Multimedia Systems Design

Multimedia:
Multimedia means that computer information can be represented through audio,
video, and animation in addition to traditional media (i.e., text, graphics drawings, images).
A good general definition is:
Multi: Many, Multiple,
Media: Tools that are used to represent or do some certain things, delivery medium, a form
of mass communication – newspaper, magazine / tv.
Distribution tool & information presentation – text, graphic, voice, images, music and etc.

Multimedia:
Multimedia is more than one parallel presentation medium (for example, on CD-
ROM or a Web site). Although still images are a different medium than text, multimedia is
typically used to mean the combination of text, sound, and/or motion video. Some people
might say that the addition of animated images (for example, animated GIF on the Web)

Components of Multimedia:
The various components of multimedia are Text, Audio, Graphics, Video and Animation. All
these components work together to represent information in an effective and easy manner.
1)Text: Text is the most common medium of representing the information. In multimedia,
text is mostly use for titles, headlines, menu etc.
2)Audio: In multimedia audio means related with recording, playing etc.
3)Graphics: Every multimedia presentation is based on graphics. The used of graphics in
multimedia makes the concept more effective and presentable. the commonly used
software for viewing graphics are windows Picture, Internet Explorer etc.
4)Video: Video means moving pictures with sound. It is the best way to communicate with
each other.
5)Animation: In computer animation is used to make changes to the images so that the
sequence of the images appears to be moving pictures.

Graphics Design and Print media:

Graphic design, also known as communication design, is the art and practice of planning and
projecting ideas and experiences with visual and textual content. The form of the
communication can be physical or virtual, and may include images, words, or graphic forms.
An Analog and Digital system
Analogue signals: These are usually older electronic gadgets (introduced before the mid
1990’s). A good example of an analogue signal is the loud-speaker of a stereo system. When
the volume is turned up the sound increases slowly and constantly.
Examples of analogue systems include;
Old radios, megaphones and the volume control on old telephone hand sets.
Digital signals: Modern electronic products such as computers and mobile phones depend
on digital signals. However, a good example of a digital signal is Morse Code. The signal is
sent as a series of ‘on’ and ‘off’ pulses. The signal is either present or it is not. Morse code
was introduced in 1837 by Samuel Morse, as a method of communication.
 Hypermedia and Multimedia:
Multimedia:
When we talk about multimedia, first things comes into mind are graphics, drawings,
music and videos and that is right. So, the definition of multimedia, is any kind of computer
or other technological information and material which can be presented through images,
graphics, drawings, videos, music or animations.
Hypermedia:
Hypermedia is a complex term than multimedia. A little effort will be required to
completely understand its core concept. Hypermedia means converting graphics, audios,
videos, text, animation, hyperlinks, drawings, etc.
If you are reading a document or book on your computer, it allows you to navigate
on any part of the document. It is also the fundamental and structural part of the World
Wide Web.
Hypermedia Example
Using a web browser, anyone can browse through pages of online newspapers, read
articles, and view pictures or audio/video presentations. In addition, readers can locate a
specific article by performing index searches, or by typing detailed requests. In some cases,
the user may participate in chat groups and provide feedback to the editors. This type of
interactivity requires bringing together images, text, audio, and video elements.
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is the largest and most commonly used hypermedia application. Its
popularity is due to the amount of information available from web servers, the capacity to
post such information, and the ease of navigating such information with a web browser.
(WWW) Technology is maintained and developed by the World Wide Web Consortium
(W3C),
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
Stands for "Hypertext Transfer Protocol." HTTP is the protocol used to transfer data over the
web. It is part of the Internet protocol suite and defines commands and services used for
transmitting webpage data.
HTTP is short for HyperText Transfer Protocol. HTTP is the underlying protocol used by the
World Wide Web and this protocol defines how messages are formatted and transmitted,
and what actions Web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands.
HTTP also defines commands such as GET and POST, which are used to handle form
submissions on websites.
HyperText Markup Language (HTML)
Hyper Text Markup Language, commonly abbreviated as HTML, is the standard markup
language used to create web pages. Along with CSS, and JavaScript, HTML is a cornerstone
technology used to create web pages, as well as to create user interfaces for mobile and
web applications.

