PLATFORMS FOR VIDEO IN INTERACTIVE

MEDIA
APPLICATIONS

EMAIL ATTACHMENTS
Email attachments have been available for a very long time now; you are able to
receive an email attachment in the form of things such as a text file/ work
document. Also images that are not going to be of an amazing quality as there is a
file size limited of what you are able to attach to an email this is because of the
amount of time it would first of all the send the email and secondly how long it will
take for the receiver of the email to download/ view the attachment, as this can
depend on the bandwidth as it can be different for everyone. However, through the
years the internet has advanced when it come to the connection speeds and storage
this means that you are able to send bigger file sizes compared to what you would
have been able to send in the early 2000s with the improvement of this you can also attach multiple
documents to your email, you can also send videos however this dose depends on the file size.

WORLD WIDE WEB

The world wide web is probably one of the easiest to access a video as it has a huge
platform that is just dedicated to videos and media in general, websites where you are
able to stream and view videos along with download and upload them as well
examples of these sites are vine and google video but the most popular being YouTube,
just about every website will contain some sort of video content. It has become easier
to view videos as the internet connection speeds have increased therefore making it a
lot less frustrating for the viewer who will not have to wait a long period of time just to
view a video that may only have content as long as 30 seconds. The web is very useful
when it does come to interactive media as it contains nearly every form of media that
can both be displayed and made by armatures and big companies, videos can be used
for a lot of things such as for supporting notes or instructions, as a piece of interactive media in itself
where the user navigates between other related videos using buttons, etc.

DVDS & CD ROM

DVDs (digital versatile Disc) and CD ROMs are two of the most
common forms of media storage. Both discs have different formats as
with a CD ROM you are able to store audio but with a DVDs they are
generally used for the storage of videos. However, DVDs are the
same size as CD ROMs but they have 6 times as much capacity and
possibly more. Another difference is the way that both of the compact
discs are read. CDs and DVDs are nowhere near used as much as they
used to be based on that nowadays people are using downloadable
content along with streaming websites and apps so therefore people no longer feel the need to buy CDs or
DVDs as they are able to just view or listen to what they want in the pram of their hands e.g. using a
smartphone. CD is sort for compact disc it is an optical disc that is used to store digital data. The CD was
originally developed to store and playback sound recordings. A CD-ROM has from 200 megabytes up to 900

megabytes and Standard CDs can hold up to 80 minutes of uncompressed audio or 700 MB (700 220 bytes) of
data. There are two main forms of CD ROMs...

Red book developed by Sony and Phillips, it only plays and stores audio files
White book can store and view / hear audio, still image and moving image files.

CD ROMs are not used as much these days as with technology advancing, sending information wirelessly has
increased, along with no longer need stacks of CD you are able to download the songs that you want to listen
to and then they are stored on your computer or a hand held devise.

KIOSKS
Kiosks are helpful to many of us when we dont know where we are going or where we
are able to find a store that sells the products that we wish to purchase the Provide us
with free information that helps us by giving us recommendations or directions, this
information can come in two forms of using an interactive Kiosks or a web Kiosks.
Interactive Kiosks often use the forms of video as the platform of instructions or an
interactive map where you are given a layout of the store/shopping centre and you are
able to see where all of the shops are and if you select one it will then give you
directions. The whole set up can be either all touch screen or a computer with a
keyboard and a mouse. Web Kiosks are suited to the public area i.e. an Airport, train
station. They allow the user to have access to a pre-pay user cost. Web Kiosks are mostly
used by travellers as they will find it useful and also who might not have access to the internet.

MOBILE DEVICES
Mobile devices are a hand held devices that can have many purposes
these can range from a small computer game (Nintendo DS) to a PDA and
a smartphone. Mobile devices have adapted over the years by becoming
thinner and lighter in weight but also by filling more of our own personal
needs, meaning that things such as CDs and DVDs are becoming outdated
as a result of this. There are many forms of mobiles that can be bought,
that also include different aspects that are improved more on some that
others, there are also many different brands of mobiles that you can buy,
some are better well know that others.
Mobile devise compared to the way that they used to be and the things
that they were capable of have defiantly improves as now a mobile devices
is just as capable of almost doing the same things as a computer e.g.
search the internet and view multi-media products along with keeping the basic uses of a phone as you are still
able the text and ring people and keep into contact with them. Mobile devise has also made it so that they are
more personalized to the user and not just in what colours it is available in and the designs of cases that you
are able to buy, but also by the apps that you are able to download the app market has developed and
expanded, as now there is almost an app for everything that we do in daily life that could assist us in some
way, apps that help keeps us informed of the latest news, help us keep fit, keep us entertained and many
more.

