MUTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGIES

Teacher:
Faraz khan

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 LECTURE 1

Introduction, History, Terminologies and

Applications

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Introduction to Multimedia

First consider what constitutes media. Some

examples of media are:
Ỗ Animation

Ỗ Sound

Ỗ Graphics

Ỗ Text

Ỗ Video

Ỗ Photography

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Technologies

 Hardware
 Software
 Storage
 Bandwidth
 Devices
 Formats and compressions

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Introduction to Multimedia

Multimedia involves the combination of two or more media types to

effectively create a sequence of events that will communicate an idea
usually with both sound and visual support. Typically, multimedia
productions are developed and controlled by computer.

The enabling force behind multimedia is

digital technology. Multimedia today
represents the convergence of digital
control and digital media - the PC as the
digital control system and the digital media
being today's most advanced forms of
audio and video storage and transmission.

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Introduction to Multimedia

 Multimedia = "Multiple" + "media"

 combination of text, image, computer
graphics, animation, sound, and video.
 Inveractive Multimedia - allow user to
control each media
 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.
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Introduction to Multimedia System

What is a multimedia system?

A multimedia system supports the integrated storage,
transmission and representation of the discrete media
types text, graphics and image and the continuous
media types audio and video on a digital computer.

Text, ....
Digitalize
Speech, Audio

Playback
Animation
(Still Image) Video Interactive
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History of Multimedia Systems

Newspaper were perhaps the first mass communication

medium to employ Multimedia, they used mostly text,
graphics, and images.

In 1895, Gugliemo Marconi sent his first wireless radio

transmission at Pontecchio, Italy. A few years later (in
1901) he detected radio waves beamed across the
Atlantic.

Initially invented for telegraph, radio is now a major

medium for audio broadcasting.
Television was the new media for the 20th century.
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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).

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Definition of Hypermedia
Hypermedia 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.

The World Wide Web (WWW) is the best example of hypermedia applications
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Characteristics of a Multimedia System

A Multimedia system has four basic characteristics:

Ỗ Multimedia systems must be computer controlled.

Ỗ Multimedia systems are integrated.

Ỗ The information they handle must be represented digitally.

Ỗ The interface to the final presentation of media is usually
interactive

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 Challenges for Multimedia Systems
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 are 2 forms of problems here

Sequencing within the media :
Playing frames in correct order/time frame in video

Synchronization
inter-media scheduling (e.g. Video and Audio). Lip synchronization
is clearly important for humans to watch playback of video and
audio and even animation and audio.

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 The key issues multimedia systems

Ỗ How to represent and store temporal information?

Ỗ How to strictly maintain the temporal relationships on play
back/retrieval?
Ỗ What process are involved in the above?
Ỗ Data has to represented digitally so many initial source of data needs
to be digitise -- translated from analog source to digital representation.
They will involve scanning (graphics, still images), sampling
(audio/video) although digital cameras now exist for direct scene to
digital capture of images and video.

Ỗ 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.

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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.

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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.
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Components of 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-Resolution monitors, Color printers etc.
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Applications

Ỗ World Wide Web

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

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Ỗ Business Reference
Encyclopedias, census data, yellow
pages, atlases and street directories are
examples of CD reference titles. In many
cases they are electronic versions of
reference books. The challenge for the
developer is to make it easy for the user
to find the desired information and to
effectively use other multimedia elements
such as sound, video and animation
Ỗ Education
Multimedia has the ability to
accommodate different learning styles
and can present material in a non linear
manner. It is motivating, it can be highly
interactive, it can provide feedback and
evaluate skills.
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 Ỗ Training

Every company has a need to train its employees on a

wide range of subjects from personnel policy to
equipment maintenance. A number of companies are
now training employees using multimedia enhanced
training materials.

Sometimes this is done with off the shelf multimedia

titles but many companies are producing their own in-
house multimedia training products. The Boeing
company, for instance, has an entire training division
dedicated to developing multimedia titles that instruct
mechanics and pilots on new aircraft systems.

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Ỗ Entertainment

Drawing the line between

education and entertainment in
multimedia can be almost
impossible, hence the term
'edutainment'. Multimedia can
make learning entertaining.

But multimedia also has a purely

entertainment side. Anything
that's possible in sound and
images is possible on a
multimedia CD.
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 Ỗ Business

As businesses have the need to

communicate with the outside world,
multimedia processes offer a wide
variety of options for business
presentations, marketing and sales.
Multimedia can be used at trade
shows or to produce electronic
catalogues.

The marketing of new products can

be greatly enhanced by using
multimedia, these products can be
marketed in a manner that will
provide more detailed and stimulating
information than printed media.

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Ỗ Presentations
Thousands of multimedia presentations are made in the
business world every day. Company CEOs give their
annual report to a meeting of stockholders. Sales reps
pitch their product line to a group of potential customers.
A conference keynote speaker tells an audience about
industry trends. From an electronic slide show to an
interactive video display multimedia can enhance a
presentation.
Multimedia provides the presenter with the tools to attract
and focus the audience's attention, reinforce key concepts
and enliven the presentation.
The following software programs progress from basic
presentation to complete authoring capabilities:
Microsoft PowerPoint
Adobe Premiere
Macromedia Director
Macromedia Authorware
Asymmetrix ToolBook

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Ỗ Interactive Games

Multimedia means interaction, and to

many interactive entertainment
means games. Game developers were
the pioneers in the use of multimedia
and still provide the most innovative
and interactive applications of
multimedia.

In order to attract, engage, captivate

and challenge the user multimedia
provides the fast action, vivid
colours, 3D animations and elaborate
sound effects that are essential to
entertainment.

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 Questions?

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