MULTIMEDIA SOFTWARE TOOLS

These tools are really only the beginning - a fully functional multimedia project can also call
for stand-alone programming as well as just the use of
predefined tools to fully exercise the capabilities of machines.
• Music sequencing and notation
• Digital audio
• Graphics and image editing
• Video editing
• Animation
• Multimedia authoring
Music Sequencing and Notation
 Cakewalk: Cakewalk is a well-known older name for what is now called Pro Audio.
The firm producing this sequencing and editing software, Twelve Tone Systems, also
sells an introductory version of their software, "Cakewalk Express", The term
sequencer comes from older devices that stored sequences of notes in the MIDI
music language
 Cubase: Cubase 1S another sequencing/editing program, with capabilities similar to
those of Cakewalk.. It includes some digital audio editing tools
 Macromedia Soundedit : Soundedit is a mature program for creating audio for
multimedia projects and the web that integrates well with other Macromedia
products
Digital Audio
Digital Audio tools deal with accessing and editing the actual sampled sounds that make
up audio.
 Cool Edit: Cool Edit is a powerful, popular digital audio toolkit with capabilities (for
PC users, at least) that emulate a professional audio studio, including multitrack
productions and sound file editing, along with digital signal processing effects.
 Sound Forge: Sound Forge is a sophisticated PC-based program for editing WAY files.
Sound can be captured from a CD-ROM drive or from tape or microphone through
 the sound card, then mixed and edited. It also permits adding complex special
effects.
 Pro Tools: Pro Tools is a high-end integrated audio production and editing
environment that runs on Macintosh computers as well as Windows. Pro Tools offers
easy MIDI creation and manipulation as well as powerful audio mixing, recording,
and editing software.
Graphics and Image Editing:
 Adobe Illustrator: illustrator is a powerful publishing tool for creating and editing
vector graphics, which can easily be exported to use on the web.
 Adobe Photoshop: Photoshop is the standard in a tool for graphics, image
processing, and image manipulation. Layers of images, graphics, and text can be
separately manipulated for maximum flexibility, and its "filter factory" permits
creation of sophisticated lighting effects.
 Macromedia Freehand: Freehand is a text and web graphics editing tool that
supports many bitmap formats, such as GIF, PNG, and JPEG. These are pixel-based
formats, in that each pixel is specified. It also supports vector-based formats, in
which endpoints of lines are specified instead of the pixels themselves, such as SWF
(Macromedia Flash) and FHC (Shockwave Freehand). It can also read Photoshop
format.
Video Editing:
 Adobe Premiere: Premiere is a simple, intuitive video editing tool for nonlinear
editing - putting video clips into any order. Video and audio are arranged in tracks,
like a musical score. It provides a large number of video and audio tracks,
superimpositions, and virtual clips. A large library of built-in transitions, filters, and
motions for clips allows easy creation of effective multimedia productions.
 Adobe After Effects: After Effects is a powerful video editing tool that enables users
to add and change existing movies with effects such as lighting, shadows, and
motion blurring. It also allows layers, as in Photoshop, to permit manipulating
objects independently.
Animation:
 Multimedia AP Is Java3D is an API used by Java to construct and render 3D graphics,
similar to the way Java Media Framework handles media files. It provides a basic set
of object primitives (cube, splines, etc.)
 OpenGL was created in 1992 and has become the most popular 3D API in use today.
OpenGL is highly portable and will run on all popular modern operating systems,
such as UNIX, Linux, Windows, and Macintosh.
 GIF Animation Packages For a simpler approach to animation that also allows quick
development of effective small animations for the web, many shareware and other
programs permit creating animated GIF images.
Multimedia Authoring: Tools that provide the capability for creating a complete multimedia
presentation, including interactive user control, are called authoring programs.
 Macromedia Flash: Flash allows users to create interactive movies by using the score
metaphor - a timeline arranged in parallel event sequences, much like a musical
score consisting of musical notes. Elements in the movie are called symbols in Flash.
Symbols are added to a central repository, called a library, and can be added to the
movie's timeline.
 Macromedia Director: Director uses a movie metaphor to create interactive
presentations. This powerful program includes a built-in scripting language, Lingo,
that allows creation of complex interactive movies
 Authorware : Authorware is a mature, well-supported authoring product that has an
easy learning curve for computer science students because it is based on the idea of
flowcharts (the so-called iconic/flow-control metaphor). It allows hyperlinks to link
text, digital movies, graphics, and sound.
Characteristics of Multimedia Systems:
A Multimedia system has four basic characteristics:
 Multimedia systems must be controlled by computer.
 Multimedia systems are integrated.
 The information must be presented digitally.
 Interactive elements usually present in the interface of the final presentation.
Challenges for multimedia systems:
 Sequencing within the media -- playing frames in correct order/time frame in
video
 Synchronization -- inter-media scheduling (e.g. Video and Audio in Lip
synchronization)
 Digitization -- translated from analog source to digital representation
 Data Compression – data storage, transfer (bandwidth) and processing overheads
are high
Linear VS Non-Linear
Linear
A Multimedia Project is identified as Linear when:
 It is not interactive
 Users have no control over the content that is being showed to them.
 users can sit back and watch it just as they do a movie or the television.
 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

