TALMON MWAKESI MWAZO I17S/MSA/6710/2007 MULTIMEDIA SYSTEMS ASSIGNMENT 1.

How many bytes will a one-minute recording of CD-quality music at a 44.1 kHz sampling rate and 16-bit resolution generate? Now if you record the same music in stereo, then what will be the amount of uncompressed data generated? 44100 x (16/8) x 1 x 60=5,292,000 =5.05 Mb 44100 x (16/8) x 2 x 60 = 10,584,000 bytes =10.09 Mb

2.

Suppose we are digitizing a video that is 640 x 480 pixels wide, with 24-bit color depth, and 30 fps. How much space will one second of this video take if put uncompressed on the hard disk. 640 x 480 x 24 x 30=221,184,000bits/sec =221.184Mbits/sec =27.648Mbytes

3.

(a) Why is data compression desirable for multimedia activities? Reduce the bandwidth of data to be used for transmission. Reduce the volume of data to be transmitted. Reduce the file transfer time to be used. Reduce storage requirements.

(b) Briefly outline the four broad classes of approach that one may exploit to compress multimedia data. Do not detail any specific compression algorithms.

Spectral : This uses the frequency domain to exploit relationships between frequency of change in data.For example in video, correlation between colour or luminescence components. Psycho-visual :exploit perceptual properties of the human visual system. Temporal: used in 1Dimensional data, 1Dimensional signals, Audio in correlation between sequential data points. Spatial : correlation between neighbouring pixels or data items in 2D. c) Give one example of a compression algorithm for each class. Spectral : JPEG Psycho-visual : MPEG Video Temporal : Zero length suppression. Spatial :GIF

4.

(a) Give a definition of a Multimedia Authoring System.

This is a program which has pre-programmed elements for the development of interactive multimedia software titles. What key features should such a system provide? 1. Setting up and maintaining enterprise-wide guidelines and standards: This ensures that proper user expectations are set on both quality and transferability of objects from one system to another. 2. Display resolution:Because a large organisation will have many kinds of monitor supporting a large variety of resolution, it is necessary to select a small number (two or three) of display resolutions and protocols as the norm of the organisation. 3. File format and data compression

There are many file formats and data compression methods available for multimedia objects. 4. Standardise on one or two compression method for each type of data objects Make sure that the hardware and software required to support these compression methods are available Consider what is the more convenient and efficient means of accessing large object, such as video clips It is very useful to have some information about the object itself outside the object so that a user can decide if it needs to access the object without having to decompress it. 5. Service degradation policies This issue concerns with what will happen if resources is insufficient either temporarily or locally. For example, in a distributed video application, video is sent to a remote client to be played back. If the network is overloaded, a number of policies may be possible: -Decline further requests with a message to try later and give proper reasons -Provide the playback service but at a lower resolution - Provide the playback service at full resolution but drop intermediate frames - Provide service at full resolution and frame rate in blocks

(b) What Multimedia Authoring paradigms exist? Describe each paradigm briefly. Card/Scripting The Card/Scripting paradigm provides a great deal of power but suffers from the indexcard structure. It is excellently suited for Hypertext applications, and supremely suited for navigation intensive applications. Such programs are easily extensible via XCMDs and DLLs; they are widely used for shareware applications. The best applications allow all objects (including individual graphic elements) to be scripted; many entertainment applications are prototyped in a card/scripting system prior to compiled-language coding. Cast/Score/Scripting

The Cast/Score/Scripting paradigm uses a music score as its primary authoring metaphor; the synchronous elements are shown in various horizontal tracks with simultaneity shown via the vertical columns. The true power of this metaphor lies in the ability to script the behavior of each of the cast members. The most popular member of this paradigm is Director, which is used in the creation of man commercial applications. These programs are best suited for animation-intensive or synchronized media applications; they are easily extensible to handle other functions (such as hypertext) via XOBJs, XCMDs, and DLLs. Macromedia Director uses this.

Scripting Language The Scripting paradigm is the authoring method closest in form to traditional Programming. The paradigm is that of a programming language, which specifies multimedia elements, sequencing, hotspots, synchronization, etc. A powerful, objectoriented scripting language is usually the centerpiece of such a system; in-program editing of the multimedia elements tends to be minimal or non-existent. It takes longer to code an individual interaction. Since most Scripting languages are interpreted, instead of compiled, the runtime speed gains over other authoring methods are minimal. Iconic/Flow Control This tends to be the speediest, in development time, authoring style. It is best suited for rapid prototyping and short-development time projects. These programs tend to be the slowest runtimes, because each interaction carries with it all of its possible permutations; the higher end packages, such as Authorware or IconAuthor, are extremely powerful and suffer least from runtime speed problems. Frame The Frame paradigm is similar to the Iconic/Flow Control paradigm in that it usually incorporates an icon palette; however, the links drawn between icons are conceptual and do not always represent the actual flow of the program. This is a very fast development system, but requires a good auto-debugging function, as it is visually un-debuggable. The

best of these have bundled compiled-language scripting, such as Quest (whose scripting language is C) or Apple Media Kit. Hierarchical Object The Hierarchical Object paradigm uses a object metaphor (like OOP) which is visually represented by embedded objects and iconic properties. Although the learning curve is nontrivial, the visual representation of objects can make very complicated constructions possible. Hypermedia Linkage The Hypermedia Linkage paradigm is similar to the Frame paradigm in that it shows conceptual links between elements; however, it lacks the Frame paradigms visual linkage metaphor. Tagging The Tagging paradigm uses tags in text files (for instance, SGML/HTML, SMIL (Synchronized Media Integration Language), VRML, 3DML and WinHelp) to link pages, provide interactivity and integrate multimedia elements.