Virtual Reality Tours

Virtual tours are used to simulate a location,
they are often made up of images or a series of
video clips, Virtual Reality Tours can also
include other elements as they can also include
sound effects, music and a narration that can
tell you more about where and what it is you
are taking a tour of. The image to the left is an
example of a reality tour of a house. Making
the whole experience more realistic and also
giving you the feeling of that you are there and
learning something from it as you are being told by your own personal tour guide. The phrase "virtual tour" is
often used to describe a variety of video and photographic-based media and also based off that it is a tour of a
place however you are not actually there, as you are seeing it/ viewing it on a screen whether it be phone or
computer. Virtual tours have become more popular as a result of the improvement of technology, most known
for being a form or viewing google maps and being able to navigate through streets. You are also now able to
view houses in the same way of having a virtual tour of the house on the website this can also save people a
lot of time as pictures of where places are along with the sizing of a room and where everything is placed can
be deserving, but with a virtual tour you are able to view the place as if you were actually walking around it
and seeing it as you were walking around this can be benefitted by people who may have a disability or suffer
from mental health that means they are unable or find it had to leave the house or accommodation of where
they live and also people who have a very tight work schedule and dont actually have time to go and view the
property, Virtual tours are also available if people are unable to go to a place such as a museum or art gallery
and this way they are still able to look and see the layout just without actually being there.

GAMES (CUT SCENE)

Games now contain more platforms of media that also combined huge
amounts of interactivity with impressive graphics that allows you to
have hours of game play, however, videos and the ideas of cut scenes
have bin being used for years and part of a way of telling the storyline of
the game, the length of a cut scene can be longer than the length of
time you actually play that sequences or mission for and it would often
be that games where nowhere near as advanced as they are today so
the cut scene would have been a lot longer than they are now and also
more important to the storyline as the cut scene would have been the
main way of getting people to pay attention to the main storyline as
people instantly assume it is important, the image to the right is part of a cut scene from Assassins creed
syndicate, but now technology is more advanced and you are able play more due to how much more powerful
games consoles have become and how graphics have improved, the interactivity has improved an the games
are more responsive and you are able to customize more whether it be the name of your character to the way
they look and also there characteristic traits, with the improvement of all of these aspects games have become
more open world giving you the option to go where ever you want also the idea of now having a larger area to
play results in more side missions that are able to be carried out alongside the main mission or storyline this
then results in more gameplay as there are more things to do and collect, this could be the biggest factor on
the price on newly released games being so high, as you no longer are just left with the main storyline you are
also given the freedom to take control this can also result in alternative endings, iconic with the game bioshock
3 an example of one action could completely change the storyline of the game, this means that games have

also become more accustom to us as we are able to play how we want and coming back to being able to have
that freedom its at the point where the decisions we make can change the storyline.

FILM TRAILERS
Film trailers are designed to promote a film that will be screened at a cinema in the next coming months at a
cinema. Film trailers are made up of scenes taken from the film that is being promoted and edited together in
a way that makes them flow together this is often put together with a statement piece of music, often iconic
or popular music is used. All of this is done based around the target audience as the idea of a film trailer is to
make you want to take time out of your day and pay to go and watch it. The scenes that are used are often the
most comical and exciting in the film. Along with music there is often also a narrator who will set up the
premise of the film and also explains what is going on when necessary, the narrator can be anyone from the
main character to a cluster of the different characters that feature in the movie.
Film trailers are often seen on TV or before a film starts showing at the cinema
however in the more recent years, film trailers have also been used as
advertisement online most commonly seen before a YouTube video is shown, this
adds to the promotion as many film trailers get millions of views online.
There are also different kind of trailers that can be viewed it is often before the
filming and production of the movie has been finished a teaser trailer will be
released this is a shorter length than the official trailer and is sometimes just one
scene taken from the movie. Or this ca even be audio along with a black
background as the viewer is un aware of whats going on and makes them what to
know so therefore will make them want to view the full trailer when it is released.
The average length of a film trailer is around 1-4 minutes; the trailer will often tell
you the backstory of the film. Trailer are also given age rating just like the film will
have this will also effect which trailers are shown before and after the watershed
on TV, as well as automatically play as a 30 second advert on the internet. As you
can see by the image on the left there is a breakdown of the different age ratings
and how they are determined, however it is often that with movie trailers they are now classed with bands, a
red band trailer means that it is going to be on the age rating of 18.

