Chapter 2

Multimedia: Media and Data

Streams

The following chapter introduces terminology and gives a senseof the commonal-
ity of the elements of multimedia. The introduction of terminology begins with a
clarification of the notion multimed,i,a,followed by a description of media and the
important properties of multimedia systems. Subsequently,characteristics of data
streamsin such systemsand the introduction of the notion LogicalData Unit (LDU)
follow.

One way of defining multimedia can be found in the meaning of the composed word.

o Multi- much] much; multiple.

c l,!.ed,i,um
[at .: middls] A.1_il-1Sly"-"j$9.f.b'-1-qlg"g
!It".@
t3l'gi!*4,9-f*9,?l-ti"q9n1A m.e:,ns of.mass i-9*_rnglc?t"'gryg9$*9J:-g3P9r,
or (from
,magazine, -!9l9yigi91 4.*taic11, I{eltage Electronig 1991).
picti9n3,ry,

This description is derived from the common forms of human interaction. It is not
very exact and has to be adapted to computer processing. Therefore, we discuss
in the next section the notion medium in more detail with respect to computer
processing.
 10 CHAPTER 2. MULTIMEDIA: MEDIA AND DATA STREAMS

2.L Medium

In general, one describes medium as a means for distribution and presentation of

information., Examples of a medium are text, graphics, speechand music. In the
same way' one can also add water and atmoiphei; io lT-(acior-ding to the above
medium description from the American Heritage Dictionary).

Media can be classifledwith respect to different criteria

[ISO93a]. We classify media
according to,pe,rception, representation, presentation, storage, transmissiJn;*;rd
information exchange.

2.L.1 The Perception Medium

Perception media help humans to sensetheir environment. The central question

is: How- d,ohumi"," perceiue information in a computer enuiro,nm,ent?The-anJ*u.
is that the perception of information occurs mostly ihrough seeingor h,ea,iingthe
information, although tactile perception increasesits presencein a co-pui"i""ri-
ronment.

There is a primary difference between seeing and.hearing information when using

a computer. For the perception of information through seeing, iil" -"aiu
roih ur t"*l,iiog" "ir"it
and.uideoare used. Foithe pur."ploo.i;i;r;;tion irLiough
hearing, auditory media such as music, noise and, speecharerelevant.

The differenceamong media can be further refined. For example, video can be fur-
ther decomposedinto different video scenes,which again are composedof individual
images.

2.L.2 The Representation Medium

Representation media are characterized by internal computer representationsof in-

formation. The central question is: How is the computer information cod,ed?The
answer is tiat various formats are used to represent media information ilu.-=;;
puter. For example:
2.1. MEDIUM 11

o A text characteris coded in ASCII or EBCDIC code.

o Graphics are coded according to CEPT or CAPTAIN videotext standard. The

graphics standard GKS can also serve as a basis for coding,-

o An audio stream can be represented using a simple PCM (Pulse Coding

Method) with a linear quantization of 16 bits per sample.

o An image can be coded as a facsimile (the gloup 3 according to the ISO

StandardSpecification)or in JPEG format.

o A combined audio/video sequencecan be coded in different TV standard for-

mats (e.g.,PAL, SECAM, NTSC), and stoied in the computer using i" MFEG
format.

2.1.3 The Presentation Medium

Presentation media refer to the tools and devicesfor the input and output of infor-
mation. The central question is: Through which medium is information d,eiiuered
The media, e.9., paper' screen
lA the computer, or introduced into the computer?
and speaker are used to deliver the information by the computer (output media);
keyboard, mouse, camera and microphone are the input media,

2.L.4 The Storage Medium

Storagemedia refer to a data carrier which enablesstorageof information. However,

the storageof data is not limited only to the available componentso[ a .ompui"i.
Therefore, paper is also a storage medium. The central question is: Where will
the information be stored,? Microfilm, floppy disk, hard disk, and CD-ROM are
examples of storage media.

2.L.5 The tansmission Medium

The transmission medium characterizes different information carriers, that enable

continuousdata transmission.Therefore,storagemedia are excludedfrom this kind
L2 CHAPTER 2. MULTIMEDIA: MEDIA AND DATA STREAMS

of medium. The central question is: Ouer what will the information be transmitted?
The answer ii that information is transmitted over networks. which use wire and
cable transmission, such as coaxial cable and flber optics, as well as free air space

2.1.6 The Information Exchange Medium

The information exchangemedium includes all information carriers for transmission,

i.e., all storageand transmissionmedia. The central questionis: Which information
carrier.will be usedfor information erchangebetweendifferent places?The answer
is,tha-t information .in flo* through intermed,iatestorage me{.ia, *ii"t9
1h,9'.-t.93gu
medium is transported outside of computer networks to the destination, through
direcl transmissionusing computer networks,or through combinedusageof storage
and transmissionmedia (e.g., electronicmailing system).

