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).
Multimedia is the field concerned with the computer-controlled integration of text, graphics,
drawings, still and moving images (Video), animation, audio, and any other media where every type of
information can be represented, stored, transmitted and processed digitally.
A Multimedia Application is an Application which uses a collection of multiple media sources e.g.
text, graphics, images, sound/audio, animation and/or video.
Multimedia Systems:
A Multimedia System is a system capable of processing multimedia data and applications.
A Multimedia System is characterised by the processing, storage, generation, manipulation and
rendition of ultimedia information.
Characteristics of a Multimedia System:
A ultimedia system has four basic characteristics!
ultimedia systems must be computer controlled.
ultimedia systems are integrated.
"he information they handle must be represented digitally.
"he interface to the final presentation of media is usually interactive.
Applications:
#xamples of ultimedia Applications include!
$orld $ide $eb
%ypermedia courseware
Video conferencing
Video-on-demand
&nteractive "V
'roupware
%ome shopping
'ames
Virtual reality
(igital video editing and production systems
ultimedia (atabase systems
Components of a Multimedia System:
Capture devices
-- Video )amera, Video *ecorder, Audio icrophone, +eyboards, mice, graphics tablets, ,( input
devices, tactile sensors, V* devices. (igitising/-ampling %ardware
Storage Devices
-- %ard dis.s, )(-*/s, 0a1/2ip drives, (V(, etc
Communication Networks
-- #thernet, "o.en *ing, 3((&, A", &ntranets, &nternets.
Computer Systems
-- ultimedia (es.top machines, $or.stations, 4#'/V&(#//(-4 %ardware
Display Devices
-- )(-5uality spea.ers, %("V,-V'A, %i-*es monitors, )olour printers etc.
A Brief Look at Multimedia Data:
Input and ormat
!e"t and Static Data
Source! +eyboard, speech input, optical character recognition, data stored on dis..
Stored and input c#aracter $y c#aracter!
-torage of text is 6 byte per char / more bytes for 7nicode.
3or other forms of data (e.g. -preadsheet files). ay store format as text (with
formatting) others may use binary encoding.
ormat: *aw text or formatted text e.g %"8, *ich "ext 3ormat (*"3), $ord or a program
language source (), 4ascal, etc..9ot temporal : B%! may have natural implied
se5uence e.g. %"8 format se5uence, -e5uence of ) program statements.
Si&e: 9ot significant w.r.t. other ultimedia data.
'rap#ics
ormat: )onstructed by the composition of primitive ob;ects such as lines, polygons,
circles, curves and arcs.
Input: 'raphics are usually generated by a graphics editor program (e.g. &llustrator) or
automatically by a program. 'raphics are usually editable or revisable (unli.e
&mages).
'rap#ics input devices: +eyboard (for text and cursor control), mouse, trac.ball or graphics
tablet.
'rap#ics Standards ! /pen'8, 4%&'-, '+-
'raphics files usually store the primitive assembly
(o not ta.e up a very high storage overhead.
Images
Input: (igitally scanned photographs/pictures or direct from a digital camera. ay also
be generated by programs <similar= to graphics or animation programs.
Storage: -tored at 6 bit per pixel (>lac. and $hite), ? >its per pixel ('rey -cale, )olour
ap) or @A >its per pixel ("rue )olour)
Si&e: A B6@xB6@ 'rey scale image ta.es up 6/A >, a B6@xB6@ @A bit image ta.es ,/A >
with no compression.
Compression is commonly applied.
Audio
Audio signals are continuous analog signals.
Input: icrophones and then digitised and stored
)( Cuality Audio re5uires 6D-bit sampling at AA.6 +%1. #ven higher audiophile rates (e.g.
@A-bit, ED +%1)
6 inute of ono )( 5uality (uncompressed) audio re5uires B >.
6 inute of -tereo )( 5uality (uncompressed) audio re5uires 6F >.
7sually compressed (#.g. 4,, AA), 3lac, /gg Vorbis).
(ideo
Input: Analog Video is usually captured by a video camera and then digitised.
"here are a variety of video (analog and digital) formats
)aw video can be regarded as being a series of single images. "here are typically
@B, ,F or BF frames per second.
*+g+ A B6@ B6@ si1e monochrome video images ta.e @B F!@B G D.@B>
for a second to store uncompressed.
!ypical ,AL digital video (H@F BHD pixels per colour frame) 6!@A @B G ,6>
for a second to store uncompressed.
