Chapter 3

Multimedia Data Representation

Outline
 Image/Graphic data representation
 Image Data Types
 Popular Image File Formats
 Digital Audio and MIDI

3
 Image/Graphic Data Representation
• The number of file formats used in multimedia
continues to proliferate/multiply.
• GlF and JPG image file formats are the two
formats that most web browsers can
decompress and display them.

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 Image/Graphic Data Representation

• An image could be described as two-dimensional array of

points where every point is allocated its own color.
• Every such single point is called pixel, short form of picture
element.
• Image is a collection of these points that are colored in such a
way that they produce meaningful information /data.
• Pixel (picture element) contains the color or hue and relative
brightness of that point in the image.

• Most graphic/image formats incorporate compression because of

the large size of the data.

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 Image/Graphic Data Representation
The number of pixels in the image determines the
resolution of the image.
A digital image consists of many picture elements, called
pixels
The number of pixels determines the quality of the
image- image resolution.
Higher resolution always yields better quality.
Types of Images
• There are two basic forms of computer graphics:
bit-maps and
vector graphics.
• The kind you use determines the tools you choose.
• Bitmap formats are the ones used for digital
photographs.
• Vector formats are used only for line drawings.
Bit-map images (also called Raster
Graphics)
• They are formed from pixels – a matrix of dots with
different colors.
• Bitmap images are defined by their dimension in
pixels as well as by the number of colors they
represent.
• For example, a 640X480 image contains 640 pixels
and 480 pixels in horizontal and vertical direction
respectively.
• If you enlarge a small area of a bit-mapped image,
you can clearly see the pixels that are used to create
it.
Vector graphics

• They are really just a list of graphical objects such as lines,

rectangles, ellipses, arcs, or curves – called primitives.
• Draw programs, also called vector graphics programs, are
used to create and edit these vector graphics.
• These programs store the primitives as a set of numerical
coordinates and mathematical formulas that specify their
shape and position in the image.
• This format is widely used by computer-aided design
programs to create detailed engineering and design
drawings.
• It is also used in multimedia when 3D animation is desired.
• Draw programs have a number of advantages over paint-
type program.
Types of Bitmap Images
1-bit Images
• Each pixel is stored as a single bit (0 or 1), so also referred
to as binary image.
• Such an image is also called a 1-bit monochrome image
since it contains no color.
• The value of the bit indicates whether it is light or dark
• A 640 x 480 monochrome image requires 37.5 KB of
storage

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 The Figure shows a 1-bit monochrome image
( “Lena” - a standard image used to illustrate many algorithms).

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 8-bit Gray-Scale Images
• Each pixel is usually stored as a byte (value between 0 to
255).
• The entire image can be thought of as a two dimensional
array of pixel values.
• We refer to such an array as a bitmap, a representation of
the graphics/image data that parallels the manner in
which it is stored in video memory.
• This value indicates the degree of brightness of that point.
This brightness goes from black to white
• A 640 x 480 grayscale image requires over 300 KB of
storage. 23
The Figure shows a 8-bit gray-scale image
 8-bit Color Images
• One byte for each pixel
• Supports 256 out of the millions possible, acceptable color
quality
• Requires Color Look-Up Tables (LUTs)
• A 640 x 480 8-bit color image requires 307.2 KB of storage
(the same as 8-bit greyscale).
• Examples: GIF
8-bit Color Images cont’

• Such image files use the concept of a lookup table

to store color information.
• Basically, the image stores not color but instead
just a set of bytes, each of which is an index into a
table with 3-byte values that specify the color for a
pixel with that lookup table index.
Color lookup Tables (LUTs)

• It used in 8-bit color images to store only the index, or code

value, for each pixel.
• Then, if a pixel stores, say, the value 25, the meaning is to go
to row 25 in a color lookup table (LUT).
• While images are displayed as two-dimensional arrays of
values, they are usually stored in row-column order as simply
a long series of values.
• For an 8-bit image, the image file can store in the file header
information just what 8-bit values for R, G, and B correspond
to each index.
• Figure below displays this idea.
• The LUT is often called a palette.
Color lookup Tables (LUTs) cont’

•
24-bit Color Images

• Each pixel is represented by three bytes (e.g., RGB)