2,1,7 Representation Values and Representation Spaces

The above classification of media can be used as a basis for characterizing the
notion medium in the context of information processing. Here,,the de.scriptig-n-.of
perception medium comesclosestto our notion of a medium: the media appeal to
the human senses.Each medium defines ,"pr"r"itotion ualuesand representation
tporrt [HD90, HS91],which involvethe five senses.

Example:s-o{yilq"! representation spacesare paper.or s_.c19€n.During a computer-

controlled slide show with simultaneous projection of the computer screen content,
the whole movie screencounts as a representationspace. Stereo and quadraphony
determinethe acousticrepresentationspaces. Representation spaces.un ulro"bl
considered part of the above describedpresentationmedia for inftrmation output.

Representationvalues dglermine the information representation of different media:

while the lerl medium visually representsa sentencethrough a sequence.i;h;;
ters, this sentencewill be representedby the speechmedium in the form of a pressure
wave. Somerepresentation valuesare self-contai
ned by their media. In other words,
they can be properly interpreted by the recipient. Examples here are temperatuie,
2.1. MEDIUM 13

taste, and smell. Other media require a predeflned symbol set, which the users must
ugt"" opo". Text, spegchan$ Beslure_s are exlmPl_e19{.lu-cl
ie_qia.
Repr_esentlt]onyal_geg can be consideredeither as a continuum or a sequenceof dis-
crete values. Pt"rioi. wave fluctuations do not appear as discrete values; instea-d
th"y d"i"rmine the acoustic signals. Electromagnetic waves for human eye percep-
tion ;G-nol diicrete vilues iather they are a Continuum.' eliaiicteii of'a
"ithe.;
text and audio sample values in electronic form are sequencesof discrete valuas.

2.1.8 Representation Dimensions

Ea-chrepresentation space consistg.gf one ot more representation d'imensions. A.

computer screen has two spatial dimensions; holography and stereophony .19=q:I"
an additional spatial dimension. Time can occur inside each representation spaceas
an additional dimension, as it has central meaning to multimedia systems. Media
are divided into two types with respectto time in their representationspace:

1 . Some media, srlc! as !e-1t an$ Sr-1n-!1c.s?are tlmg-rndeqln_!9nt' Information

in these media consist of i sequenceof indivitiuil elementior of
"i.i"ri""ly
a continuum without a time component. Such media -f ilno*n as ti'ii-
odiscrete'is sometirnG;""frfi"4'
independ,ent(ot d,isirete). Note, the notion
becausea medium can also be discrete in value but continuous in time.).
The text of a book is, for example, a disCietemeiiiuin. Piocessing of discrete
media should happen as fast as possible,but this processingis not time critical
becausethe validity (and therefore correctness)of the data does not depend
on any time condition.

2 . The values of other media, such as sound and full-motion video, change over
time. Information is expressednot only in its individual value, but- also by
the time of its occurrence.The semanticsdepend on the level of the ielative
change of the discrete values or of the continuum. Such media ane time-
values caused by tactile or temperat"i" t"i
d,epend,ent._Also,representation
sors with threshold detectors are time-dependent, and therefore also belong to
the time-dependentmedia.
14 CHAPTER 2, MULTIMEDIA: MEDIA AND DATA STREAMS

Proces,qingoJ,thesemedia is time-critical becausethe validity (and therefore

cortectness)of lhe data depends on a time condition. for eiimfle, i*tranJ
mitted audio sample delivered too late is invalid if the following samples to
the sample io qo".tiotr have already been played back.
Individua_l representation values occur in audio and video as a continuous
sequglcg: We underst and ui,deoas a sequenceof plain images occurring peri-
odi91111,
a1_,geLt_q!
igg:"_!.gggilgng:_ry" of sampleswith_periodic
lgbyryI
We call these media continuous med,ia. Using this division, time-dependent
representation values, which occur aperiodically, are not considered contin-
uous media. Control commands for real-time systems are an example. Tn
-ftiry4t.:rytems, we must also consider non-coi'iitr.ous sequencesof rep-
resentation nulo"r, !".1i sequ,elcgs oc_c.y-l:fgl_:fl1nqig, b_y
il-utrrmiision -of
information (e.g.,mousepointer position) in a cooperativeapplication within
a shared window.
Examples of continuous media are: uid,eocoming from natural source (e.g.,
video taken by a camera during a live video lransmission) or from an artifi-
cial source (e.g., video disc); aud,io, which is mostly stored as a sequenceof
digitalized sound-wavesamples; and signals of different sensors)such as those
that senseair pressure,temperature, humidity, pressureor rad.ioactivity.