E-LEARNING
E-Learning has become a very popular method of revision as it has also become easier as the internet has
advanced so much over the years, websites like e-learning, my maths and BBC Bitesize, these are more
interactive ways or learning as not only do they offer quizzes and learning materials but also videos over many
different subject areas.

Not only is it encouraging young people to revise but also people have different ways of benefiting from
different ways of learning and may people are visual learners which means
that these people will not really benefit from just sitting and writing notes but
they have to be interactive, websites like BBC Bitesize offer videos with trivia
questions throughout this gets the learner involved. Also if the user/learner
answers the question correctly then an animation may pop up to
congratulate them.
This example is taken for BBC Bitesize
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zc9tyrd/activity
This screen shot shows an activity that is to help
GCSE student learn biology, by demonstrating
Movement across cell membranes with an
interactive video where you have to click on things to make the video continue, as
the screen shot to the left shows as it says that you have to give it a prod to find
out ten once the user had clicked then the video will proceed onwards, this is a way
of keeping the user involved and the brain engaged with what it is that they are
learning.
TECHNOLOGY

DIGITAL VIDEO CAPTUR E

COMPRESSION - video compression is where you are able to reduce the amount of data that is used to
represent the digital video image, there are two
types of video compression:
The image to the right shoes a blown up cropped
version of the bigger image. This is an example of
how the compression can determine the amount of
artifacts that appear in the image or the video, when
you get closer, this blockiness can be more apparent
LOSSY- this is what is mainly used to compress
videos and sound, lossy compression reduces the file
size by permanently deleting certain information,
especially the information that is not used and will
minimally effect the video when deleted. Once the file is uncompressed then this means that only a part of the
original information still there and the information that has been deleted will not be detected by the majority
of users. JPEG image files that are commonly used for images and other still images on the Internet are lossy
compressed. When using JPEG compression this means that the user is able to decide how much is lost
between the file size and the image quality.
LOSSLESS- this form of compression means that there is no sacrifice between the file size and the loss of
quality and can be applied to both images and audio files. However, it is only newer compression algorithms
where you are able to apply lossless compression like JPEG 2000 and Apple lossless compression files. Lossless
compression rewrites the data of the original file so that it is more efficient, but because the quality is not lost
this still means that the file size is typically larger than the image and audio files compressed using lossy
compression as an example a file that is compressed using lossy compression might be one tenth of the size of

a file that is compressed using lossless this results in lossless compression being un able to produce a file size
that is smaller or even half the size of the first original file.

Digital video file formats

Videos have a variety of different file formats; this is very important as not all devices are able to play all of
the different formats of video. The file format is also able to help you determine if a video is going to be good
or bad quality before you even see it on the device that you want to view it on.

.MPEG - comes in 4 different forms:

MPEG-1 (1993): Coding of moving pictures and associated audio for digital storage media at up to about 1,5
Mbit/s. The first MPEG compression standard for audio and video. This was designed to allow moving pictures
and sound to be encoded into the bit rate of a Compact Disc. It is used on Video CD, SVCD and can be used for
low-quality video on DVD Video. It was used in digital satellite/cable TV services before MPEG-2 became
widespread. To meet the low bit requirement, MPEG-1 downsamples the images, as well as uses picture rates
of only 24-30 Hz, resulting in a average quality. It includes the MP3audio compression format.
MPEG-2 (1995): Generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information. Transport, video and
audio standards for broadcast-quality television. MPEG-2 standard was considerably broader in scope and of
wider appeal supporting interlacing and high definition standards. It is considered important because it has
been chosen as the compression scheme for digital television ATSC, DVB and ISDB, digital satellite TV services
like DISH Network, digital cable television signals, SVCD, DVD Video and Blu-ray discs.
MPEG-3: dealt with standardizing scalable and multi-resolution compression and was intended for HDTV
compression but was found to be redundant and was merged with MPEG-2, as a result there is no MPEG-3
standard. MPEG-3 is not to be confused with MP3, which is MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3.
MPEG-4(1998): Coding of audio-visual objects. MPEG-4 uses further coding tools with additional complexity
to achieve higher compression factors than MPEG-2. In addition to more efficient coding of video, MPEG-4
moves closer to computer graphics applications. MPEG-4 also provides Intellectual Property Management and
Protection (IPMP) which provides the facility to use proprietary technologies to manage and protect content
like digital rights management. Several new higher-efficiency video standards are included, notably MPEG-4
Part 2 (or Simple and Advanced Simple Profile) andMPEG-4 AVC. MPEG-4 AVC may be used on HD DVD and
Blu-ray discs, along with VC-1 and MPEG-2.