• Supports 256 x 256 x 256 possible combined colors
(16,777,216)
• A 640 x 480 24-bit color image would require 921.6 KB of
storage
• Most 24-bit images are 32-bit images,
• The extra byte of data for each pixel is used to store an
alpha value representing special effect information
Image Resolution
• Image resolution refers to the spacing of pixels in an
image and is measured in pixels per inch, ppi,
sometimes called dots per inch, dpi.
• The higher the resolution, the more pixels in the image.
• A printed image that has a low resolution may look
pixelated or made up of small squares, with jagged
edges and without smoothness.
• Image size refers to the physical dimensions of an image
 3.2. Popular Image File Formats
• Choosing the right file type for your image to save in
is of vital importance.
• If you are, for example, creating image for web
pages, then it should load fast.
• So such images should be small size.
• To choose file type:
• resulting size of the image \large file size or small\
• quality of image possible by the file type
• portability of file across different platforms
• The most common formats used on internet
are the GIF, JPG, and PNG.
Standard System Independent Formats
• Graphics Interchange Format (GIF)
• Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) devised
CompuServe, initially for transmitting graphical images
over phone lines via modems.
• Limited to only 8-bit (256) color images, suitable for
images with few distinctive colors (e.g., graphics
drawing)
• Supports animation multiple pictures per file
(animated GIF)
• GIF format has long been the most popular on the
Internet, mainly because of its small size
GIF Image
 Standard System Independent Formats
PNG
• Stands for Portable Network Graphics
• It is intended as a replacement for GIF in the WWW and
image editing tools.
• GIF uses LZW compression, which is patented by Unisys.
• All use of GIF may have to pay royalties to Unisys due to the
patent.
• PNG uses unpatented zip technology for compression
• Supports interlacing
• PNG can be animated through the MNG extension of the
format, but browser support is less for this format.
Standard System Independent Formats
JPEG/JPG
• A standard for photographic image compression
• created by the Joint Photographic Experts Group
• Intended for encoding and compression of photographs and
similar images
• Takes advantage of limitations in the human vision system to
achieve high rates of compression
• Uses complex lossy compression, which allows user to set the
desired level of quality (compression).
• A compression setting of about 60% will result in the optimum
balance of quality and file size.
• Though JPGs can be interlaced, they do not support animation and
transparency unlike GIF.
Standard System Independent Formats
TIFF
• Tagged Image File Format (TIFF), stores many different types of
images (e.g., monochrome, grayscale, 8-bit & 24-bit RGB, etc.)
• Uses tags, keywords defining the characteristics of the image that
is included in the file. For example, a picture 320 by 240 pixels
would include a ‘width’ tag followed by the number ‘320’ and a
‘depth’ tag followed by the number ‘240’.
• Developed by the Aldus Corp. in the 1980s and later supported by
the Microsoft
• TIFF is a lossless format (when not utilizing the new JPEG tag which
allows for JPEG compression)
• It does not provide any major advantages over JPEG and is not as
user-controllable.
• Do not use TIFF for web images. They produce big files, and more
importantly, most web browsers will not display TIFFs.
System Dependent Formats
• Microsoft Windows: BMP
• Bit Map (BMP) is the major system standard graphics file format
for Microsoft Windows, used in Microsoft Paint and other
programs.
• It makes use of run-length encoding compression and can
efficiently store 24-bit bitmap images.
• Note, however, that BMP has many different modes, including
uncompressed 24-bit images.
• A system standard graphics file format for Microsoft Windows
• Used in Many PC Graphics programs
• It is capable of storing 24-bit bitmap images
System Dependent Formats
•Macintosh: PAINT and PICT
• PAINT was originally used in Mac Paint program, initially only for
1-bit monochrome images.
• PICT is a file format that was developed by Apple Computer in
1984 as the native format for Macintosh graphics.
• The PICT format is a meta-format that can be used for both
bitmap images and vector images though it was originally used in
MacDraw (a vector based drawing program) for storing
structured graphics.
• Still an underlying Mac format (although PDF on OS X).
3.3. Digital Audio and
MIDI
What is Sound?
• Sound is produced by a rapid variation in the average density or
pressure of air molecules above and below the current atmospheric
pressure.
• We perceive sound as these pressure fluctuations cause our eardrums
to vibrate.
• These usually minute changes in atmospheric pressure are referred to
as sound pressure and the fluctuations in pressure as sound waves.
• Sound waves are produced by a vibrating body, be it a guitar string,
loudspeaker cone or jet engine.
• The vibrating sound source causes a disturbance to the surrounding air
molecules, causing them bounce off each other with a force
proportional to the disturbance.
• The back and forth oscillation of pressure produces a sound waves.
What is Sound?

