DIT 506

Lecture 3
MULTIMEDIA

Multimedia data:
Audio and video File
 Introduction

The word multimedia comes from two Latin words, multi

and media.
Multi: meaning several or many.
Media: meaning in the middle.
Multimedia is therefore, the use of a computer to
combine and present text, graphics, audio, and video
with links and tools that let the user navigate, interact,
create, and communicate.
The materials on the internet, or in business
presentations, involve several forms of communication to
connect ( to be in the middle of) the sender and receiver.
 Multimedia components

1. A computer for the purpose of coordinating what to be seen and heard

as well as and to interact with.
2. Links that connect the information.
3. Navigational tools that let you traverse the web of connected
information.
4. Ways to gather, process, and communicate the information and ideas .
If one of the components is missing, then multimedia will not be existing.
Example:
If there is no computer to provide interactivity, we would have mixed media, not
multimedia.
If there are no links to provide a sense of structure and dimension, we have a
bookshelf, not multimedia.
If there are no navigational tools to let you decide the course of action, you have a
movie, not multimedia.
If you cannot create and contribute your own ideas, you have a television, not
multimedia.
 Multimedia data

Text Materials
Text is used as means of sending written messages back and forth between parties.
Example: every office memo ever written has mostly consisted of text with perhaps a
smidgen of other media types thrown in.
Text is still a primary way to transmit information, although nowadays, it is also used to
augment other forms of communication, such as a text description of a photograph.
Photographs and Other Still Images
The growth of electronic communications has meant that older text-only forms of
communication could be enhanced with photographs and images to help pass the
information and ideas.
Small images such as thumbnails or icons are often used as a visual "entry point" to
larger images or more detailed information.
Audio Files
Sound may include musical background to a spoken explanation, by including audio files.
Even digital cameras, a quintessentially image-based technology, have been engineered
these days to record sound as well.
Many sound files are compressed, which reduces the file size without greatly sacrificing
sound quality. Compressed files require less storage space and stream faster when sent
over the internet or transmitted to local systems.
 Multimedia data cont...

Video Presentations
Video presents moving pictures and typically combines images and sound for a compelling multimedia
experience.
Videos can include text as well, which often appears as captioning for spoken words or as text in an image,
as in the case of a slide presentation. Video files are some of the most memory-intensive multimedia
applications, but clever streaming methods makes their use practical in everyday use.
GIFs and Other Forms of Animation
Animated files occupy a middle ground between still images and video. GIFs, which is an abbreviation for
graphic image files, in particular, are small files that present a single image or rapidly display a sequence of a
few images to give the appearance of motion.
Common media file types:
Text Only: TXT
Text with other elements: DOC, DOCX, PDF
Images: JPG, PNG, TIF, BMP
Audio: MP3, WAV, WMA
Video: AVI, WMV, FLV, MOV, MP4
Animation: GIF, FLV
 Sound and Video

Sound
Sound is the best way to attract attention.
Often audio provides the only effective way to convey an idea, elicit an
emotion, or dramatize a point.
Sounds also can be combined in a multimedia presentation to provide
information and enhance the other media being presented.
Sound is mainly used:
To reinforce message or theme
To set the mood
To catch the interest of the audience
To alert the audience
To include narration: effective for training and educational application
 Types of Sound

Music
Background
Attention grabber
Sound effect
Speech
Narration
Instruction
 Characteristics of Sound Wave

FREQUENCY and AMPLITUDE.

Frequency in the number of cycles a sound wave creates in one
second.
A cycle is measured from one wave peak to another.
The standard measurement for frequency is called HERTZ (Hz).
Amplitude is the volume or loudness a particular sound makes.
The louder the sound, the higher the amplitude will be.
The unit of measure for loudness or volume is decibel (dB).
FREQUENCY and AMPLITUDE.
 Digital Sound

Refers to the reproduction and transmission of sound stored

in a digital format.
The digitizing and storage of sound or music on a computer
or compact disc.
A digital audio signal starts with an analog-to-digital
converter(ADC) that converts an analog signal to a digital
signal.
After being sampled with the ADC, the digital signal may
then be altered in a process which is called digital signal
processing
The digital audio signal may then be stored or transmitted.
The last step for digital audio is to be converted back to an
analog signal with a digital-to-analog converter(DAC).
Conversion process
 Sound Sampling Process

In order for a computer to work with audio waves, they must be converted
from analog to digital form.
This is done through a process called sampling, in which every fraction of a
second a sample of the audio is recorded in digital bits.
There are two factors that affect the quality of the digitized audio:
Sample rate
Sample size
Sample Rate
Sample rate is the number of times the sample is taken.
The higher the sample rate, the more samples that are taken and, thus, the
better the quality of the digitized audio.
Sample Size
Sample size is the amount of information stored about the sample.
The greater the sample size, the better the quality of the audio.
Sample Rate
 Sound Channel

Are of two types:

Monophonic
Stereophonic
Channel –Monophonic
Commonly called mono sound, mono, or non-stereo sound. It is
early sound system that used a single channel of audio for sound
output.
Monophonic sound is the most basic format of sound output.
Mono (monophonic, or monaural) is sound from a single source.
All speakers in a mono system (like an intercom) will carry the
same signal.
Sound Channel -Monophonic
 Sound Channel -Stereophonic
Commonly called stereo sound or just stereo.
Stereophonic sound divides sounds across two channels (recorded on two
separate sources) then the recorded sounds are mixed so that some elements
are channeled to the left and others to the right.
Stereo (stereophonic) is sound from two sources, ideally spaced apart, and
reproduces sound the way we hear it naturally, with two ears.
 Audio File Size Calculations

Information needed for the calculation of audio size:

1.Sampling rate, example, CD audio has 44100 samples per
second.
2.Sample size(bit resolution/number of bits per sample):
commonly used sample size is 8 bits or 16 bits.
3.Is the sound mono or stereo channel? (very important)
Mono channel:
Sound File Size = Sample rate x sample size x channel x
duration(time)
stereo channel: Two channels
Sound File Size = (Sample rate x sample size x channel x duration)
x2
 Example:

Given that the sampling rate of an audio is 44.1KHZ with a sample size
of 16 bits transmited over a stero channel for a duration of 60 seconds,
determine the size of the audio file. Give your anser in MB
Sound File Size = (Sample rate x sample size x channel x duration)x 2
Sound File Size = (44100 HZ x 16 bits x 60 s)x 2
= 84,672000 bits too many bits convert it to
other units e.g. bytes or KB
= 84,672000 /(8x1024x1024)
= 10.09 MB
Note that :
8 bits=1byte
1024 bytes = 1kb
1024 kb = 1mb
 Note:

Sample size
8 bit = 1, 16 bit = 2
Channel
Mono = 1
Stereo = 2
 Sound File Formats

Wav audio (.wav)

Sound (.snd)
Real audio (.ra, rm)
Audio File Format (.aiff)
MIDI (.mid)  Musical Instrument Digital
Interface
MP3 audio (.mp3)
Windows Media Audio (.wma)
 Video

Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing,

storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images
representing scenes in motion.
Video is more towards photo realistic image sequence or live recording as
in comparison to animation.
Video makes use of all of the elements of multimedia, bringing products
and services alive, but at a high cost.
The advantage of integrating video into a multimedia presentation is the
capacity to effectively convey a great deal of information in the least
amount of time.
Video is also very hardware-intensive (require the highest performance
demand on computer)
Storage issue: full-screen, uncompressed video uses over 20 megabytes
per second (MBps) of bandwidth and storage space.
Processor capability in handling very huge data on real time delivery.
 Digitizing the Video Signal

Analogue video is essentially a product of the television

industry and therefore conforms to television standards.
Digital video is a product of the computing industry and
therefore conforms to digital data standards.
Video is usually recorded and played as an analogue
signal.
It must therefore be digitized in order to be incorporated
into a multimedia title.
Digitizing the Video Signal
 Advantages of Digital Video

1. Digitized video can be easily edited.

2. The video is stored as a standard computer file.
3. Software motion video does not require specialized
hardware for playback.
4. Digital video requires neither a video board in the
computer nor an external device (which adds extra
costs and complexity) such as a videodisc player.
5. Long-lasting.
 Disadvantages of Digital Video

1. Requires large storage capacity devices.

2. Copies can be made illegally.
3. Need fast computer system for
playback and capture.
4. Requires knowledge of digital
compression technology.
 File Size Considerations

Digitized video files can be extremely large.

A single second of high-quality colour video that takes up
only one quarter of a computer screen can be as large as 1
MB.
Elements that determine the file size of a video:
1.Frame Rate

2.Image Size

3.Colour Depth

4.length of the video

 Definition of terms
Frame rate is the speed at which images are shown, or how fast you “flip” through the
book and it's usually expressed as frames per second (FPS).
Each image represents a frame, so if a video is captured and played back at 24fps, that
means each second of video shows 24 distinct still images.
Aspect ratio is a proportional relationship between an image's width and height.
Essentially, it describes an image's shape. Aspect ratios are written as a formula of width
to height, like this: 3:2. For example, a square image has an aspect ratio of 1:1, since
the height and width are the same
Image size is the dimensions of an image. Image dimensions is measured in any units,
but in computer pixels are used for web or digital images and inches used for print images.
It's important to realize that two different images that have the same aspect ratio may not
have the same image size, or dimensions.
Colour depth is the number of bits that indicate how many colours are available for
each pixel. It is measured in bits.
In the black and white image, only two colours are needed. This means it has a colour
depth of 1 bit.
The greater the colour depth (bits per pixel), the more colours are available.
 Video Compression

Since videos are of large sizes, video

compression and decompression programs are
highly needed.
These programs can substantially reduce the
size of video files, which means that more video
can fit on a single CD and that the speed of
transferring video from a CD to the computer
can be increased.
 Common Digital Video File Formats

1. Motion Pictures Expert Group (.mpg)

2. Quicktime (.mov)
3. Audio Video Interleaved(.avi)
4. Windows Media Video (.wmv)
5. Adobe Flash video (.flv)
 Video File Size Calculations

