What Is Multimedia – Multimedia comes from the word “multi” and “media”. “Multi” means many and “media” means hardware or software used for communicating (or transmition of the information). In this article we will make discussion about Multimedia Applications And Elements Of Multimedia.
Definition of Multimedia – Multimedia is the presentation of information in an attractive and interactive manner by using a combination of text, audio, video, graphics and animation.
1. Entertainment – The entertainment industry has used this technology the most to create real life like games. Several developers have used graphics, sound, animation of multimedia to create variety of games. One example is flight simulator which creates a real-life imaging. Many multimedia games are now available on computers. The children can enjoy these experiences, for example, they can drive cars of different variety, fly aircraft, play any musical instrument, play golf etc.
2. Edutainment – Many computer games with focus on education are now available. A simple example, in this case is an educational game which plays various rhymes for little kids.
3. Knowledge Transfer – The kind of application involve transmission of a piece of information with the maximum impact. This application is meant for academia and business both. Multimedia based teaching is gaining momentum and will become a powerful teaching aid in the near future. Multimedia is one of the best ways to provide short term training to the workers in a business house.
4. Public Access – Public Access is an area of application where many multimedia applications will soon be available. One such application may be the tourist information system, where a person who wants to go for a sight seeing trip may have the glimpse of places he has selected for visiting.
5. Bus Stand – Bus stands and Railway Stations are public places where people spend a lot time in waiting for their desired conveyance. Such waiting can become boring for people sometimes. Multimedia presentations can be used to entertain people in such situations.
6. Publishing Industry and Multimedia – Today the publishing industry has changed drastically because of availability of Multimedia. The publications which are meant for family such as newspapers family magazines etc. are giving real life experiences. for examole, the on-line news clipping are not only read but can also be experienced by seeing the video film associated with it.
7. Multimedia in a Bank – Bank is another public place where multimedia is finding more and more applications in recent times. People go to bank to open saving/ current accounts, deposit funds, withdraw money, know various financial schemes of the bank, obtain loans, etc. Every bank has a lot of information which it wants to impart to in customers. For this purpose, it can use multimedia in many ways. To tell the people about its various loan schemes, a bank can use a use of keyboard or mouse. touch touch screen system which does not require of fingers is erough.
8. Communication Technology and Multimedia Services – The advances of computing, communication and creation of relevant standards have lead to the beginning of an era where you will be provided with a multimedia facilities at home. May be in the form of an interactive T.V.
These services may include
- Basic Television Services
- Interactive entertainment
- Digital Audio
- Video on demand
- Home shopping
- Financial transactions
- Interactive single and multiuser games
- Digital multimedia libraries
- Electronic versions of newspapers.magazines etc.
Elements Of Multimedia
There are 5 Elements Of Multimedia such as Text, Graphics, Audio, Video and Animation.
1. Text – All multimedia productions contain some amount of text. The text can have various types of fonts and sizes to suit the profession presentation of the multimedia software. In a multimedia application, other media or page (or screen) can be linked through the use of text. This is what you call Hypertext.
2. Graphics – Graphics make the multimedia application attractive. Graphics help to illustrate ideas through still pictures. One of the basic fact in multimedia production is that, people do not like reading large amoung of textual matter on the screen. Therefore, graphics are used more often than text to explaina concept, present background information etc. There are two types of Graphics: (a) Bitmap images (b) Vector Graphics
3. Audio – A multimedia application may require the use of speech, music and sound effects. These are called audio or sound element of multimedia.
4. Video – The term video refers to the moving picture, accompanied by sound such as a picture in television.
In multimedia applications, the digital video is gaining popularity because of the following reasons:
- Video clips can be edited easily.
- The digital video files can be stored like any other files in the computer and the quality of the video can still be maintained.
- The video files can be transferred within a computer network
5. Animation – Animation is a process of making a static image look like it is moving. An animation is just a continuous series of still images that are displayed in a sequence. The animation can be used effectively for attracting attention. Animation also makes a presentation light, thus, can be used for presentation of several complex subjects. It is also a tools which helps in focussing attention, for example, a chart if drawn through animation may be focussed on to quickly. Animation is very popular in multimedia applicatic. Click here for Network topology.
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