LECTURE 1

What is Multimedia?

The use of computers to present text, graphics, video,

animation, and sound in an integrated way
Multimedia means that computer information can be
represented through audio, video, and animation in addition
to traditional media (i.e., text, graphics drawings, images).

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.
Multimedia Application - is an application which uses a collection of multiple media
sources e.g. text, graphics, images, sound/audio, animation and/or video.

Advantages of Multimedia
1. Enhancement of Text Only Messages multimedia enhances text only presentations
by adding interesting sounds and compelling visuals
2. Improves our Traditional Audio-Video Presentation audiences are more attentive
to multimedia messages than traditional presentations done with slides or overhead
3. Gains and Hold Attention research has shown that the combination of
communication mode (audio and visual)
Learners retain 20% of what they hear
40% of what they see and hear
75% of what they see and hear and do
4. Good for computer-phobics- those who are intimidated by computer keyboards
are more comfortable with pressing buttons with a mouse or on screen
5. Multimedia is entertaining as well as educational

Four Characteristics of Multimedia System

Multimedia systems must be computer controlled.
Multimedia systems are integrated.
The information they handle must be represented digitally.
Data has to represented digitally so many initial source of data needs to be
digitize -- translated from analog source to digital representation.
The interface to the final presentation of media is usually interactive.

Benefits of Multimedia Systems

Easy to understand and easy to use

Integrated and interactive

ITEC 60 Multimedia System

 Conducive to cooperative work environment
Flexible
Supportive of large audience

Multimedia Data Elements

Text - This is the base to most applications - the on-screen display of words. The
use of different styles, fonts and colors can be used to emphasize specific
points.
Images - Seeing a picture of an object has more impact than merely reading
about it. Examples include conventional artwork, computer-generated
artwork, photographs or captured video frames.
Movies - You can present information which is normally outside the scope of the
ordinary classroom, such as medical operations or archaeological
excavations.
Animations - Animations can render a procedure more accurately than that of a
movie. For instance objects which appear blurred within a movie can be
represented more clearly.
Sounds - Sound can be used in strategic parts of the program or during a movie to
emphasize certain points. This may include speech, audio effects (e.g.
applause), ambient sound (e.g. the background sound of the sea etc.) and
music
Hypertext - is a text which contains links to other texts. The term was invented by
Ted Nelson around 1965.

Challenges for Multimedia Systems

Distributed Networks
Temporal relationship between data
o Render different data at same time continuously.
o Sequencing within the media
playing frames in correct order/time frame in video
o Synchronization - inter-media scheduling
E.g. Video and Audio Lip synchronization is clearly important for humans to
watch playback of video and audio and even animation and audio.

Key Issues for Multimedia Systems

The key issues multimedia systems need to deal with here are:
How to represent and store temporal information.
How to strictly maintain the temporal relationships on play back/retrieval
What processes are involved in the above?

ITEC 60 Multimedia System

 Data has to represented digitally AnalogDigital
Conversion, Sampling etc.
Large Data Requirements bandwidth, storage,
Data compression is usually mandatory

Desirable Features for a Multimedia System

Given the above challenges the following feature a desirable (if not a prerequisite) for a
Multimedia System:
Very High Processing Power needed to deal with large data processing and
real time delivery of media.
Multimedia Capable File System needed to deliver real-time media e.g.
Video/Audio Streaming.
Special Hardware/Software needed e.g. RAID technology.
Data Representations File Formats that support multimedia should be easy to
handle yet allow for compression/decompression in real-time.
Efficient and High I/O input and output to the file subsystem needs to be efficient
and fast. Needs to allow for real-time recording as well as playback of data.
Special Operating System to allow access to file system and process data
efficiently and quickly.
Storage and Memory large storage units (of the order of hundreds of Tb if not
more) and large memory (several Gb or more).
Software Tools user friendly tools needed to handle media, design and develop
applications, deliver media.

ITEC 60 Multimedia System

 LECTURE 2
IMAGES

In common usage, an image or picture is an artifact that reproduces the likeness of

some subjectusually a physical object or a person.
Images may be two dimensional, such as a photograph, or three dimensional such as
in a statue. They are typically produced by optical devicessuch as a cameras, mirrors,
lenses, telescopes, microscopes, etc. and natural objects and phenomena, such as the human
eye or water surfaces.

Pixel - a picture element, containing the color or the hue and relative brightness of that
point in the image.
- is a single point in a graphic image. With care, pixels in an image can be
reproduced at any size without the appearance of visible dots or squares; but in many
contexts, they are reproduced as dots or squares and can be visibly distinct when not fine
enough.

This example shows an image with

a portion greatly enlarged, in
which the individual pixels are
rendered as little squares and can
easily be seen.

Two Kinds of Computer Graphics

There are two kinds of computer graphics - raster (composed of pixels) and vector
(composed of paths).

Raster/bitmap Images
Raster images are more commonly called bitmap images. A bitmap image uses
a grid of individual pixels where each pixel can be a different color or shade.
Bitmaps are composed of pixels.

