Chapter 7: Hardware

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 What You Need: Hardware

• The most significant platforms for producing

and delivering multimedia projects are the
Macintosh operating system and Microsoft
Windows.
• The Macintosh as well as the Windows PC
offer a combination of affordability, and
software and hardware availability.

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• Detailed and animated multimedia can also

be created on specialized workstations from
Silicon Graphics and Sun Microsystems.
• Projects must be tested to ensure proper
performance in all target environments.

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• Windows vs. Macintosh

– The Microsoft Windows operating system can run
on assemblages of hardware from countless
manufacturers.
– Apple Computer produces both the computer and
the operating system.

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• Networking Macintosh and Windows

computers
– Local area networks (LANs) connect computers
that are close to each other. They are relatively
less expensive.
• Ethernet is the most common networking
technology.
• Client/server software allows computers
to communicate.

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• Networking Macintosh and Windows

computers (continued)
– Wide area networks (WANs) connect computers
over a diverse geographical area. Typically set up
and managed by large corporations, WANs are
expensive to install and maintain.
• Internet service providers (ISPs) connect
computers to the internet via a WAN.

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• Connections
– Small Computer System Interface (SCSI)
– Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE)
– Universal Serial Bus (USB)
– FireWire (IEEE 1394)

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• SCSI:
– Connects internal and external peripheral
equipment and devices
– Is preferred for real-time video editing, network
servers, and situations that require mirroring.

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• IDE:
– Connections are also known as Advanced
Technology Attachment (ATA).
– These are usually internal devices such as hard
drives, CD-ROM drives, and DVD-ROM drives.

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• USB:
– A standard for connecting devices to the computer
using the plug-and-play system.
– Uses a single cable to connect 127 USB peripherals
to a single PC.

USB port type USB version and speed

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• FireWire:
– Introduced by Apple in the 1980s.
– The industry standard (IEEE 1394) and provides
support for high-bandwidth serial data transfer,
particularly for digital video and mass storage.
– Can connect multiple computers and peripheral
devices (peer-to-peer).

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 Thunderbolt? 10,000 Mbps
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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• Memory and storage devices

– Sufficient memory must be allocated for storing
and archiving files.
– Memory requirements of a multimedia project
depend on the project's content and scope.
– The two types of memory are random access
memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM).

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• Memory and storage devices (continued)

– RAM enables the simultaneously running of many
applications.
– ROM is non-volatile. The BIOS program that boots
up the computer resides in the ROM.

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• Memory and storage devices (continued)

– Hard disks are non-removable mass-storage
devices and have a high data storage capacity and
data transfer speed.
– Solid state drives (SSD) are becoming more
common
– There are no moving parts to an SSD. Conversely,
a hard disk drive uses a mechanical arm with a
read/write head to move around and read
information from the right location on a storage
platter. This difference is what makes SSD so much
faster

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• Memory and storage devices (continued)

– Flash or thumb drives:
• Small storage devices that can be integrated with
USB or FireWire devices.
• Can store from 8 megabytes to several GB
of data. (128GB?)
• More reliable than disk drives.
• Small printed circuit board encased in sturdy metal
or plastic.
• Usable, trendy, and convenient.

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• Memory and storage devices (continued)

– CD-ROM:
• CD-ROM drives are an important part of multimedia
development.
• CD-ROM discs are useful for short-run distribution of
finished multimedia projects and data backup.

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• Memory and storage devices (continued)

– CD-ROM (continued):
• A CD-RW recorder can rewrite 700MB of data to a
CD-RW disc about 1,000 times.
• CD-RWs are similar to CD-Rs, except CD-RWs can be
completely erased.

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• Memory and storage devices (continued)

– DVD:
• Is an optical disc technology for distributing
multimedia and feature-length movies.
• They provide sharp and detailed video resolution.
• The three types of DVDs are DVD-Read Write,
DVD-Video, and DVD-ROM.

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• Memory and storage devices (continued)

– Blue-ray discs:
• Were developed by motion picture industry.
• Can be used for high-definition television recording,
video distribution, camcorder archiving, and mass
data storage.

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• Input devices
– An optical character recognition (OCR) device is
used to convert printed matter into ASCII text files.
– Voice recognition systems recognize spoken words
and commands. Eg: Open, Save,…
– Microphones and cables are used to capture audio.
– Digital cameras use charged-coupled devices
(CCDs) to digitally capture images.

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• Input devices (continued)

Working with a scanner, OCR software

can save many hours of rekeying text.

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• Output devices
– For better quality audio, external stereo speakers
are required.
– Many multimedia developers use more than one
monitor by adding additional display adapters to
the computer.

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

• Output devices (continued)

– Projectors are used when you have a larger
audience than can be accommodated around
a computer monitor.
– Color printers are an important part of any
multimedia production department.

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 What You Need: Hardware
(continued)

© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

 Summary (continued)

• Macintosh and Windows are the two most

common hardware platforms used in
multimedia.
• LANs, WANs, Ethernet, and client/server
software facilitate communication and
connectivity among computers.
• Storage devices include hard disks, RAM,
ROM, flash memory and thumb drives,
CD-ROM, DVD, and Blu-ray discs.

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 Summary (continued)

• Input devices include keyboards, mice

touch-screens, scanners, OCR devices,
voice recognition software, and digital
cameras.
• Output devices include audio devices,
speakers, amplifiers, monitors, video
devices, projectors, and printers.

© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved