: “ubiquity”
web-everywhere devices, multimedia education including Computer Supported
Collaborative Learning, and design and applications of virtual environments.

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 Current Multimedia Projects
• Many exciting research projects are currently underway. Here
are a few of them:
1. Camera-based object tracking technology: tracking of the control objects provides
user control of the process.
2. 3D motion capture: used for multiple actor capture so that multiple real actors in a
virtual studio can be used to automatically produce realistic animated models with
natural movement.
3. Multiple views: allowing photo-realistic (video-quality) synthesis of virtual actors
from several cameras or from a single camera under differing lighting.
4. 3D capture technology: allow synthesis of highly realistic facial animation from
speech.

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5. Specific multimedia applications: aimed at handicapped persons with low vision
capability and the elderly - a rich field of endeavour.
6. Digital fashion: aims to develop smart clothing that can communicate with other such
enhanced clothing using wireless communication, so as to artificially enhance human
interaction in a social setting.
7. Electronic Housecall system: an initiative for providing interactive health monitoring
services to patients in their homes
8. Augmented Interaction applications: used to develop interfaces between real and
virtual humans for tasks such as augmented storytelling.

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 Hypermedia and Multimedia
• A hypertext system: meant to be read nonlinearly, by following links that point to
other parts of the document, or to other documents
(Figure below)

• HyperMedia: not constrained to be text-based, can include

other media, e.g. graphics, images and especially the continuous media - sound and
video.

- The World Wide Web (WWW) - the best example of a hypermedia application.

• Multimedia means that computer information can be represented through audio,

graphics, images, video, and animation in addition to traditional media.

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 World Wide Web

• The W3C has listed the following goals for the WWW:
1. Universal access of web resources (by everyone everywhere).
2. Effectiveness of navigating available information.
3. Responsible use of posted material.
• History of the WWW (1960s-today)

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 Overview of Multimedia Software Tools
• The categories of software tools briefly examined here are:

1. Music Sequencing and Notation (Cakewalk, Cubase, Macromedia Soundedit)

2. Digital Audio (Cool Edit, Sound Forge, Pro Tools)

3. Graphics and Image Editing (Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia Fireworks,
Macromedia Freehand)

4. Video Editing (Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects, Final Cut Pro)

5. Animation (Java3D, DirectX, OpenGL, 3DStudio Max, Softimage XSI, Maya, RenderMan)

6. Multimedia Authoring (Macromedia Flash, Macromedia Director, Authorware, Quest)

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 Text Book

 Text Books

1) Ze-Nian Li & Mark S. Drew, "Fundamentals of Multimedia", Pearson Education, 2004

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END OF TODAYS
LESSON

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