.MP4- MP4 is a file format created by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) as a multimedia container
format designed to store audiovisual data. The MP4 is largely replacing earlier multimedia file formats, and
creating some changes in the way that vendors sell audiovisual files to the public.
.MOV- the quick time file format is a multimedia file that contains one or more tracks each one stores a
particular type of data, such as audio, video, effects, or text (e.g. for subtitles). Each track is digitally encoded
this is what gives its identity and is also how it is found if it is store In a different file. These Tracks are layered
in a hierarchical data structure consisting of objects called atoms. An atom can be a parent to other atoms or it
can contain media or edit data, but it cannot do both. QuickTime .mov files dont really have any
disadvantages. However, because of the way that the file is structured outputting it to other formats can be a
problem and result in the reduction of quality.
.WMV- Short for Windows Media Video, WMV is a video compression format developed by Microsoft that
utilizes multiple video codecs for streaming of video on the Internet under the file extension .WMV. First

released in 1999 as a competitor of the RealVideo format, WMV files are now playable on several media player
applications. Other video files that use the WMV codec include AVI and Matroska.

.AVI- an AVI (audio video interleaved) file is a sound and motion picture file that conforms to the Microsoft
windows resource interchange file format (RIFF) specification. AVI files (which end with an .aiv extension)
require a special player that may be included with your web browser or may require downloading.
.FLV- FLV is a file format used by Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR to store and deliver synchronized audio
and video streams over the Internet. There are two different FLV formats, F4V for H.264-based content and
open FLV for other supported codecs.
.SWF- SWF is a file extension for a Shockwave Flash file format created by Macromedia and now owned by
Adobe. SWF stands for Small Web Format. SWF files can contain video and vector based animations and
sound and are designed for efficient delivery over the web. SWF files can be viewed in a web browser using
the Flashplug in.
.3GP- As defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), 3GP is a compression file format for
audio, video, and other media for use with cell phones. It is a basic version of MPEG-4 Part 14 (MP4) format.
There are several media players capable of playing these movie files on your computer our recommendations
are Real Player and VLC.
.ASF- Advanced systems format (ASF) is a universal format developed by Microsoft for storing and streaming
media. ASF is a digital audio/video container format developed from 1995-1998.ASF supports data transfer
over a wide range of networks and protocols while still extending its support for audio and video playback
from a number of sources such as local playback and Internet delivery. ASF enables playback to start even if a
complete file is not available, which makes it ideal for Internet use. The ASF container is most widely used for
Windows Media video and audio codecs, although it can be used to hold a variety of other video and audio
codecs.

streaming methods
There are three ways that you are able to view media on the internet such as video, audio and animations etc.

DOWNLOADING - when you download a file this means that the entire
file will be saved on your computer, downloading a file dose have some
advantages as this means that you are able to access the file quicker
along with not needing internet access to view it however the big
disadvantage is that you will have to wait for the whole of the file to
download before you are able to view it, also if the file is quite large then
this is going to take up space on your computer and the more space that
you use up then this could result in the computer running slower and
completing simple tasks slower as well.
PROGRESSIVE DOWNLOADING - is a type of hybrid method where the
video clip is downloaded and then begins to play as soon as enough of the
fie has been downloaded, this is true to streaming however it doesnt have all of the advantages.
STREAMING- Data streaming, commonly seen in the forms of audio and video streaming, is when a
multimedia file can be played back without being completely downloaded first. Most files, like shareware and
software updates that you download off the Internet, are not streaming data. However, certain audio and
video files like Real Audio and QuickTime documents can be streaming files, meaning you can watch a video or

listen to a sound file while it's being downloaded to your computer. With a fast Internet connection, you can
actually stream live audio or video to your computer

Data transfer rate

Speed at which data can be moved between two devices, such as from a disk drive to
a computer's main memory. Modern DVD drives can transfer data at rate of 1.2 gigabytes per second (GB/sec).
Between modems, DTR is measured in bits per second (bps), and between a computer and
a printer in characters per second (cps). Also called access rate. See also data access time.

RESOLUTION: The resolution is the height and the width of the video, this is measured in pixels. Most videos
are stored at 720x480 this is standard definition or 1920x1080 this is high definition; however, videos do get
sampled down when it does come to streaming them as then the resolution is normally 640x480 or smaller.
This is because as the number of pixels/ resolution increases then so does the file size.
FRAME RATE: Most video starts life at 29.97 or 24 frames per second . Usually, those that shoot at 24 fps
deliver at that rate, while many producers that shoot at 29.97 fps deliver at 15 fps to save bandwidth. Though,
in concept, it feels like dropping the frame rate by 50% would also drop the data rate by 50% with no loss in
quality, it seldom works this way. Rather, according to the research that Ive performed, the average data rate
of video produced at 15 fps is about 20% lower than that produced at 30fps, not 50%. Still a substantial
reduction, but often that comes at a subtle quality cost.