Multimedia Developers, Multimedia Project & Multimedia Title

The people who weave multimedia into meaningful wall hanging are called
multimedia developers.
The software, the messages, and the content presented on a computer, television
screen, PDA (personal digital assistant), or mobile phone together constitute a
multimedia project.
If the project is to be shipped or sold to consumers or end users, typically delivered
as a download on the Internet but also on a CD-ROM or DVD in a box or sleeve, with
or without instructions, it is called a multimedia title.
Elements of Multimedia
Text
 A broad term for something that contains words to express something.
 Text is the most basic element of multimedia.
 A good choice of words could help convey the intended message to the users
(keywords).
 Used in contents, menus, navigational buttons
Graphic:
 Two-dimensional figure or illustration
 Could be produced manually (by drawing, painting, carving, etc.) or by computer
graphics technology.
  Used in multimedia to show more clearly what a particular information is all about
(diagrams, picture).
Audio:
 Produced by vibration, as perceived by the sense of hearing.
 In multimedia, audio could come in the form of speech, sound effects and also music
score.
Animation:
 The impression of motion created by the consecutive display of images of static
elements.
 In multimedia, animation is used to further enhance / enriched the experience of the
user to further understand the information conveyed to them.
Video:
 It is the technology of capturing, recording, processing, transmitting, and
reconstructing moving pictures.
 Video is more towards photo realistic image sequence / live recording as in
comparison to animation.
 Video also takes a lot of storage space. So plan carefully before you are going to use
it.
Tools
Audio Graphics
 Adobe audition  openGL
 Fruity loops  3D Max
 Sound Foundry  Maya
 Audacity (free)
Video Text, Images & Animations
 Ulead Video studio  PhotoShop
 Pinnacle Studio  HTML5
 Windows Movie Maker ( Free)  CSS3
 Adobe Premiere Pro  Jquery
 Camtasia  Gif Animator
 Sony Vegas
Importance of Multimedia
There are a number of fields where multimedia could be of use. Examples are: -
 Business
 Education
 Entertainment
 Home
 Public Places
Business
Use and Applications
 Sales / Marketing Presentation
 Trade show production
 Staff Training Application

Education Home
Use and Applications Use and Applications
 Courseware / Simulations  Television
 E-Learning / Distance Learning  Satellite TV
 Information Searching  SMS services (chats, voting,
reality TV)

Entertainment Public Places

Use and Applications Use and Applications

 Games  Smart Cards

 Movies  Security

 Video on Demand
 Online