-ig# Definition video on >lu-ray (up to 6E@F 6F?F G @ egapixels per frame) D!@ @B G
6BB> for a second to store uncompressed.
00
&&
("here are higher possible frame
ratesI) (igital video clearly needs to be compressed for most times.
Internet:
&nternet is the means of connecting a computer to any other computer anywhere in the world via
dedicated routers and servers. $hen two computers are connected over the &nternet, they can send and
receive all .inds of information such as text, graphics, voice, video, and computer programs. &nternet is a
global computer networ. providing a variety of information and communication facilities, consisting of
interconnected networ.s using standardi1ed communication protocols. "o access internet, we need the
following componentsJ 6) 4) @) odem ,) &nternet -ervice by &-4 and A) >rowser software.
Services available on internet
#-ail
>ulletin >oards
Videoconferencing
)hat *ooms
/nline 'ames
"elnet
#-)ommerce
/nline >an.ing
9ewsgroup etc.
*.mail:
#-mail (electronic mail) is the exchange of computer-stored messages by telecommunication. (-ome
publications spell it emailJ we prefer the currently more established spelling of e-mail.) #-mail
messages are usually encoded in ASCII text. %owever, you can also send non-text files, such as
graphic images and sound files, as attachments sent in $inary streams. #-mail was one of the first
uses of the &nternet and is still the most popular use. A large percentage of the total traffic over the
&nternet is e-mail.
Bulletin $oards and mailing lists:
A place for people to virtually meet online where they can post messages and respond to each other.
>ulletin boards refer to specific boards on which messages meant for public consumption are displayed. "he
term can also refer to an electronic message centre which anyone with permission can access and add
information to. >ulletin board also .nown as message board or forum
(ideoconferencing:
A technology that allows users in different locations to hold face-to-face meetings without having to
move to a single location. "his technology is particularly convenient for business users in different
cities or even different countries because it saves the time, expense and hassle associated with
business travel. 7ses for video conferencing include holding routine meetings, negotiating business
deals and interviewing ;ob candidates.
C#at lines or rooms:
A chat room is an area on the &nternet or other computer networ. where users can communicate. &t
allows users to communicate with each other through instant messaging. "here are many types of chat rooms
based on what people are chatting about.
/nline0Internet 'ames:
An online game is a video game played over some form of computer network. "his networ. is
usually the internet /nline games can range from simple te"t $ased environments to games
incorporating complex graphics and virtual worlds populated by many players simultaneously.
any online games have associated online communities, ma.ing online games a form of social
activity beyond single player games.
!elnet:
!elnet is a network protocol used on t#e Internet or local area networks to provide a
$idirectional interactive te"t.oriented communications facility using a virtual terminal
connection+
*.commerce:
"he buying and selling of products and services by businesses and consumers through an electronic
medium, without using any paper documents. #-commerce is widely considered the buying and selling of
products over the internet, but any transaction that is completed solely through electronic measures can be
considered e-commerce.
Newsgroup:
A newsgroup is a discussion about a particular sub;ect consisting of notes written to a central &nternet
site and redistributed through 7senet, a worldwide networ. of news discussion groups. 7senet uses the
9etwor. 9ews "ransfer 4rotocol (99"4).
WWW:
$$$ stands for $orld $ide $eb. he 1orld 1ide 1e$ (abbreviated as 111 or 12, or
commonly .nown as t#e we$) is a system of interlin.ed hypertext documents accessed via the &nternet.
$ith a web browser, one can view web pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia
and navigate between them via hyperlin.s. "he $orld $ide $eb consists of all the public $eb sites
connected to the &nternet worldwide, including the client devices (such as computers and cell phones) that
access $eb content. "he $$$ is ;ust one of many applications of the &nternet and computer networ.s.
A system of &nternet servers that support specially formatted documents. "he documents are
formatted in a mar.up language called %"8 (HyperText Markup Language) that supports lin.s to other
documents, as well as graphics, audio, and video files. "his means you can ;ump from one document to
another simply by clic.ing on hot spots. 9ot all &nternet servers are part of the $orld $ide $eb.
*esearcher "im >erners-8ee led the development of the original $orld $ide $eb in the late 6E?Fs
and early 6EEFs. %e helped build prototypes of the above $eb technologies and coined the term K$$$.K
$eb sites and $eb browsing exploded in popularity during the mid-6EEFs.
