Multimedia Multimedia A medium plural media is something

Multimedia

Multimedia • A medium (plural media) is something that a presenter can use for presentation of information • Two basic ways to present information are: – Unimedium presentation • Presenter uses a single medium to present information – Multimedia presentation • Presenter uses more than one medium to present information • Multimedia presentation of any information enhances comprehension capability of its user because it involves use of multiple senses by the user

Common Media • Common media for storage, access, and transmission of information are: – – – Text (alphanumeric characters) Graphics (line drawings and images) Animation (moving images) Audio (sound) Video (Videographed real-life events) • Multimedia in information technology refers to use of more than one of these media for information presentation to users

Multimedia computer • Multimedia computer system is a computer having capability to integrate two or more types of media (text, graphics, animation, audio, and video) • In general, data size for multimedia information is much larger than plain text information • Hence, multimedia computer systems require: – – – Faster CPU Larger storage devices (for storing large data files) Larger main memory (for large data size) Good graphics terminals I/O devices to play any multimedia

Multimedia Components • Text Media – Keyboards, electronic writing pads, OCRs, terminal screens, and printers are some commonly used hardware devices for processing text media • Graphics – Computer graphics deals with tools and technologies for generating, representing, manipulating, and displaying pictures with a computer • Animation Media – Animation deals with displaying a sequence of images at a reasonable speed to create an impression of movement. For a jerk-free full motion animation, 25 to 30 frames per second is required

Multimedia Components • Virtual Reality – Virtual reality is a relatively new technology using which the user can put a pair of goggles and a glove and tour a threedimensional world that exists only in the computer, but appears realistic to the user – Virtual reality applications use animation extensively • Audio – Computer audio deals with tools and technologies for synthesizing, recording, and playing of audio or sound with a computer

Multimedia Components • Audio information travels in natural medium in the form of sound waves that are analog • To enable a computer to deal with audio information, a device must convert sound waves from analog to digital form • Transducer is a device that converts signals from one form to another • Microphone is a transducer that converts sound waves to electrical signals, and loudspeaker is a transducer that converts electrical signals to sound waves • Analog signals are continuous tone of smooth fluctuations, while digital signals are discrete values in the form of numbers

Multimedia Components • Video – Video deals with tools and technologies for recording and displaying a sequence of images (frames) at a reasonable speed to create an impression of motion

Multimedia Components • Video information travels in natural medium in the form of light waves that are analog • To enable a computer to deal with video information, a device must convert light waves from analog to digital form • Video camera is a transducer that converts light waves to electrical signals, and monitor is a transducer that converts electrical signals to light waves • Analog-to-digital conversion of video also involves sampling and quantization of analog video signals

Multimedia application • • • Multimedia books and e-Books Digital library Multimedia presentation Foreign language learning Video games Special effects in movies Animation films Animated advertisements Multimedia kiosk Virtual shops and shopping malls Multimedia conferencing Interactive TV