MULTIMEDIA Full Course

Introduction

            The word multimedia simply means being able to communicate in more than one way.  Computer can communicate in several ways.  When turn it on, it flashes text on the screen (visual communication) and beeps (audio communication).  The better, computer can handle sound and graphics, the better multimedia programs will look.

Parts of Multimedia Computer

Ø  Sound card and speakers

Ø  Video card and a color monitor

Ø  CD-ROM drive

Ø  Large capacity hard drive

Ø  Video Capture Card (Optional)

Ability of a Multimedia Computer

            The following table shows what a multimedia computer is able to do, as well as the parts responsible for doing that stuff.

Ser No

Multimedia Computer can do this

With this part

Comments

1	Recreate the sounds of musical instruments	A sound card and a speaker	Sound cards very widely in quality when creating music
2	Play back recorded sounds.	A sound card and a speaker	When playing back recorded sounds, sound cards don’t vary as much in quality.
3.	Show pictures and movies on the monitor	A colour monitor and a graphics card.	All video cards and monitors under two years old can handle this.
4.	Access information stored on a compact disc	A CD-ROM drive	These discs fit inside computer (Internal) or come in a box (External)
5.	Run Windows	MS Windows version 3.1	Every computer comes with Windows installed.

Elements of Multimedia Program

            All the multimedia programs have several basic things in common.

Text    : This part of the Multimedia is the base layer of almost all programs.

 Pictures :   Multimedia computers can display photograph quality pictures on the monitor.

Movies  :  With a multimedia program or part, computer can turn into a TV set.

Animation : Sometimes animation (cartoons) can  express a point better than movies.

Sound  :  Without sound, movies and animations are useless.

Increased control :  Multimedia programs can jump quickly to different areas.

A Fast and Big Hard Drive

            Everybody knows a big hard drive is necessary to store information.  But multimedia programs need an enormous one.  Because, video and sound covers lot of space comparing with plain text.

One page of plain text – needs 3 KB disk space.

10 seconds of low quality sound (mono, 8 bits at 11 K) – 110 KB

10 seconds of good quality sound (stereo, 16 bits at 22 K) – 880 KB

10 seconds of high quality sound (stereo, 16 bits at 44 K) – 1,800 KB

10 seconds of video (compressed) – 5.5 MB

10 seconds of video with sound (already compressed)– 7 MB

 

SPEAKERS AND SOUND

            Sound is one of the favorite options on today's PCs. In fact, sound is a standard feature of most new PCs. Everyone has their own uses for sound. You may just want to play a few music CDs with your CD-ROM drive while you are working, or you may use multimedia applications for presentations or educational programs. You may just like the sound of your jet engines roaring as you punch the throttle in a flight simulator. This chapter explains the basics of sound in Windows and shows you how to get the most sound out of your PC.

Components for Sound on Your PC

            To produce sound on your PC, you need a sound card and speakers. The sound card is an expansion card that plugs into one of the slots on your motherboard. This card processes all of the instructions that have to do with sound, and then sends the sounds to the speakers to be played. The speakers plug into the sound card and usually have a power plug as well.

TIP:    Many motherboard manufacturers include sound chip(s) on the motherboard itself. If you have a new PC, check the specifications of its make and model to see if it uses this technology. Sound Cards Sound cards plug into an expansion slot in your PC. The card has a set of connectors that are exposed on the back of the PC; you can plug a microphone and speakers into the connectors. Some cards include an optional connector for a line input, which is used to connect another input source such as the output from a tape player or portable CD player. Other optional connectors can include a joystick connector and a MIDI connector (for connecting a MIDI keyboard). The card may include a volume control, which controls the volume of the speakers and/or headphones.