"he $orld $eb is based on these technologies!
%"8 - %ypertext ar.up 8anguage is a mar.-up language used to develop web documents or web
pages. A group of web-pages together is called as a website.
%""4 - %ypertext "ransfer 4rotocol is a set of rules responsible for efficient transfer of web
documents over the internet.
$eb -ervers! $eb servers are the computers, which store websites, always @A/H online and
responsible for giving responses to the client machines (users) in the form of web documents.
$eb >rowsers! A >rowser is a piece of software on the client machine, used by the user to connect to
the internet to access web documents.
ISP: -tands for K&nternet -ervice 4rovider.K &n order to connect to the &nternet, you need an &-4. &t is the
company that you (or your parents) pay a monthly fee to in order to use the &nternet. &f you use a dial-up
modem to connect to your &-4, a point-to-point protocol (444) connection is established with another
modem on the &-4Ls end. "hat modem connects to one of the &-4Ls routers, which routes you to the &nternet
Kbac.bone.K 3rom there, you can access information from anywhere around the world. (-8 and cable
modems wor. the same way, except after you connect the first time, you are always connected.
*.Commerce: #-)ommerce also .nown as #lectronic )ommerce is a methodology of modern business
which addresses the need of business
organi1ations, vendors and customers to reduce
cost and improve the 5uality of goods and
services while increasing the speed of delivery. #-
commerce refers to paperless exchange of
business information using following ways.
#lectronic (ata #xchange (#(&)
M#lectronic ail (e-mail)
M#lectronic >ulletin >oards
M#lectronic 3und "ransfer (#3")
M/ther 9etwor.-based technologies
#-)ommerce provides following features
MNon.Cas# ,ayment: #-)ommerce enables use of credit cards, debit cards, smart cards, electronic
fund transfer via ban.Ls website and other modes of electronics payment.
M34"5 Service availa$ility: #-commerce automates business of enterprises and services provided by
them to customers are available anytime, anywhere. %ere @AxH refers to @A hours of each seven days
of a wee..
MAdvertising 0 Marketing: #-commerce increases the reach of advertising of products and services
of businesses. &t helps in better mar.eting management of products / services.
MImproved Sales: 7sing #-)ommerce, orders for the products can be generated anytime, anywhere
without any human intervention. >y this way, dependencies to buy a product reduce at large and
sales increases.
MSupport: #-)ommerce provides various ways to provide pre sales and post sales assistance to
provide better services to customers.
MInventory Management: 7sing #-)ommerce, inventory management of products becomes
automated. *eports get generated instantly when re5uired. 4roduct inventory management becomes
very efficient and easy to maintain.
MCommunication improvement: #-)ommerce provides ways for faster, efficient, reliable
communication with customers and partners.
*.Commerce Advantages
#-)ommerce advantages can be broadly classified in three ma;or categories!
MAdvantages to /rgani1ations
MAdvantages to )onsumers
MAdvantages to -ociety
Advantages to /rgani&ations
M7sing #-)ommerce, organi1ation can expand their mar.et to national and international mar.ets with
minimum capital investment. An organi1ation can easily locate more customers, best suppliers and
suitable business partners across the globe.
M#-)ommerce helps organi1ation to reduce the cost to create process, distribute, retrieve and manage
the paper based information by digiti1ing the information.
M#-commerce improves the brand image of the company.
M#-commerce helps organi1ation to provide better customer services.
M#-)ommerce helps to simplify the business processes and ma.e them faster and efficient.
M#-)ommerce reduces paper wor. a lot.
M#-)ommerce increased the productivity of the organi1ation. &t supports KpullK type supply
management. &n KpullK type supply management, a business process starts when a re5uest comes
from a customer and it uses ;ust-in-time manufacturing way.
Advantages to Customers
M@AxH support. )ustomer can do transactions for the product or en5uiry about any product/services
provided by a company any time, any where from any location. %ere @AxH refers to @A hours of each
seven days of a wee..
M#-)ommerce application provides user more options and 5uic.er delivery of products.
M#-)ommerce application provides user more options to compare and select the cheaper and better
option.
MA customer can put review comments about a product and can see what others are buying or see the
review comments of other customers before ma.ing a final buy.
M#-)ommerce provides option of virtual auctions.
M*eadily available information. A customer can see the relevant detailed information within seconds
rather than waiting for days or wee.s.
M#-)ommerce increases competition among the organi1ations and as result organi1ations provides
substantial discounts to customers.
