Multimedia

1
Multimedia

• Definitions and components
• Management issues

2
Digital Multimedia

• The field concerned with the computer-controlled
  integration of text, graphics, still and moving
  images, animation, sounds, and any other medium
  where every type of information can be
  represented, stored, transmitted, and processed
  serially

3
Types of Multimedia Information

• text
• graphics
• images
• moving graphics (animation)
• moving images (video)
• sound

4
Text

• Text in a multimedia environment is usually
  hypertext, i.e. text element can be anchors
  that point to other elements (textual or other )
  in the same or different document.

5
Graphics and Images

• Graphics elements are revisable documents that
  retain some structural information in the form of
  objects.
• Images are not revisable. They ignore the
  semantic contents and are described as bitmaps
  consisting of individual pixels, each coded with
  a fixed number of bits.
• Pixel smallest element on a screen or image

6
Moving Graphics and Images

• We can create the impression of motion by quickly
  displaying a sequence of graphics or images
• moving images gt moving pictures
• moving graphics gt computer animation
• frame rate - how may images do we display in a
  second (gt16fps gt smooth motion)
• Movies, 24fps HDTV 60fps

7
Sound

• Speech - to capture speech, need to digitize it
  at 64kbs (64000 bits per second)
• Once captured, we can replay it at will
• Sound Synthesis - Use computer to generate the
  sound
• Speech recognition - use computer to recognize
  speech

8
Discrete vs. Continuous Media

• Continuous media gt time is part of the
  representation (i.e sound or motion video)
• This means that there are time constraints on the
  displaying of information
• Discrete media - media where time sequence
  doesnt matter, ie. text, graphics, video
• Note we often combine the two types in a
  presentation (ie. text and speech)

9
What is important?

• Multimedia appeals to multiple senses hence has
  much greater impact than straight text
• Retention rates 2 or 3 times as high as lecture
• It can be programmed, so is very effective in
  training situations
• automated tracking, integrated with HR system
• Rapidly growing industry
• WEB enabled very soon

10
Where do you use MM?

• Almost any training situation
• High turnover areas are best to focus on first
• Standard requirements easiest to do
• OSHA training etc.
• Look for ROIs of gt100

11
Other Issues

• In-house vs. outsource
• Standard vs. custom
• video vs animation
• How distributed
• CD
• WEB
• ??

12
What are your candidates/successes/failures?