• Source — Generates Sound

• Air Pressure changes
• Electrical —Microphone produces electric signal
• Acoustic (sound)— Direct Pressure Variations
• Destination — Receives Sound
• Electrical — Loud Speaker
• Ears — Responds to pressure hear sound
 Digitizing Sound
• Microphone produces analog signal
• Computers understands only discrete(digital) entities
• This creates a need to convert Analog audio to Digital audio
— specialized hardware.
• This is also known as Sampling.
 Common Audio Formats
• There are two basic types of audio files:
1. The Traditional Discrete Audio File:
2. Streaming Audio File Formats
1. The Traditional Discrete Audio File:
• In traditional audio file, you can save to a hard drive or other digital storage
medium.
WAV: The WAV format is the standard audio file format for Microsoft
Windows applications, and is the default file type produced when conducting
digital recording within Windows.
• It supports a variety of bit resolutions, sample rates, and channels of audio.
• This format is very popular upon IBM PC (clone) platforms, and is widely
used as a basic format for saving and modifying digital audio data.
1. The Traditional Discrete Audio File:
AIF: The Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is the standard
audio format employed by computers using the Apple Macintosh
operating system.
• Like the WAV format, it supports a variety of bit resolutions,
sample rates, and channels of audio and is widely used in
software programs used to create and modify digital audio.
AU: The AU file format is a compressed audio file format
developed by Sun Microsystems and popular in the unix world.
• It is also the standard audio file format for the Java
programming language. Only supports 8-bit depth thus cannot
provide CD-quality sound.
 1. The Traditional Discrete Audio File:
MP3: MP3 stands for Motion Picture Experts Group, Audio Layer
3 Compression.
• MP3 files provide near-CD-quality sound but are only about
1/10th as large as a standard audio CD file.
• Because MP3 files are small, they can easily be transferred
across the Internet and played on any multimedia computer
with MP3 player software.
MIDI/MID: MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), is not a
file format for storing or transmitting recorded sounds, but rather
a set of instructions used to play electronic music on devices such
as synthesizers.
• MIDI files are very small compared to recorded audio file
formats. However, the quality and range of MIDI tones is
limited.
 2. Streaming Audio File Formats
• Streaming is a network technique for transferring data from a
server to client in a format that can be continuously read and
processed by the client computer.
• Using this method, the client computer can start playing the
initial elements of large time-based audio or video files before
the entire file is downloaded.
• As the Internet grows, streaming technologies are becoming an
increasingly important way to deliver time-based audio and
video data.
• For streaming to work, the client side has to receive the data
and continuously feed it to the player application.
 2. Streaming Audio File Formats
• RA/RM
• For audio data on the Internet, the de facto standard is
RealNetwork’s RealAudio (.RA) compressed streaming audio
format.
• These files require a RealPlayer program or browser plug-in.
• The latest versions of RealNetworks server and player software
can handle multiple encodings of a single file, allowing the
quality of transmission to vary with the available bandwidth.
• Webcast radio broadcast of both talk and music frequently uses
RealAudio.
• Streaming audio can also be provided in conjunction with video
as a combined RealMedia (RM) file.
 2. Streaming Audio File Formats
• ASF
• Microsofts Advanced Streaming Format (ASF) is similar to
designed to RealNetwork’s RealMedia format, in that it
provides a common definition for internet streaming media
and can accommodate not only synchronized audio, but also
video and other multimedia elements, all while supporting
multiple bandwidths within a single media file.
• Also like RealNetwork’s RealMedia format, Microsofts ASF
requires a program or browser plugin.
 2. Streaming Audio File Formats
• MOV
• Apple QuickTime movies (MOV files) can be created without
a video channel and used as a sound-only format.
• Since version 4.0, QuickTime provides true streaming
capability.
• QuickTime also accepts different audio sample rates, bit
depths, and offers full functionality in both Windows as well
as the Mac OS.
• Popular audio file formats are:
au (Unix)
aiff (MAC)
wav (PC)
Mp3(multiple)
 MIDI
• MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface.
• Definition of MIDI: MIDI is a protocol that enables computer,
synthesizers, keyboards, and other musical device to
communicate with each other.
• This protocol is a language that allows interworking
between instruments from different manufacturers by
providing a link that is capable of transmitting and receiving
digital data.
• MIDI transmits only commands; it does not transmit an
audio signal.
• It was created in 1982.
 MIDI
Components of a MIDI System
1. Synthesizer: It is a sound generator (various pitch,
loudness, tone color). A good (musician’s) synthesizer
often has a microprocessor, keyboard, control panels,
memory, etc.
2. Sequencer: It can be a stand-alone unit or a software
program for a personal computer. (It used to be a
storage server for MIDI data. Nowadays it is more a
software music editor on the computer. It has one or
more MIDI INs and MIDI OUTs.
 MIDI
Basic MIDI Concepts
• Track: Track in sequencer is used to organize the recordings. Tracks
can be turned on or off on recording or playing back.
• Channel: MIDI channels are used to separate information in a MIDI
system. There are 16 MIDI channels in one cable. Channel numbers
are coded into each MIDI message.
• Timbre: The quality of the sound, e.g., flute sound, cello sound, etc.
• Multi-timbral: capable of playing many different sounds at the same
time (e.g., piano, brass, drums,..)
• Pitch: The Musical note that the instrument plays
• Voice: Voice is the portion of the synthesizer that produces sound.
• Patch: The control settings that define a particular timbre.
 Review Questions
1. What is the difference bit map and vectors graphics? Which
one is better? Why.
2. What is grayscale Image?
3. What are the different popular file formats of images?
4. Explain briefly the common audio formats. Where we
used?
End of Chapter 3