Advantages to Society
M)ustomers need not to travel to shop a product thus less traffic on road and low air pollution.
M#-)ommerce helps reducing cost of products so less affluent people can also afford the products.
M#-)ommerce has enabled access to services and products to rural areas as well which are otherwise
not available to them.
M#-)ommerce helps government to deliver public services li.e health care, education, social services
at reduced cost and in improved way.
*.Commerce Disadvantages
#-)ommerce disadvantages can be broadly classified in two ma;or categories!
"echnical disadvantages
M9on-"echnical disadvantages
!ec#nical Disadvantages
M"here can be lac. of system security, reliability or standards owing to poor implementation of e-
)ommerce.
M-oftware development industry is still evolving and .eeps changing rapidly.
M&n many countries, networ. bandwidth might cause an issue as there is insufficient
telecommunication andwidth available.
M-pecial types of web server or other software might be re5uired by the vendor setting the e-
commerce environment apart from networ. servers.
M-ometimes, it becomes difficult to integrate #-)ommerce software or website with the existing
application r databases.
M"here could be software/hardware compatibility issue as some #-)ommerce software may be
incompatible with some operating system or any other component.
Non.!ec#nical Disadvantages
MInitial cost: "he cost of creating / building #-)ommerce application in-house may be very high.
"here could be delay in launching the #-)ommerce application due to mista.es, lac. of experience.
M%ser resistance: 7ser may not trust the site being un.nown faceless seller. -uch mistrust ma.es it
difficult to ma.e user switch from physical stores to online/virtual stores.
MSecurity 0 ,rivacy: (ifficult to ensure security or privacy on online transactions.
M8ac. of touch or feel of products during online shopping.
M#-)ommerce applications are still evolving and changing rapidly.
M&nternet access is still not cheaper and is inconvenient to use for many potential customers li.e one
living in remote villages.
!ypes of *.Commerce
#-)ommerce or #lectronics )ommerce business models can generally categori1ed in following categories.
M>usiness - to - >usiness (>@>)
M>usiness - to - )onsumer (>@))
M)onsumer - to - )onsumer ()@))
M)onsumer - to - >usiness ()@>)
M>usiness - to - 'overnment (>@')
M'overnment - to - >usiness ('@>)
M'overnment - to - )iti1en ('@))
*.C/MM*)C* A,,LICA!I/NS:
'lobally #-)ommerce is applied in the following fields.
6. # ar.eting @. #-Advertising ,. #->an.ing A. obile )ommerce B. #-8earning D. #--hopping
H. /nline training ?. -earch #ngines E. #ntertainment
67*.Marketing !
#-ar.eting also .nown as &nternet mar.eting, /nline mar.eting, $eb mar.eting. &t is the
mar.eting of products or services over the internet.
&t is consider to be broad in scope because not refers to mar.eting on the internet but also done in
#mail and wireless media.
#-ar.eting ties together the creative and technical aspects of the internet, including design
development, advertising and sales.
&nternet mar.eting is associated with several business models ie., >@), >@>, )@).
&nternet mar.eting is inexpensive when examine the ratio of cost to the reach of the target.
37*.Advertising!
&t is also .nown as online advertising it is a form of promotion that uses internet and world wide web
to deliver mar.eting messages to attracts customers. #xample! >anner ads, -ocial networ.
advertising, online classified advertising etc.,
"he growth of these particular media attracts the attention of advertisers as a more productive source
to bring in consumers.
An online advertisement also offers various forms of animation.
"he term online advertisement comprises all sorts of banner advertisement, email advertising, in
game advertising and .ey soon.
27 *.Banking or Internet Banking:
#->an.ing eans any user with a personal computer and browser can get connected to his ban.s,
website to perform any of the ban.ing functions. &n internet ban.ing system the ban. has a
centrali1ed data base i.e., web-enabled.
>est example for #->an.ing is A".
An A" is an electronic fund transfer terminal capable of handling cash deposits, transfer between
A8)-, >alance en5uiries, cash withdrawals, and pay bills.
Services t#roug# *.Banking!
N >ill payment service.
N 3und "ransfer
N &nvesting through internet >an.ing
N -hopping
)ustomers should never share personal informationOs li.e pin nos., passwords, etc., with any one.
"hrough internet ban.ing, you can chec. your transactions at any time of the day, and as many times
as you want.
