Introduction to Multimedia

Technologies
Dr. Fareed Ahmed Jokhio
 Objectives
• At the end of this lecture, students should be able
to
• Define basic terms and concepts related to
multimedia technologies.
• Understand the history and evolution of media
and multimedia technologies
• Distinguish between the types of linear and non-
linear multimedia systems
• State the four characteristic of multimedia system.
 What is multimedia
• Using more than one medium of expression or
communication.
• The use of a variety of artistic or
communicative media.
• Multimedia is the use of a computer to
present and combine text, graphics, audio,
and video with links and tools that let the user
navigate, interact, create, and communicate.
 What is multimedia
• Any visual representation that has a
combination of audio, video, animation, or
graphics. Multimedia is usually a more
enjoyable and informative experience
 What is multimedia
• Multimedia is the term used to describe two
or more types of media combined into a single
package
 What is multimedia
• The notion of Multimedia
• Consists of two words:
• Multi (Latin) = many; much;
• Medium (Latin) = An intervening substance
through which something is transmitted or
carried on.
 What is multimedia
• Multimedia is a combination of digitally
manipulated text, graphics, sound, animation
and video, to effectively communicate ideas to
users delivered by computer or any other
electronics devices.
 What is multimedia
• Multimedia is any combination of text, art,
sound, animation, and video. It is delivered to
the user by electronic or digitally manipulated
means. A multimedia project development
requires creative, technical, organizational,
and business skills
 What is multimedia
• Multimedia is the presentation of a (usually
interactive) computer application,
incorporating media elements such as test,
graphics, video, animation and sound on
computer
 Types of media
• Two broad classes:
• Static, time-independent discrete media:
Text, graphics, images. Information in these
media consist exclusively of a sequence of
individual elements without a time
component.
 Types of media
• Dynamic, time-dependent continuous media:
Sound, video. Information is expressed as not
only of its individual value, but also by the
time of its occurrence.
 Types of media
• A note: These notions of time-dependent,
discrete and continuous media do not have
any connection to the internal representation.
They only relate to the impression of the
viewer of listener.
 History of Multimedia
• 3000 B.C. The Egyptians created picture
language called hieroglyphics
• 105 A.D. Chinese began using paper and ink
• 1738 A.D. The first daily newspaper was the
"Pennsylvania Evening Post and Daily
Advertiser".
• 1828 A.D. The first comprehensive dictionary
was published by Noah Webster.
 History of Multimedia
• 1844 A.D. Samuel Morse transmitted the first
public telegraph message.
• 1876 A.D. Alexander Graham Bell invented the
telephone.
• 1919 A.D. First broadcast radio station KDKA
licensed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
 History of Multimedia
• 1936 A.D. First television broadcast made in london,
England.
• 1941 A.D. First commercial television began in the
United states.
• 1941 A.D. Z3 computer developed by German
engineer Konrad Zuse.
• 1954 A.D. Color television broadcast standards are
sent in the U.S..
• 1957 A.D. Satellite first sent informatin back to earth.
 History of Multimedia
• 1959 A.D. U.S.and Russian rockets sent
information back to earth from distance beyond
the moon.
• 1971 A.D. Intel 4004 chip developed an
integrated microprocessor chip, for the computer,
that could be programmed for different needs.
• 1976 A.D. JVC markets the first VCR with VHS
format.
• 1980 A.D. Computer network.
 History of Multimedia
• 1994 A.D. High Definition TV standards agreed
on in the U.S..
• 1999 A.D. Intel introduces the Pentium III
processor, taking personal computer to new
highs.
• 2050 A.D. Give your input. Tell where you
think we will be in the year 2050.
 History of Digital Multimedia
• 1945 Vannevar Bush oulined his idea for
MEMEX(memory and index), which compressed
and organized all information would be obtained
in the future via electromechanical apparatuses,
and available with associative tracking between
the microtext frames.
• 1960 Ted Nelson coined the term hypertext
• 1967 Nicholas Negroponte formed the
Architecture Machine Group
 History of Digital Multimedia
• 1968 Douglas Engelbart demonstratedd the
On-Line System (NLS), another very early
hypertext program.