These notions of time-dependent, discrete and continuous media do not have any
connection to internal representation. They relate to the impression of the viewer or
Iistener. For example, a movie as a representativeof continuous media often consists
of a sequenceof discrete values, which change in representation space according to
a time function. The inertia of the human eye only leads to the impression of
continuity if a sequenceof at least 16 individual images per secondis provided.

2.2 Main Properties of a Multimedia System

2.2.L Multimedia System Definition

If we derive a multimedia system from the meaning of the words in the American
Heritage Dictionary, then a multimedia system is any system which supports more
2.2. MAIN PROPERTIESOF A MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM 15

than a single kind of media. This characterization is insufflcient becauseit only deals
with a quantitatiue evaluation of the system. For example, each system processing
text and graphics would be classified as a multimedia system according to this
narrow definition. Such systems already existed before the multimedia notion was
usedin a computer environment. Hence,the notion multimedia implies a new quality
in a computer environment.

We understand multimedia more in a qualitatiue rather than a quantitative way.

Therefore, the kind rather than the number of supported media should determine
if a system is a multimedia system. It should be pointed out that this definition is
controversial.Even in the standardizationbodies,e.9.,ISO, a weakerinterpretation
is often used.

A multimedia system distinguishesitself from other systems through severalprop-

erties. We elaborate on the most important properties such as combination of the
media, media-independence, computer control and integration'

2.2.2 Combination of Media

Not every arbitrary combination of media justifies the usage of the term multime-
d,i,a.A simple text processing program with incorporated images is often called a
multimedia application becausetwo media are processedthrough one program. But
one should talk about multimedia only when both continuous and discrete media
are utilized. A text processingprogram with incorporated images is therefore not a
multimedia application.

2.2.3 Independence

An important aspect of different media is their level of independencefrom each

other. In general, there is a request for independenceof different media, but mul-
timedia may require several levels of independence. On the one hand, a computer-
controlled video recorder stores audio and video information, but there is an inher-
ently tight connection between the two types of media. Both media are coupled
together through the common storage medium of the tape. On the other hand, for
 16 CHAPTER 2. MULTIMEDIA: MEDIA AND DATA STREAMS

the purpose of presentations,the combination of DAT recorder (DigitaI Audio Tape)

signals and computer-availabletext satisfiesthe request for media-independence.

2.2.4 Computer-supportedIntegration

The media-independenceprerequisite provides the possibility of combining media

in arbitrary forms. Computers are the ideal tool for this purpose. The system
should be capable of computer-controlled media processing. Moreover, the system
should be programmable by a system programmer or even a user. Simple input or
output of different media through one system (".g., u video recorder) does not satisfy
the requirement for a computer-controlled solution. Computer-controlled data of
independent media can be integrated to accomplish certain functions. For such a
purpose, timing, spatial and semantic synchronization relations will be included. A
text processingprogram that supports text, table calculations and video clips does
not satisfy the demand for integration if program supporting the connection between
the data cannot be estab[shed. A high integration level is accomplishedif changing
the content of a table row causescorresponding video sceneand text changes.

Such flexible processingof media is not obvious - even in many of the best available
multimedia products. Therefore, this aspect must be emphasizedin terms of an inte-
grated multimedia system. Simply put, in such systems, everything can be presented
with video and sound that is presented with text and graphics today
[AGHg0]. For
example, in conventional systems, a text messagecan be sent to other usersl but,
a multimedia system with a high level of integration allows this function also for
audio messagesor even for a combination of audio and text.

2.2.5 Communication Systems

Communication-capablemultimedia systems must be approached. A reason for this

is that most of today's computers are interconnected; considering multimedia func-
tions from only the local processingviewpoint would be a restriction, if not a step
back. Another reason is that distributed environments enable particularly interest-
ing multimedia applications. Here multimedia information cannot only be created,
processed,presented and stored, but also distributed above the single computer,s
2.3. MULTIMEDIA 77

boundary.

2.3 Multimedia

Considering the first explanation of multimedia at the beginning of this chapter,

it is apparent that the notion is insufficient. We derive the following definition
for multimedia from the American Heritage Dictionary definitions and the above
considerationswith respectto the medium (Section2.1) and to the main properties
of a multimedia system (Section2.2):

A multimed,iasystem is characterizedby computer-controlled',integratedproduction,

'inforrnation,
mani,pulation,presentation, storage and commun'icationof independent
and a discrete (time-
at leastthrough a continuous (tirne-depend,ent)
wh1chis encod,ed,
independ,ent)medium.

