Introduction to Multimedia

1
Introduction to Multimedia

• Professor Jim Habermas
• jrh_at_it.rit.edu

2
Definition of Multimedia

• From etymology Multi numerous media
  medium intermediary
• In information field Multimedia means multiple
  means by which information is stored,
  transmitted, presented and perceived.

3
CD-Roms / DVDs / WWW

• In the past, the word "multimedia" made many
  users think of CD-ROMs and later DVDs, not Web
  sites. But now true multimedia has come to the
  Web with the increased online use of the rich
  media and interactivity once reserved for CDs.
• The Web is just one way to present multimedia
  along with CDs, DVDs, and other platforms.
• Programs such as Director and Flash have
  tremendously enhanced the ability to use the WWW
  for multimedia presentations

http//www.7up.com
http//www.coke.com/flashIndex1.html
4
Digital multimedia

• Digital multimedia is the field concerned with
  the computer-controlled integration of text,
  graphics, still and moving images, animation,
  sounds, and any other medium where every type of
  information can be represented, stored,
  transmitted, and processed digitally.

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Challenges of multimedia system design

• Host computing power requirement
• Data storage and management requirements.
• Cross platforms - different hardware and
  operating systems.
• Human interface - Interactivity - the user can
  control the presentation of information being
  presented.

6
Hypermedia

• Application of hypertext concept to multimedia
  documents
• Linking or embedding of multimedia objects
• System components (e.g. Word-Wide Web)
• makeup language e.g. HyperText Markup Language
  (HTML)
• directory service e.g. Uniform Resource Locator
  (URL)
• communication protocols HyperText Transfer
  Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

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OS Hardware support for multimedia

• The viewer's equipment has to be powerful enough
  to support the multimedia presentation.
• Real-time services required e.g., to satisfy the
  continuous playback requirements of media data
  such as digitized audio and video.
• Web surfers who still use a modem, the slow
  download speed can make the online multimedia
  experience sometimes frustrating.

8
Key Figure in the www

• Tim Berners-Lee is the Director of the World
  Wide Web Consortium, a Senior Research Scientist
  and the 3COM Founders Professor of Engineering in
  the School of Engineering, with a joint
  appointment in the Department of Electrical
  Engineering and Computer Science MIT's CSAIL
  where he leads the Decentralized Information
  Group (DIG), and Professor of Computer Science at
  Southampton ECS.

9
Resources
This presentation was created using Keynote
version 1.1.1 (software created by the Apple
Computer, Inc.)
Work Cited
Berners-Lee, Tim. "Tim Berners-Lee."
www.w3.org/People. 29 Aug. 2008. World Wide Web
Consortium. 2 Sept. 2008 lthttp//www.w3.org/People
/Berners-Lee/gt.
Multimedia course offered by Prof. Xie. Ken
Fritzsche. 1997. 11 August 2004
lthttp//www.cs.nps.navy.mil/people/faculty/xie/c
s3202/course.htmlgt.
Work Consulted List
(sources I have read but did not specifically use)
Garrand, Timothy. Writing for Multimedia and the
Web. Second Edition. Boston Focal
Press, 27 December 2000. 11 August 2004
lthttp//learn.elementk.com/ResourceCenter/Refere
nceBooks/toc.asp?bookid4993gt.
Professional Web Site MLA Style Crib Sheet. Dr.
Abel Scribe PhD. September 2003. 11 August 2004
lt http//www.docstyles.com/mlacrib.htmReference
sgt.