47 M.Commerce!
-)ommerce also .nown as obile )ommerce, is the ability to conduct, commerce as a mobile device,
such as mobile phone. -ervices Are!
6. obile tic.eting
@. obile Vouchers, )oupons and
,. obile contract purchase and delivery mainly consumes of the sale of ring tones,
wallpapers and games of mobile phones.
A. Local $ase services
8ocal discount offers
8ocal weather
B. Information services! 9ews -ports, -cores
D.Mo$ile Banking: >an.s and other financial institutions used mobile commerce to
allow their customers to assess account info and ma.e transactions, such as purchasing,
withdrawals etc.,
H. Mo$ile Browsing! 7sing a mobile browser- A www browser on mobile device
customers can shop online without having to be at their personal computer.
87 *.Learning !
#-8earning comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching.
#-8earning is essentially the computer and networ.-enabled transfer of s.ills and .nowledge.
#-8earning applications and processes include web-based learning, computer-based learning.
)ontent is delivered via. internet, intranet/extranet, audio, or video tape, satellite "V, and #(-*/.
)omputer->ased 8earning, sometimes abbreviated to )>8, refers to the use of computers as a .ey
component of the education environment.
#-8earning is naturally suited to distance and flexible learning, but can also be used con;unction with
face-to-face teaching.
#-8earning can also refer to the educational website such as those offering learning scenarios worst
and interactive exercises for children.
)ommunication technologies are used in #-8earning.
A learning management system (8-) is software used for delivering, trac.ing, and managing
training /education.
97 /nline S#opping !-
/nline shopping is the process where by consumer directly buy goods or services from a sell in real
time, without an intermediary services over the internet .it is a form of #-commerce
An online shop, e-shop, e-store, internet shop web shop, web store, online store, or virtual shop
evo.es the physical analogy of buying products or services in a shopping center.
"he process is called business-to-consumer (>@)) online shopping. $hen a business buys from
another business it is called business-to-business (>@>) online shopping.
&n order to shop online, one must be able to have access to a computer, a ban. account and debit
card.
/nline shopping widened the target audience to men and women of the middle class.
/nline shoppers commonly use credit card to ma.e payments , however some systems enable users
to create accounts and pay by alternative means ,such as
6. >illing to mobile phones and landline.
@. )he5ue.
,. (ebit cards.
A. 'ift cards
B. 4ostal money order.
/nline stores are usually available @A hours a day, and many consumers have internet access both at
wor. and at home.
/nline stores must describe products for sale with text, phones, and multimedia files .
/ne advantage of shopping online is being able to 5uic.ly see. out deals for items or services with
many different vendors.
Another ma;or advantage for retailers is the ability to rapidly switch suppliers and vendors without
disrupting users shopping experience.
57 Searc# *ngine !-
A web search engine is designed to search for information on the $$$ and 3"4 servers.
"he search results are generally presented in list of result and are often called hits.
"he information may consist of web pages, images, information, and other types of files.
-ome search engines also mine data available in database or open directories.
-earch engines wor. by storing information about many web pages, which they retrieve from the
%"8 it self.
$hen a user enters a 5uery into a search engine (typically by using .eywords), the engine examines
its index and provides a listing of best matching according to its criteria.
ost search engines support the use of >oolean operator A9(, /*, and 9/".
-ome search engines, such as '//'8#, store all or part of the source page as well as information
about the web pages.
:7 /nline !rading !-
An online trading community provides participants with a structured method for trading bantering
(exchanging goods with goods) or selling goods and services.
"hese communities often have forums and chat rooms, designed to facilitate communication between
the members.
A formal trading community consists of a website or networ. of websites that facilitates and trac.
made transactions.
$hile trading any used items online, be sure to include the condition and 5uality of the product so as
the receiver can determine its overall value.
A trading circle is a form of online trading design to facilitate viewing of television series and
episode media.
;7 *ntertainment!-
"he conventional media that have been used for entertainment are
6. >oo.s/maga1ines.
@. *adio.
,. "elevision/films.
A. Video games.
"he internet as an entertainment media is not a elastic by itself, but rather a uni5ue interactions of all
of the above media.
)omputer based systems have been used as an entertainment medium in the form of video games ,
)( , */s , etc..
/nline boo.s /newspapers, online radio, online television, online firms, and online games are
common place in internet where we can entertain.
/nline social networ.ing websites are one of the biggest sources of #-entertainment for todayOs tech-
savvy (who have .nowledge interest in) generation.