ASPECT RATIO

Aspect ratio is a way of saying how big or small an image is going to be, the proportional relationship between
the width of an image and its height, for example when a movie is displayed on are TVs the aspect ratio is
typically short height with a wide with, 16:9 this means that the width of the image area is almost the
equivalent of twice the height, this ration of 16:9 has gained more acceptance and takes the place of the
traditional size of 4:3 as the use of widescreen TVs has increased. The aspect ratio of the traditional television
and computer display are designed for the display of 4:3 (1.33:1) this means that the display area is only 1:33
times of the height. And is near enough square.

MEDIA PLAYERS

WINDOWS MEDIA
PLAYER: Windows
Media Player (WMP) is
a software application
from M FLASH PLAYER: Adobe Flash Player is software used to stream
and view video, audio and multimedia and Rich Internet Applications (RIA)
on a computer or supported mobile device. Flash Player was originally
created by Macromedia, but is now developed and distributed by Adobe
Systems Inc.
QUICKTIME : Quicktime is a multimedia
development, storage, and playback technology from Apple. Quicktime files combine
sound, text, animation, and video in a single file. Using a Quicktime player that either
comes with a Web browser or can be downloaded from Apple or the browser
company, you can view and control brief multimedia sequences.
icrosoft used to play, store and organize digital audio, images and video. While earlier
editions of WMP were released for PC s running a variety of operating system operating systems, including
Windows Mobile. WMP uses the WMV, WMA and ASF file formats to encode audio and video downloaded
from the Internet or ripped from compact discs or other storage media. Recent versions of WMP also include
the ability to synchronize digital media with a portable media player, like Microsoft's Zune or Creative's Zen,
and purchase or rent content from online media stores. Because WMP uses Microsoft's Windows Media DRM,
not Fair Play DRM, files encoded using WMP are not compatible with the iPod. Facing increased competition
from Apple Computer's iTunes software, Microsoft released Windows Media Player 11 in the fall of 2006. The
new version incorporated improved navigation, with graphical representation of media files, live search
features, CD burning, media library sharing and improved support for streaming media over a network.
Windows Media Player is offered as a free download from Microsoft's Web site, with the exception of the
mobile version of the software, which only ships with Windows Mobile devices.

REAL MEDIA PLAYER: Real Player is a file compression format developed

by Real Networks used to encode audio-visual data. Free versions of the
application needed to decode and play RealPlayer files are available, as are
more sophisticated "Plus" versions. Detractors of the format claim it creates
lower quality video than QuickTime and that Real Networks maintains an
unscrupulously low standard of user privacy. However, the newest versions
feature multimedia search functions, translation into and out of the MP3
format, playback buffering, and even CD burning applications.
DIVX: No longer sold, Divx (Digital Video Express)
was a video movie rental system for digital versatile
disk -formatted disks. For about $300-500 U.S., the
user purchased a DVD player that was also equipped
for Divx. The special Divx equipment included
a modem , aencryption microchip , and a
proprietary flash memory . The user could then
purchase Divx disks (essentially DVD-formatted disks
that contained encrypted data) at a Circuit City or other store. Each disk allowed the user the right to play the

disk within 48 hours of hitting the Play button on the player. (Users could elect to pay more for unlimited play
any time.) At home, the user established a Divx account at the Divx Web site using a major credit card. The
player automatically contacted the billing office once a month to update the account. (This is the only time
Internet access was required. The movie was then actually played offline from the DVD-with-Divx disk. Divx
was developed and owned by a partnership between Ziffren, Brittenham, Banca & Fischer, an entertainment
law firm in Los Angeles, California, and Circuit City, one of the largest retail stores for consumer electronics in
the U.S. A number of consumer groups were opposed to Divx, arguing that its system would encourage a payper-play mindset among content owners rather than selling the disk and letting the consumer play it as
frequently as desired. In any event, as DVD disks became widely available, it was clear that consumers would
prefer to own rather than rent, and Circuit City Stores withdrew the service and wrote off the investment.

DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Short for digital rights management, a system for protecting the copyrights of data circulated via the Internet
or other digital media by enabling secure distribution and/or disabling illegal distribution of the data. Typically,
a DRM system protects intellectual property by either encrypting the data so that it can only be accessed by
authorized users or marking the content with a digital watermark or similar method so that the content cannot
be freely distributed.