• 1990 Tim Berners-Lee invented the HyperText
Markup Language (HTML), and the HyperText
Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
• 1993 NCSA released an alpha version of
Mosaic
 History of Digital Multimedia
• 1994 Marc Andressen et al. formed Mosaic
Communications Corporation - later the
Netscape Communications Corporation
• 1998 The W3C accepted XML version 1.0
specifications as a Recommendation- the main
focus of the W3C and supersedes HTML.
 Multimedia Building Blocks 
• Because multimedia applications are designed
as multi-sensory experiences, they are
predominantly graphic.
• The content specialist is responsible for
providing the production team with graphics
photos logos
 The Five Multimedia Elements
• Text, image, audio, video, and animation are
the five multimedia elements.
 Text
• The first multimedia element is text.
• Text is the most common multimedia element.
• Text expresses the information the developer
is trying to get across to their viewers.
• Even though pictures grab the viewers’
attention, text is a good idea to include, as
well, just in case the picture does not load. 
 Image
• The second multimedia element is image.
• An image catches the viewers’ attention much
more quickly than just plain, old text.
• Almost every multimedia application contains
images.
• The most common images are JPEGS and PNGs.
• Also, Photoshop and Paint.NET create high tech
visual effects which are common with images. 
 Audio
• The third multimedia element is audio.
• Most of the time, audio files are deployed using
plug-in media players.
• A few audio formats include RealAudio, MIDI,
Wave, WMA, and MP3.
• The developer will compress the format to
shorten the time.
• Before the file is downloaded, one can stream
the audio. 
 Video
• The fourth multimedia element is video.
• The web is the most common place where videos
are seen concerning multimedia elements.
• A few digital video formats are Flash, MPEG, AVI,
WMV, and QuickTime.
• Streaming digital videos can increase the speed of
the playback.
• Developers use videos to hold on to the viewers’
attention. 
 Animation
• The fifth multimedia element is animation.
• AdobeFlash is the most common tool for
creating these animations.
• Animations are the most creative and fun
multimedia element! 
 Multimedia Terms
• Hypertext is text which contains links to other
texts.
• The term was coined by Ted Nelson around
1965.
• Nonlinear application whereby user can
navigate freely, by following links that point to
other parts of the document, or to other
documents.
 Multimedia Terms
• HyperMedia is a term used for hypertext  which is
not constrained to be text: it can include graphics,
video and sound , for example. Apparently Ted
Nelson was the first to use this term too.
• When the application is provided with a structure
of linked elements through which the user can
navigate.
• Examples: text, picture, icon that can be clicked
and link to other pages.
 Multimedia Terms
• Multimedia means that computer information
can be represented through audio, graphics,
images, video, and animation in addition to
traditional media.
• Interactive multimedia
• User is allowed to control what and when the
elements are delivered.
 Why Multimedia?
• Ease of use - Intuitive Interface
• An intuitive interface is one that works the
way the user expects it to. In other words, we
find something intuitive when we don't have
to think about it. To create an intuitive design,
you need to understand the user's mental
model. If your design aligns with the user's
mental model, (s)he will find it intuitive.
 Why Multimedia?
• Immersive experience
• An immersive experience is an illusory
environment that completely surrounds you
such that you feel that you are inside it and
part of it. The term is associated with
technology environments that command the
senses such as virtual reality and mixed reality.
 Why Multimedia?
• self-paced interaction and better retention
• With self-paced learning, participants can
take the time they need and set their own
schedule instead of working within a structure
that was set for them by an instructor.
 Why Multimedia?
• Better understanding
• Cost effectiveness
• More fun = greater efficiency
• Accelerated learning - speed up learning
process
 Why Multimedia?
• Active participation is a way of working that
supports an individual's right to participate in
the activities and relationships of everyday life
as independently as possible. The individual is
an active partner in their own care or support
rather than being passive.
 Why Multimedia?
• Multimedia rich element in a multi-sensory
delivery environment can facilitate greater
retention of new knowledge
Cone of learning edgar dale