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Dear students, a very warm welcome to Week 5.

Our lecture topic this week is Digital Media for Work and Leisure part 2.

Please have your e-textbook ready so as to deepen your overall learning while
going through this weeks material and have fun learning.

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To recap, last week we have explored how digital technology and information
systems have been tremendously useful in many practical ways. Digital media
brings these systems to life with stunning and vivid imagery, powerful sound and
music, and realistic, interactive, animated 3D environments. It is said that if
technology were alive, digital media might be considered its heart and soul.

This week we explore how digital media such as digital music, audio and interactive
media provides a technical venue for people to express themselves through audio
and visual output.

The ability to digitize sound has dramatically altered our phone networks, radio,
television, and the entertainment and music industries. Digital phone networks
digitize speech and send it as bits over cables or through the air. The radio industry
is being transformed by satellite and Internet-delivered digital radio services.

Digital audio in the form of voice, sound effects, and music is embedded in
television programs, motion pictures, animated media, and computer games to
provide high-quality and sometimes dramatic realism. The digitization of music has
fundamentally altered the production and distribution mechanisms within the music
industry, providing musicians with powerfully creative tools, improving the quality of
recorded music, and providing listeners with more convenient access. The
digitization of music and audio has also created new challenges to the creative and
intellectual property rights of artists and production companies.

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In the natural world, sound is the displacement of air particles caused by
vibration and sensed by the eardrum. One way to quantify sound is by
measuring the amount of air particle displacement and charting it over time
to create a graph, called an analog sound wave. The term analog refers to
signals that vary continuously. An analog sound wave can be transmitted
electrically using varying voltages of electricity, as over traditional telephone
networks, or varying a radio signal, as in AM/FM radio.

Another more recent way of quantifying sound is to represent sound waves
with numbers, digitally, through a process called analog to digital conversion
(ADC). Digitized sound is transformed back into its analog form in a process
called digital to analog conversion. Although the re-created sound wave is
not an exact duplicate of the original live sound, a sampling rate of 44,100
times per second is close enough to the original sound to satisfy our less-
than-perfect ears. Digitized sound has tremendous advantages over analog
sound in a number of ways. It can be easily duplicated and transmitted
without any degeneration. It has a relatively limitless life span. It is easy to
manipulate and process and can be encrypted for secure communications.
Digital phones and media recorders/players include analog-to-digital
converters and digital-to-analog converters to translate sound and music
back and forth between analog and digital representation.

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A number of non-entertainment professionals make use of digital sound
technology in their work. Digital sound devices can help professionals who
must rely on their ears to do their work more thoroughly and precisely. Digital
voice recorders store recordings in standard digital sound formats that can
be transferred to a computer for transcription or editing. Sound files can be
edited for broadcast, played back and transcribed to text documents for print
or Web publishing, or filed away for future reference.

Professionals in many fields use portable digital voice recorders to capture
dialog for future reference. Journalists, lawyers, investigators, and others
whose work involves interviewing people rely on digital voice recorders to
keep their facts straight. Doctors and other professionals use digital voice
recorders to record notes for future transcription.

Scientists have used digital audio to study various natural phenomena. The
Australian Marine Mammal Research Centre used digital recordings to study
whale songs off the east coast of Australia. Using three underwater
microphones called hydrophones placed at different locations, the
researchers were able to track the songs of individual whales as they
migrated. Using sophisticated digital processing equipment, the researchers
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discovered that male whale song is highly structured, and, at any one time, all
the males in the population sing the same song using the same sounds
arranged in the same pattern. Over time, however, this pattern changes, but
all the singers make the same changes to their songs. After a
few years the song may be quite different, but all the singers are still singing
the same new song.1 In almost all scientific and medical professions,
researchers use digital sound technologies to help decipher the mysteries of
the universe.
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Digital sound plays an important role in law enforcement. Forensic audio
uses digital processing to denoise (remove nonessential sounds and audio
interference), enhance, edit, and detect sounds to assist in criminal
investigations. Among the many tools available to forensic audio specialists,
the spectrographic sonogram is perhaps the most valuable. A spectrographic
sonogram provides a visual fingerprint for various sounds in a recording. For
instance, when a tape head engages the tape, it leaves a distinct impression
(fingerprint) that can be used to determine if a tape was tampered with.
Gunshots, car engines, and voices all have a unique pattern when viewed as
a spectrographic sonogram. In this slide we show you the spectrographic
sonogram of a human voice. The process of identifying a recorded human
voice is known as voice-print identification. The technique is considered
highly reliable and has been used as evidence in more than 7000 criminal
cases.

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The professional production and editing of digital audio takes place in sound
production studios. A sound production studio uses a wide variety of audio
hardware and software to record and manipulate music and sound
recordings. Todays sound production studios typically record sound to digital
media such as tapes or disks and then use digital sound-editing equipment to
perfect what has been recorded. In this slide we show you a top-notch
Hollywood professional sound studio. Many professionals make their living in
such studios working as digital sound engineers.
The musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) protocol was implemented in 1983 to
provide a standard language for digital music devices to use in communicating with
each other. Using MIDI, a musician can connect and control many devices from a
single synthesizer keyboard or computer. MIDI is used in computers to control the
onboard synthesizer that is housed on most computers sound cards.
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You may have seen audio files with a .mid filename extension. These files
contain the instructions that cause a MIDI synthesizer to play music on your
computer.
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Even non-musicians are turning to PC-based home recording in the digital
broadcast phenomenon called podcasting. A podcast is an audio file that
contains a recorded broadcast distributed over the Internet. Podcasting gets
its name from the Apple iPod, but the technology can be used on any media
player that supports the MP3 format. Podcasts can contain news and
information, interviews with celebrities, commercial radio programs or talk
shows, music, comedy, instructional training, self-guided walking tours,
academic presentations, personal discussions and commentaries, and more.
Increasingly, novices who want to share their views, humor, talents, or
musical taste with the world are using podcasting as a medium.
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Tens of thousands of free podcasts are available on the Web. Most are
regular publications with new releases available daily, weekly, or monthly.
While iTunes is the most popular podcast directory, there are other good
sources such as Podcast Alley (www.podcastalley.com), Podcast.com, and
the Podcast Directory (www.podcast.net).

A podcast can be downloaded from a Web site and played using a PC media
player, or transferred to a portable music player. Podcasts are also
distributed using RSS technology. RSS, is the technology used to subscribe
to blogs. Software called a podcast aggregator or podcast manager uses
RSS to allow you to subscribe to your favorite podcasts from one application.
When you subscribe to a podcast, new episodes are automatically
downloaded to your player as they are released. Apple iTunes is the most
popular and easy-to-use podcast manager. Other podcast managers include
Juice (http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net) and Doppler
(www.dopplerradio.net). Podcasting is another example of how digital media
is empowering individuals. Rather than having to wait for a given time to
listen to your favorite programming, podcasts allow you to listen at your
convenience. Also, since podcasts are easy to produce and distribute,
podcasts are giving voice to many individuals who might not otherwise have
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Today, music is most often distributed on CDs, with an increasing trend
toward distribution over the Internet. CDs made up 85 percent of album sales
in 2008, even though digital download giant Apple iTunes overcame Wal-
Mart to become the worlds largest music retailer. Digital music is burned to
CD in a special format called pulse-code modulation or PCM. PCM stores
the bits of the digitally sampled audio recording. These files are sometimes
said to be in native format since it is the pure digitized representation of the
sound.

Compact disc audio (.cda) files are used by CD players and computer media
players to locate the beginning and end of tracks on the CD. Other music file
formats are specifically designed for use on a computer. For example, the
beeps and bells that are a standard part of the Windows interface are stored
in .wav files; Apple computers use the .aiff music file format. These file
formats are also considered native. Larger audio files, such as a typical
three-minute song, a voice recording, or a half-hour radio program, require a
large amount of computer storage if stored in their native format. Three
typical audio CDs worth of music by your favorite artist would take up more
than 1 GB of space on your hard drive if stored in their native format.
Compression technologies are applied to audio files to greatly reduce their
size with little or no loss to audible sound quality. Digital audio compression
uses a technique called psychoacoustic modeling to remove frequencies from
audio files that people are unable to perceive, reducing the size of the file. The
most recognized compressed digital audio file format is MP3.
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The MP3 file format compresses PCM music files to less than 10 percent of
their original size. With MP3 compression, you could fit 30 CDs worth of
music rather than only 3 into 1 GB of space. The new era of legal Internet
music distribution has developed into something of a war of audio formats.
The traditionally popular MP3 format is still preferred by many people who
have most of their digital music stored in this format. Microsoft primarily
supports the WMA (Windows Media Audio) format (.wma) in the services
provided by Windows Media Player and Zune. Apple iTunes, the most
popular music download service, uses the AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)
format (.m4a and .m4p). WMA and AAC formats provide better sound quality
than the MP3 format because they use more advanced compression technology.
Users who collect music from varying sources will find themselves with a collection
of music files in a variety of formats. Unfortunately, there are very few media players
that support all three formats. The primary reason for this has to do with digital
rights management.
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DRM, is technology that protects intellectual property by restricting the
number of devices and applications on which a file can be opened, and the
number of times that the file can be copied and burned to disc. DRM is
applied to digital music, audiobooks, digital movies and e-books, and other
forms of intellectual propert

Microsoft WMA and Apples AAC file formats include DRM technology. DRM-
protected AAC files use the .m4p file extension. Users who purchase songs
from iTunes, Zune, Urge, and other online services may receive a file with
DRM. While DRM was standard in the early days of digital music distribution,
the public backlash against it due to the inconveniences it causes has led the
music industry to begin phasing it out. When purchasing music online, it is
wise to check if the songs you wish to download include DRM. Most popular
online music stores have given up on DRM. DRM is still strong in other forms
of digital media. Digital movies downloaded from Netflix, digital TV from Hulu,
audiobooks from Audible, e-books for the Kindle, and PDF documents all
make use of DRM to lock down intellectual property and
prevent users from making copies.
There are three primary forms of audio storage media: CDs, hard drives, and
flash memory. Because most music is available on CD, the CD player
remains the most popular digital music player. In many media players, the
ability to play music from CD is only one of many media-playing capabilities.
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There are hundreds of portable digital music players on the market, such as
the Creative Zen X-Fi shown in the slide.

The first consideration in purchasing a player is the music formats that it
supports. Table in the slide lists the formats supported by three popular
players. Shoppers need to make sure that the player they select can play the
format of the music files they own.

Notice that only the iPod supports the iTunes Store format (.m4p), and only
the Zune supports the Zune store format. There are many players that
support the format and DRM used by Napster and Rhapsody, but the iPod
and Zune do not. In this manner, players are directly linked to a particular
format, DRM, and online music store. Since many online stores have moved
to a DRM-free MP3 format, this issue has become somewhat less
problematic. But, if you wish to use proprietary formats for higher-quality
sound, you still need to be cautious about compatibility.
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The second consideration when selecting a player, after compatible formats,
is storage capacity. Smart shoppers first determine how they will be using the
player, and how much music they wish to store. An iPod with a 60 GB hard
drive could store your entire music (and photo) collection
with ease. To put this in perspective, if you completely filled up the iPods 60
GB hard drive with digital music and listened to every song in order, it would
take more than 41 days before the last song finished.

Perhaps you dont need to have your entire collection with you everywhere
you go. If you do, you will certainly want to maintain a backup copy in case
you lose your iPod or it becomes damaged. Many people prefer to keep their
entire collection on a PC and transfer only a portion of their music to their
portable player. As wireless connection speeds continue to increase, some
experts predict that you will soon be able to store and manage your personal
digital music collection on the Internet and access it from anywhere
wirelessly. In such an environment, storage capacity of portable players
would not be an issue.

In order to save users from having to carry a digital music player and a cell
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phone, many of the latest cell phones double as digital music players. Cell
phones like LGs Rhythm, Sony Ericssons W760a, Samsungs Trance, Nokias
5800 Xpress Music, and of course the Apple iPhone, provide high-quality
music features as well as cell phone and smart phone features. Music phones
typically incorporate music player control buttons on the outside of a flip phone
or side of a bar phone where they are easy to access. Special stereo
headphones can be used that include a microphone and switch in the
headphone cable near your mouth. When a call comes in, click the switch on
the cable; your music pauses while you speak on the phone. Just click again
to hang up and return to the music, all without having to take your phone out
of your pocket.
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Media player software, such as iTunes, Windows Media Player, Zune, and
RealPlayer, allows users to organize and play digital music, audio, and video
files on PCs and media devices. Media player software can search for all
music files on a PC and sort and arrange them by artist, genre, or album title.
It also allows users to create custom playlists that can be transferred to a
CD-R or portable player. Most popular media players provide a music
download service so that users can conveniently build their digital music
collections.
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Online music services work with the recording industry to distribute music
legally over the Internet. There are two types of online music services:
download and subscription. Some of the more popular online music services
include Apples iTunes, Microsoft Zune, Napster, and Reals Rhapsody. All
four services offer 99-cents-per-song downloads. Napster and Rhapsody
offer subscription services that provide additional features.

Digital music can be enjoyed around the house, at the office, or in the car
without the need for headphones. There are speaker systems designed for
digital music players. For example, you can simply plug your iPod into a dock
and the music is played through larger stereo speakers. You can use
adapters in the car as well to connect your iPod to the car stereo system.
Some phones and music players include an FM transmitter that transmits
your music to an FM frequency where it can be tuned in on your car or home
radio system. Some digital music enthusiasts use their home PC as their
primary home stereo, utilizing a wireless home network.

Systems like Sonos (www.sonos.com) and Apple AirTunes allow you to send
music from your PC to powered speakers anywhere in your house using your
home Wi-Fi network. Sonos provides a handheld remote that is used to
program music selections on your PC from any location on your wireless
network. Powered speakers are connected to Sonos zone players placed
around the home. You could play relaxing music in the living room for your
roommate while you listen to salsa music in the kitchen as you prepare
dinnerall from the same PC over your home wireless network.

Another type of music service is Spotify. It works on your computer, your mobile,
your tablet, and your home entertainment system. You can even download your
favorite music for when youre offline. it allows you to choose the music you love, or
let it surprise you. If you know what you want, just search and hit play. Or find new
music by browsing the collections of friends, artists and celebrities. You can share
music on Spotify, Facebook, Twitter, your blog and via email. You can follow other
people When they find great new music, so do you.
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This section has provided information on many ways to acquire and listen to
music. Perhaps the only technologies not mentioned so far are AM/FM radio,
digital local radio (sometimes called HD radio), and music over cable TV.
Each type of music service and technology has certain benefits and
drawbacks. For example, storing music on your PC hard drive is convenient
in some respects, but if your hard drive crashes, you lose all of your music.
Ripping CDs and sharing music with friends is easy and fun, but its against
the law. Downloading music to your cell phone is convenient, but its difficult
to play for your friends. In this slide are some considerations for evaluating
and choosing music services and technologies:
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Interactive media refers to digital media that involves user interaction for
education, training, or entertainment. Interactive media is unique in that the
audience is not passively observing the media; it is created specifically for
the audience to take part in the creative or educational process. Interactive
media typically combines digital audio and digital video.
When interactive media incorporates 3D graphic animation, the result is
virtual reality. Virtual reality produces a simulated environment in which the
human participant can move and manipulate objects. Adding surround sound
makes the interactive experience more realistic.

Video games make up a large portion of the interactive media market. Other
forms of interactive media provide computer-based tutorials and training, and
still others are commercial applications that support the sales of products and
provide customer support. Interactive media is becoming increasingly
important as technology advances are able to support its large demands for
processing speed, storage, and bandwidth. New development tools also
better support interactive media over the Internet and Web. This section
provides an overview of interactive media and its value in our lives.
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Research shows that most individuals are able to comprehend complex
ideas more thoroughly and quickly when they are able to interact with them
using digital media. For example, engineering professors at the University of
Missouri turned to interactive media to assist students who were having
difficulty understanding the theories behind stress transformationthe
internal stresses and forces that loads place on building materials. They
developed an interactive media tool that allowed students to witness the
effects of stress on different materials and the associated stress
transformation equations. By visually associating the stress placed on virtual
objects with the equations, students could more easily understand how
abstract concepts relate to the real world. Results from the study showed that
when lecture, interactive media, and textbook reading are compared,
students felt that they learned best in lectures and preferred interactive
media over textbook reading. Educational research also shows that everyone
learns differently. For this reason many curricula are including digital media
and interactive multimedia components.

Many teachers are finding the simulated worlds of virtual reality games a
fertile environment for learning. The Muzzy Lane Software Company
develops gaming software for the classroom to help high school and college
students learn about history and develop thinking skills. Making History is a
multiplayer simulation that puts players in control of European governments
before, during, and after World War II. The game integrates learning into the
software through player experience rather than traditional methods that preach
to the player.
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Companies such as hospitality chains have jumped on interactive media to
offer customers additional services and benefits. Interactive media plays a
large role in Web-based e-commerce. It provides the fundamental technology
for 3D product viewing, which allows online customers to thoroughly examine
products. Travelers can take virtual tours of resort destinations prior to
booking a room; furniture buyers can try out different fabrics on a sofa, and
hairstylists can show you the new you before snipping. Web marketers
even use interactive games to get users to click banner ads.
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In the area of interactive multimedia entertainment, the computer video game
reigns supreme. Video games employ nearly every aspect of digital media
discussed in this chapter. Gaming takes place on computers or special-
purpose gaming devices. Video game consoles, such as the Nintendo Wii,
the Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3), and Microsoft Xbox 360, are high-powered
multiprocessor computers designed to support 3D interactive multimedia.
They come equipped with a fast microprocessor that works in conjunction
with a graphics coprocessor to support fast-paced gaming action. The
microprocessor is specially designed to handle the high demands of live-
action 3D rendering. These units also include memory, storage similar to a
PC, and an optional Internet connection to connect with gamers in other
locations.
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Interactive TV has been touted as the next big thing in interactive
multimedia entertainment. Various features of interactive TV are available to
cable subscribers in select areas. Interactive TV is a digital television
service that includes one or more of the following: video on demand,
personal video recorder, local information on TV, purchase over TV, Internet
access over TV, and video games over TV. Video on demand (VoD) allows
digital cable customers to select from hundreds of movies and programs to
watch anytime they choose. The movie or program may be stored using a
set-top box and can be paused, rewound, and treated as a DVD. Personal
video recorders (PVR), such as TiVo and Replay TV, provide large hard-drive
storage to record dozens of movies and programs to be watched at your
leisure. Comcast has partnered with TiVo to design a set-top box for its
customers that is available in most cities. Local information on TV provides
local community news and information. Purchase over TV, sometimes called
t-commerce, allows viewers to make purchases over their cable TV
connection much as computer users make purchases on the Web. Internet
access over TV, through services like WebTV, allows viewers to navigate the
Web on their television sets. Cable TV services provide access to video
games through video games over TV.

This concludes part 2 of Digital Media for Work and Leisure. After this weeks e-
lecture, you should be able to describe the uses of digital audio and todays digital
music technologies and how interactive media is used to educate and
entertain.

Remember to go to subject main site to attempt the weekly quiz and assignment to
reinforce your learning on this topic.
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