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.

Internet Browser Support

The first Internet browsers had support for text only, and even the text support was
limited to a single font in a single color. Then came browsers with support for colors, fonts and
text styles, and support for pictures was also added.

The support for sounds, animations, and videos is handled in different ways by various
browsers. Some multimedia elements is supported, and some requires an extra helper program (a
plug-in) to work.

Multimedia Formats
Multimedia elements (like sounds or videos) are stored in media files. The most common
way to discover the type of a file, is to look at the file extension. When a browser sees the file
extension .htm or .html, it will treat the file as an HTML file, the .css extension indicates a style
sheet file. Pictures are recognized by extensions like .gif, .png and .jpg.

Multimedia files also have their own formats and different extensions
like: .swf, .wav, .mp3, .mp4, .mpg, .wmv, and .avi.

Format File Description

AVI (Audio Video Interleave) was developed by Microsoft, and is therefore
AVI .avi playable on all Windows computers. It is commonly used in video cameras
and TV hardware, but is difficult to play on non-Windows computers.
WMV (Windows Media Video) was developed by Microsoft, It is commonly
WMV .wmv used in video cameras and by TV hardware, but is difficult to play on non-
Windows computers.
QuickTime was developed by Apple, and is therefore playable on all Apple
QuickTime .mov computers. It is commonly used in video cameras and by TV hardware, but is
difficult to play on non-Apple computers.

1
 RealVideo was developed by Real Media to allow video streaming with low
.rm
RealVideo bandwidths. It is still used for online video and Internet TV, but because of
.ram
the low bandwidth priority, the quality is also low.
.swf Flash was developed by Macromedia. Flash requires an extra component to
Flash
.flv play in a browser.
MPEG, developed by the Moving Pictures Expert Group, used to be the most
.mpg
MPEG popular video format on the Internet. It used to be supported by all major
.mpeg
browsers, but it is not supported by HTML5.
MP4 is the upcoming format on the internet. It is supported by all major
MPEG-4
.mp4 browsers in HTML5. YouTube recommends using MP4, and it is commonly
or MP4
used in newer video cameras and TV hardware.

Sound Formats
MP3 is the newest format for compressed recorded music. The term MP3 has become
synonymous with digital music. If your website is about recorded music, MP3 is the best choice

Format File Description

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a format for electronic music
.mid
MIDI devices like PC sound cards.
.midi
.rm RealAudio was developed Real Media to allow streaming of audio with low
RealAudio
.ram bandwidths.
WMA (Windows Media Audio), compares in quality to MP3, WMA files can
WMA .wma
be delivered as a continuous flow of data.
WAVE (more known as WAV) was developed by IBM and Microsoft. WAV
WAV .wav is compatible with Windows, Macintosh, and Linux operating systems, but is
not supported by Internet Explorer in HTML5.
MP3 files are actually the sound part of MPEG files. MP3 is the most popular
MP3 .mp3
format for music players. It is supported by all major browsers.

HTML Helpers (Plug-ins)

A helper application is a small computer program that extends the standard functionality
of the browser. Helper applications are also called plug-ins. Example of well-known plug-ins is
Adobe Flash Player.

Adobe flash player is freeware software for viewing multimedia, executing rich Internet
applications, and streaming video and audio, content created on the Adobe Flash platform.
Flash Player can run from a web browser (as a browser plug-in) or on supported mobile
devices, but there also exist versions running directly on an operating system intended both for
regular users and developers.

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Best Way to Play Audio or Video in HTML

The best way to embed audio and video in a web page is to use the <audio> and <video>
element.

<object> Element
The <object> element defines an embedded object within an HTML document. It is used
to embed plug-ins (like Java applets, ActiveX, PDF, and Flash) in web pages. It can also be used
to embed another webpage, or web content like images, into HTML documents.

<object width="400" height="50" data="filename with extension"></object>

The text between <object> and </object> is displayed if the browser doesn't support the
tag. <param> tag is used to pass parameters to the plug in.

Using Plug-ins
A plug-in is a small computer program that extends the standard functionality of the
browser. Plug-ins can be added to HTML pages using the <object> tag.

The <object> tag can also define a container for external (non-HTML) content.
Following is the example of object tag with mp3 file.

<object height="50" width="100" data="horse.mp3"></object>

Eg.

<audio controls>

<source src="horse.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">

Your browser does not support the audio element.

</audio>

HTML Video - Using <object>

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 The <object> tag tag can also define a container for external (non-HTML) content. The
following HTML tag displays a Flash video embedded in a web page

<object data="file name with extension" height="200" width="200"></object>

Example:

<video width="320" height="240" controls>

<source src="horse.mp4" type="video/mp4">
<object data="horse.mp4" width="320" height="240"> </object>
</video>

Html example:

<html>
<head>
<title>Multimedia</title>
</head>
<body>
<center>
<br>
<br>
<audio controls>
<source src="Race Gurram.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
Your browser does not support the audio element.
</audio><br><br>

<video width="320" height="240" controls>

<source src="Down Down.mp4" type="video/mp4">
<object data="Down Down.mp4" width="320" height="240">

</object>
</video>
</body>
</html>