Video File Size = Frame size x Frame rate x color depth x

duration
Notes (Color depth) :
black and white (B&W) video = 1 byte
Color video = 3 bytes
 Example:

Calculate the file size for a video with 320 x 240 pixels, color video, 30
fps, and length 15 seconds
Video File Size = Frame size x Frame rate x color depth x duration
Video file size = 320 x 240 x 3 x 30 x 15 = 103680000 bytes
 Video resolution

Video resolution in a display device refers to the number of distinct pixels

that could be displayed in each dimension.
It is usually quoted as width× height:
Example:
1024 × 768. 1024 indicates the width and 768 indicates the height that the
display can be resolved in pixels.
A display resolution is controlled by factors like the cathode ray tube and
flat panel display which are presented in digital televisions and computer
monitors.
The more pixels on a target, the higher the resolution will be and the more
likely recognition and positive identification will be made. However, higher
detail requires higher resolution cameras or more cameras and thus more
bandwidth and storage. There is a balance that must be made between
level of detail and project budget.
 Types of video resolution

1. Standard Definition (SD)

2. High Definition (HD).
The most popular standard resolutions are: 640×360 and 640×480 for video.
720×480 and 720×576 for DVD.
HD video usually has a resolution of 1280×720 (720p) or 1920×1080 (1080p,
is also known as Full HD).
While uploading a video in a computer to your mobile phone, you might have
to reduce video resolution.
Increasing video resolution does not have a very good impact since even
though the video resolution is increased the quality does not necessarily
improve, but the size of the video file will definitely grow.
If you want to burn a low-resolution video (for example a 320×240 video
shot on your cell phone) to a DVD, you will need to increase the
resolution because DVD standards require the video to have a resolution
of at least 720×480.
 Question and
Solution

Consider uncompressed video file with a size of 96.56 GB,

lasting 2 hours, with an aspect ratio of 4:3, color depth
of 8 bits and frame rate of 30fps. Calculate the
resolution of the video.
Calculate:
Resoultion is given by the horizontal pixels and virtival of frames
but, we pay attention to the horizontal pixels.
That’s why if we have a video with the resolution 1920×1080
we simply say the resolution is 1080p/i (pixel per inch).
Aspect ratio: it is the is the number of pixel on the horizontal
frame in relation to its vertical pixels.
Aspect ratio = vertical pixels / horizontal pixels
 Example:

Given that resolution is 1920×1080,

Aspect ratio = 1920/1080 (you simplify)
= 16/9
=16:9 4 3
Answer for resolution:
Given the aspect ratio of 4:3,
To get the number of pixel, we look for a common factor for
vertical and hozizontal pixels.
So we end up with 4a * 3a as the resolution (frame size)
 Example:

We know that:
Video File Size = Framesize(resolution) x Frame rate x color depth x time
96.56 GB = (4a x 3a x 30 x 2 x 8 x 60 x 60) / (8x1024x1024x1024)
a2 = 40000.19696
a = 200
Resolution = (4x200) by (3x200)
= 800 X 600
resolution in megapixel = (800x600)/1000000
= 0.48
 b) How many colors can be diplayed on the screen.

Number of colors = 2x
Where x is the color depth.
Therfore:
Number of colors = 28
= 256 colors
 C) If the file takes 9.656 seconds to download,
what is the bandwidth.

Bandwidth is calucalted as follows:

Bandwidth = (file size) / (time taken to download)
Bandwidth = 96.56 GB / 9.656 s
= 10 GB/s
 d) How much time in minutes will it take to
download for 50 users concurrently?

Each user is downoading 96.56 GB thus:

time taken = (96.56 GB x 50) / (10 GB/S)
= 482.8 second
 QUIZ:

1. A video file of a size 6000 GB, color depth of 24 bits, duration of 3 hours,
and frame rate of 24 fps, takes 3 hours to download using a bandwidth of
100MBps.
Calculate
a) The pixel count of the camera in megapixels
b) The resolution, if the aspect ratio is 4:3
c) The bandwidth requirements, if 200 users are to download the same video
for 2hrs concurrently
d) Cost of the bandwidth in (a) if the cost of 128KBps is Kshs 5,000

e) Recommend a suitable method to enable your target audience to view the

video
2. Calculate how much storage space is needed to record a 8-bit, 11khz, mono
sound for a duration of 10 seconds.
 Quiz:

1.What is the file size of a video that has 300 x 200 pixels, black and white video, 25 fps, and length 40 seconds.
2.Calculate the file size of a 25 minutes video at 24fps whose frame rate is 1920 by 1080 and 24 bit depth. Give

your answer in GB.

3.A video has been compressed to MP4 to 4.7Gb, it has about 4096 colours and the compressed file is

downloaded in 4.7 seconds. If the compression ratio is 578: 1 and the frame rate is 30fps and the duration of
the video is 2 hours and has an aspect ratio of 16:9
Calculate
i) Bandwidth (2 marks)
ii) size of the uncompressed file ( 3marks)
iii) colour depth ( 3marks)
iv) how much time will take to download the uncompressed file (3 marks)
v) Resolution of the camera used to take the video in megapixels(4 marks)