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Media refers to the data used in multimedia systems, such as numbers, graphics,
audio and video.
Interactivity means having a certain engagement or control over what is
accessed
An interactive multimedia product will allow the user to influence/determine the
progress of the information displayed
Navigation refers to a users ability to go towards a certain part of the system,
such as a web page
Media types used in multimedia systems have significant demands on hardware and
software to deliver image, audio and in particular video content. Distribution of
multimedia systems then becomes an issue but this can be overcome through
processing techniques and the availability of fast connection to the web. Most
multimedia systems are accessed and displayed via a browser.
Media
type
Text
Numbers
Audio
Images
Animatio
n
Video
Hyperlink
s
Text
Microsoft
Excel
Microsoft
Word
WordPad
Images
Audio
Adobe
Adobe
Audition
Illustrator
Audacity
Adobe
Garage
Photoshop
Band
Paint
Acid Xpress
Video
Animation
Hyperlinks
Adobe
Adobe Adobe Flash Dreamweav
Professional
er
Premiere
Final Cut Pro Pivot Stick Microsoft
iMovie
Figure
Expression
Web
Portable
No need for technology
Physical storage is required
Multimedia
Interactive
Easy to edit and update
Less storage is required
More up-to-date access to data
Hardware requirements
the demands placed on hardware by
multimedia systems, including:
primary and secondary storage
requirements as a result of:
- bit depth and the
representation of colour data
- sampling rates for audio data
processing as a result of:
- video data and frame rates
- image processing, including
morphing and distorting
- animation processing,
including tweening
display devices as a result of:
- pixels and resolution
GIF
frames
Animator only required to draw the key frames of movement
Graphics Interchange Format
Bitmap image format supporting up to 8 bits per pixel for each
image
Also supports animation
Areas of expertise
Multimedia products are usually designed and developed by a group of people with a
large variety of specialised skills and expertise. Small scale multimedia systems
can be developed by a single person who would take up a variety of roles while large,
complex systems will need many specialists.
Areas of expertise include:
Content provider
Web developer
Project manager
Writer
Video production personnel
System designer
Audio production personnel
Illustrators
Animators
Technical personnel
Content provider
Generally they are skilled in their field without necessarily having any technical
skills in the software or hardware areas
System designer
The system designer plans and organises the hardware and software required
for the presentation
They may act as the project manager or provide technical support
Project manager
Project manager is one of the roles taken on by the multimedia systems designer
(MSD)
The project manager oversees the preparation of specifications, design and
determining the best development approach
They organise the scheduling of various components of the multimedia product,
provide overall supervision of the components and ensures that all the
components are delivered on time
Project managers must possess strong organisation, team building and time
management skills
It would also be advantageous, particularly for the multimedia systems designer,
to have a deep knowledge of hardware, software and communication
technologies required to effectively operate and troubleshoot the multimedia
system and creativity in developing an intuitive system for both novice and
advanced users
Writer
The two main roles of a writer is to write textual content and develop storylines
for the video, animation and other content of the project
Video and audio production personnel
Technical personnel are trained to resolve hardware and software issues with
the implementation, distribution and ongoing running of the multimedia system
They work directly with other people in the project and may also support decision
making in regards to the systems hardware requirements
Their role involves technical administration rather technical work, they work to
maintain hardware specifications and do system documentation occasionally
Technical skills relate to multimedia development, collection and editing of the
media types, design and layout to support information technology used and to
troubleshoot multimedia issues (codecs)
Web developers
Web developers need an understanding of how graphics are generated for the
web to work with a graphic designer and create an effective user interface (UI)
They also need to have an understanding of what affects a multimedia system, in
terms of connectivity, to streamline content and help prevent data lag
identify participants,
data/information and information
technology for one example of a
multimedia system from each of the
major areas
describe the relationships between
participants, data/information and
information technology for one
example of a multimedia system from
each of the major areas
discuss environmental factors that
will influence the design of a
multimedia system for a given context,
and recommend ways of addressing
them
critically evaluate the effectiveness
of a multimedia package within the
context for which it has been designed
There are several major areas where multimedia systems can be categorised into:
Multimedia systems are often categorised into more than one area due to their
complexity and content. The significant features of a system accessed over the web
are mainly related to control and navigation.
Users can access multimedia system via touch screen technology, meaning
input methods for navigation will have to suit this technology
The display resolution of multimedia may be need to be adjusted to suit different
display devices
Education
and
training
Leisure and
entertainm
ent
play
Some multimedia systems focus entirely on displaying media
such as YouTube, podcasting, online radio and other streaming
services
Information
provision
Virtual
reality and
simulations
Advances in technology
advances in technology which are
influencing multimedia development
increased storage capacity
allowing multimedia products to
be stored at high resolutions
improved bandwidth allowing
transmission of higher quality
multimedia
improved resolution of capturing
devices
increases in processing power of
CPUs
improved resolution of displays
new codecs for handling
compression of media while
improving quality
New or emerging technologies that can be used to enhance the multimedia system
can include the use of:
smart tablets
developing apps
improvements in Wi-Fi and 3G networks
using virtual reality
voice to text translator
Screens
Projectors currently are mainly digitally based: LCOS, DMD or GLV based
Liquid crystal on silicon involves a reflective liquid crystal layer on top of a
silicon backplane of a lens projects images
A digital micro-mirror device has a light source project onto thousands of
microscopic mirrors in a rectangular array corresponding to pixels to be displayed
(smaller mirrors make for a sharper image)
A grating light valve involves dynamically adjustable diffraction grating for
each pixel, refracting (of red, green and blue lasers) a reversed image through a
light multiplexer onto a mirror, producing final image which doesnt require the
conversion of data from source and has a high refresh rate
This is usually classified as a transmissive LCD projector, it is suitable for both
low end applications (at home) and high end applications (in movie theatres)
Transmissive refers to the fact that light projects through an information source
rather than bouncing off it, the information to be projected is obtained first hand
by the graphics card and projector itself
Speakers are devices used to produce sounds; audio signals from a computer
are translated into analogue sound waves for transmission through the speakers
A sound card is similar to an ADC converter; it modulates input sound wave into
digital sound wave and demodulates digital sound wave into sound wave
Head-up displays and head-sets
Head-up displays (HUDs) are devices worn on the head to display information
The display is super imposed on a transparent screen, allowing the user to also
have a view of the real world in front of them
It facilitates the users view, removing the users need to refocus on what is
ahead by removing the need to look around, such as looking at gauges
A head-set can display any input being gathered, though most head sets are
audio based
These can be also used in virtual reality simulation
All software has some common features making them effective at multimedia
planning, design and deployment. Software also has specific features that can cater
for a certain type of multimedia system that can make them more functional or useful
to achieve an intended purpose. Those common features include:
Integratio
n
Work-flow
File
handling
File
conversio
n
File
optimisati
on
Software
for video
processing
Authoring
software
Animation
software
Web
browsers
and HTML
editors
Hardware processing
Devices used for multimedia systems require ample processing and storage
capabilities in terms of random access memory (RAM) and temporary storage. In a
video file, each frame will need to be temporarily stored when played.
For the CPU to work efficiently, the ratio of file size to RAM size (recommended at 1:4)
should reserve temporary storage for the devices own processes and background
programs. When RAM is filled, temporary data is allowed to be stored on a hard disk
though data transfer will become significantly slower. A device needs an adequate
amount of RAM to work multimedia content without significant lag.
Requirements for a computer to view a website are:
Multimedia software is used to integrate text, number, audio and video data. It allows
the user to bring together the separate media types. Multimedia software will
accept different media types in a variety of formats and allows the user to create
interactivity.
Compression and decompression
Compression reduces the number of bits required to represent information. It allows
the user to store more data and makes data transfer faster. Compressed data must be
decompressed to extract the original information.
CODEC (coder-decoder) is used to encode and decode (or compress and decompress)
various types of data. It is typically used for sound and video files. CODECs convert
analogue video signals into compressed video files, such as MPEG, or analogue sound
signals into digitised sound, such as RealAudio. CODECs are also used with streaming
(live video or audio).
Hypermedia
Hypermedia involves the linking of information in different types of media. Each
document is independent, and information is retrieved using hypertext.
Organising
organising presentations using
different storyboard layouts, including:
linear
hierarchical
non-linear
a combination of these
Hierarchi
cal
Nonlinear
Combinat
ion
Sequential
presentation of content
Tier-based structure
with the smallest tier
first until becomes
complex going down
the tiers
Navigation is not
prescribed or
determined;
everything is linked by
everything else
Made up of parts from
the other navigation
structures
Storyboards that focus on layout provide detail about the content of each screen
rather than navigation.
Vector graphics
Bitmap
graphics
Audio files
Audio file kb =
Lossy compression removes a number of data bytes from the file, the resulting
file is smaller in size but the quality is reduced and cannot be restored. This is
often used for audio and video files
Lossless compression retains most of the image data, replacing repeated data,
there is some data lost but it is not as severe as lossy compression. This is
mainly used for text (such as word processing), spreadsheet and database files
Collecting
collecting:
text and numbers in digital format
audio, video and images in analog
format
methods for digitising analog data
Scanners
Microphone/sound card (can be integrated into a video camera)
Digital still camera
Digital video camera
Analogue to digital conversion
Text
and
numb
er
Audio
Video
Image
s
microphone and the higher its storage capability, the more data it can
manage, allowing for simultaneous processing of audio.
Video can be recorded using a digital video camera in analogue form
and digitised using a video capture card
The video capture card interprets each frame of the video as a bitmapped image and compresses the video clip by using a compression
algorithm that analyses the changes between frames
They encode the starting frame and sequence of differences between
the frames
These video files can be directly transferred to a computer in a
compressed digital format
Digital cameras are input devices that capture images in an analogue
form which is broken into many samples or pixels (depending on
resolution) and each pixel is represented in binary, allowing the image
to be stored in digital form
A proper camera takes a raw file (a lossless format)
Digital photos are limited by the amount of memory in the camera
(including RAM), the quality of the lens, the sensors controlling light
and exposure and the output device
Photographs can also be digitised using a scanner, similarly
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