Bitmap Images are sometimes called paint graphics. Thats because bitmap
images tend to be used for photo-realistic images and for complex drawings
requiring fine detail. A bitmap is simply a matrix of pixels or a grid of pixels.
The main advantage of bitmap is:

ITEC 60 Multimedia System

 They are able to accurately represent the wide range of colors and shades
in complex images

Vector Images
Vector images tend to be used for lines, boxes, circles, polygons and other
graphic shapes that can be mathematically expressed in coordinates on a computer
screen. Vector graphics are composed of paths.

Vectorizing is good for removing unnecessary detail from a photograph. This is especially
useful for information graphics or line art.

An original photograph, a JPEG raster

image.

Vectorizing is good for reducing file sizes

for lower bandwidth delivery, while
retaining enough detail for aesthetic
appeal and photorealism

Advantages to this style of drawing over raster graphics:

This minimal amount of information translates to a much smaller file size compared
to large raster images.
Correspondingly, one can indefinitely zoom in on e.g. a circle arc, and it remains
smooth.
On zooming in, lines and curves need not get wider proportionally. Often the width
is either not increased or less than proportional.

The parameters of objects are stored and can be later modified. This means that
moving, scaling, rotating, filling etc. doesn't degrade the quality of a drawing.

Bitmap vs. Vector

ITEC 60 Multimedia System

 The image to the left below is representative of a bitmap and the image to the right
is representative of a vector graphic. They are shown at four times actual size to exaggerate
the fact that the edges of a bitmap become jagged as it is scaled up:

Bitmap Image: Vector Graphic:

Image Resolution
The number of pixels in the image. The term applies equally to digital images, film
images, and other types of images. Higher resolution means more image detail.
Image resolution describes the detail an image holds.

Image Classifications
Monochrome Image
Each pixel contains a single bit of information, indicating whether the pixel
is light or dark.
An image displayed in a single color or shades of a single color. Most
monochrome computer displays use white, green, or amber, although it could be any
one color.

Sample Monochrome Bit-Map Image

Each pixel is stored as a single bit (0 or 1)
A 640 x 480 monochrome image requires 37.5 KB of storage.

Gray-scale Images
A grayscale image is simply one in which the only colors are shades of gray.
The reason for differentiating such images from any other sort of color image is that
less information needs to be provided for each pixel. In fact a gray color is one in
which the red, green and blue components all have equal intensity in RGB space,
and so it is only necessary to specify a single intensity value for each pixel, as
opposed to the three intensities needed to specify each pixel in a full color image.

Example of a Gray-scale Bit-map Image

ITEC 60 Multimedia System

 Each pixel is usually stored as a byte (value between 0 to 255)
A 640 x 480 greyscale image requires over 300 KB of storage.

24-Bit Color Images

Full RGB color requires that the intensities of three color components be
specified for each and every pixel. Image formats that store a full 24 bits to describe
the color of each and every pixel are therefore known as 24-bit color images.
There are also some disadvantages to using 24-bit images. Perhaps the main
one is that it requires three times as much memory, disk space and processing time to
store and manipulate 24-bit color images as compared to 8-bit color images. In
addition, there is often not much point in being able to store all those different colors if
the final output device (e.g. screen or printer) can only actually produce a fraction of
them.

Example of 24-Bit Colour Image

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

RGB)
Supports 256 x 256 x 256 possible combined
colours (16,777,216)
A 640 x 480 24-bit colour image
would require 921.6 KB of storage

ITEC 60 Multimedia System

Commonly Used Graphics File Formats

Graphics Interchange Format (GIF)

The GIF format (.gif file extension) is one of the two most common file formats
for images on the World Wide Web, since it is supported by almost all Web browsers.
Because this format can only display a maximum of 256 colors, it is best used for black-
and-white line drawings, color clip art, and pictures with large blocks of solid colors. It
also supports both transparency and animation.

Using GIF File Format

Use .gif files for:

Images that contain transparent areas (supports transparency)
A limited number of colors, such as 256 or less.
Black and white images.
A small-size image, such as a button on a site.
Images containing text.
Animation (multiple pictures per file)

Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG)

The JPEG format (.jpg or .jpeg file extension) is the other most common file
format for images on the Web. It is not limited to 256 colors, so you can use it to display
high-quality photographs, or pictures containing millions of colors.
Using JPEG File Format

Use .jpg files for:

Photographs.
Natural-looking images
A great deal of detail, such as a photograph of a house on a real estate site.

Portable Network Graphics (PNG)

The PNG format (.png file extension) can display millions of colors. Because it is
such a new format, however, fewer browsers currently support it (although it is quickly
gaining support). Images saved in this format will not degrade in quality, even if the
file is compressed. It supports transparency, but it does not support animation, since it
cannot contain multiple images. PNG was developed as a patent-free answer to the
GIF format but is also an improvement on the GIF technique.

ITEC 60 Multimedia System