Multimedia Hardware and Software

1
Lecture 2

• Multimedia Hardware and Software

2
MM hardware

• We need to distinguish between hardware
  requirements for MM production, and hardware
  requirements for MM delivery

3
Producing MM

• MM production requires high quality, high speed
  equipment with massive storage
• Need to store, and process, vast amounts of MM
  data such as images, sounds, and video

4
Producing MM

• Need to be able to capture video from camera to
  disc, at a constant rate
• Need to be able to record sounds using high
  quality microphones in a sound studio

5
MM Delivery

• Computer hardware to be used for running MM
  products requires particular specifications

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Multimedia Hardware

• Apple computers have had multimedia capabilities
  since 1984 (played sound)
• Apple Macintosh series
• Multimedia PCs available since late 1980s
• 386 series

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Apple Mac

• Variety of Models since 1984
• eg PowerPc, Quadra, Classic
• Latest - iMac, G4 and G5, eMac

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Apple iMac

• iMac is entirely suited for MM use
• Has high-level spec for
• Processor and memory
• Storage
• Graphics
• Communications
• Audio
• Optical storage (cd/dvd / rewrite options)

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• Full details can be found at
• www.apple.com/imac

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G5 Spec

• More advanced than iMac
• better processor 1.8-2.5 GHz single/dual
• more memory 256Mb - 8Gb
• more hard disk space 80-500 Gb
• see notes pages
• www.apple.com/powermac/

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eMac

• eMac now also available
• 128-256MB SDRAM - 1 DIMM
• Keyboard/Mac OS X - U.S. English
• 1.25GHz PowerPC G4
• 40-80GB Ultra ATA drive
• DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo drive
• Mac OS X and Mac OS 9 included
• www.apple.com/emac/

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PC

• Multimedia PC (MPC) standard introduced to allow
  users to decide whether a particular PC was
  capable of running MM applications

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• MPC 1 1989
• 386sx, 2mb ram,
• 30 mb hard disk,
• CD ROM Drive,
• VGA video (16 colours),
• an 8 bit audio board, speakers and/or headphones
• Microsoft Windows software with Multimedia
  Extensions package - not powerful.

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• MPC 2 1993
• 486sx 25 mhz, 4mb ram (minimum),
• 160 mb hard disk,
• CD ROM (double speed),
• VGA video (64k colours) display resolution
  (640x480),
• a 16 bit audio audio board (digital sound, midi
  playback),
• 101 keyboard and mouse, midi, joystick, serial,
  parallel,
• Windows 3.0, plus multi media extensions

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• MPC 3 1995
• Pentium 75 mhz, 8mb ram (minimum),
• 540 mb, CD ROM (quadra speed),
• VGA video (64k colours) ( video enable graphics),
  
• 16 bit audio board (digital sound, wavetable,
  midi playback), speakers must be measured at 3
  watts per channel,
• video playback,
• 101 keyboard and mouse, joystick, serial,
  parallel,
• windows 3.11 and DOS 6.0

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PC Today

• Provides high-spec hardware and software capable
  of supporting MM applications
• Vastly exceeds MPC 3 requirements
• Distinction of Multimedia PC no longer needed

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• Example specification
• 3.6 GHz pentium 4 processor
• 512 4Gb memory
• 160 Gb hard drive
• cd/dvd rewrite
• Windows XP
• 1000

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Peripherals for multimedia

• Extra Storage
• external
• hard discs
• cd readers/writers
• zip drives
• dvd players/writers

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• Input Devices
• Trackballs
• Touchscreens
• Graphics Tablets
• Scanners
• OCRD
• Infrared Remotes
• Voice Recognition Systems
• Digital Cameras (still and video)

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• Output
• projectors
• video

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Software for multimedia

• Multimedia application development software
• eg Macromedia Authorware, Macromedia Director,
  Assymetrix Toolbook, Flash
• Graphics Creation and editing software
• eg Adobe Photoshop, Paintshop Pro, Adobe
  Illustrator
• Text
• Abobe Pagemaker, Adobe Framemaker, MS Word

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Software

• Video
• Adobe Premiere, Final Cut, iMovie, Cinema 3D
• Sound
• provided with sound card, eg Soundblaster for PC
  and Macintosh sound software
• Web
• Macromedia Dreamweaver, Adobe Go Live, Macromedia
  Flash and Macromedia Fireworks, shockwave
• www.shockwave.com