Multi,med,iais very often used as an attribute of many systems, components, prod-

ucts, ideas, etc., without satisfying the above presentedcharacteristics.From this
viewpoint our definition is deliberately restrictive.

Thus, two notions of multimedia can be distinguished:

o (Multimedia"o strictly speaking:

This notion was explained in Section 2.2 and will be used further. In this
context, continuous media will always be included in a multimedia system. At
the same time important timely marginal conditions (through the continuous
media) for the processing of discrete media will be introduced' They have
barely been consideredin computer use until now.

o 66Multimediatt, in the broader sense:

Often the notion multimed,i,ais used to describe the processing of individua'l
images and text, although no continuous medium is present. Many of the
processingtasks in this environment will also be necessaryin the multimedia
system according to the restrictive definition. In any case, if more media are
processedtogether, one can talk about multimedia according to this second
notion.
18 CHAPTER 2. MULTIMEDIA: MEDIA AND DATA STREAMS

2.4 Tbaditional Data Streams Characteristics

In Sections 2.I, 2.2,, and 2.3 we clarified the multimedia notion from the local
computer-based point of view. But the presented work also includes the consid-
eration of multimedia communication systems. Therefore, we need to specify the
multimedia notion from the communication point of view.

In distributed multimedia communication systems, data of discrete and continuous

media are transmitted and information exchange takes place. Moreover, in each
digital system, transmitted information is divided into indiuidual units (in general,
these are packets) and subsequently sent away from one system component (the
source) to another (the destination). The source and destination can be located
either on the same computer or on different machines. A sequenceof individual
packets transmitted in a time-dependent fashion is called a data stream (The term
"data stream" will be used here as a synonym for "data flow".). Packets can cariy
information of either continuous or discrete media. An example of a continuous
media data stream is the transmission of speechin a telepironesystem. ttre retrievat
of a document from a database can be seen as setting up a discrete media data
stream.

Transmissionof information carrying different media leads to data streamswith very

different features. The attributes of asynchronous, synchronous, and. isochronous
data transmission come from the fields of computer communication and r*itih-
ing. fhey are also used, for example, in FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface)
networks for the description of different data transmission modes with respect to
end-to-enddelay of individual packets(seeFigures 10.5 and 10.6).

2.4.1 Asynchronous TYansmission Mode

The asynchronous transmission mode provides for communication with no timely

restrictions. fg,cketq reach the receiver as fast as possible.

Protocols of the worldwide Internet for electronic mail transmission are an example.
In local area networks, Ethernet is i-fuither example. All information of discreie
media can be transmitted u, un uryochronous data stream. Data of discrete me-
 TRADITIONAL D ATA STREAMSCH ARACTERISTICS 19

dia can also include time restrictions through the timely connection to continuous
media synchronization.In this casean asynchronoustransmissionmight not be ap--
propriui". tf an asynchronousmode is chosenfor transmission of continuous media,
uaaltionut techniquesmust be applied to provide the time restrictions

2.4.2 Synchronous TYansmission Mode

The sgnchronous transmission mod,e defines a maximum end-to-end delay for each
b9
packg!9j a data 'tl9?-. T!i9 "pp"l bound will nevgr ,Y,i-*t9d: U"lg-o'gr--
packet iutr i"u.[ the iecei"ei at any arbitrary earlier.time. Thus, an important
claim of multimedia applicitions is siiish"d: a maximal end-to-end delay ca1 be
guaranteed.

Additionally, an audio connection can be establishedover a local area network which

supports synchronoustransmiision mode. The ui;omtieaseil iianitei of video ditb,
in a retrieval mode is charicterized by a high dati iafe and-ieiiti"ely ttigh -'t"ii""t
endlto-end delay. ttere ihe typical data rate is 140 Mbit/s and a maximal delay can
be 1 second. In extreme casespackets arrive at the receiver 1 second too early and
nu"_9_toL" stored i;l;;"adi"iv. t" oui example, a receiver would need a l:TPot.tv
storageof about 17.5 MbYtes.

2.4.3 Isochronous TYansmission Mode

The isochronous.transmission mode- defines, besides a maximum end-to-end delay

for each packet of a data stream, a minimum end-to-end delay. This means that the
deiay jitiei (in shoif,"ii;itter") of individual packets is bounded'

In this c-ase,!b--",ng.-gtt?1l- t-tol?,ggo{=yideo d3l1at ttre releiver, mentioned in the

ab-oveelample, would be strongly reduced. These demands on intermediate s!3rage
must be consideredin all compot along the data route between source(s) and
"oft
sink(s).
20 CHAPTER 2. MULTIMEDIA: MEDIA AND DATA STREAMS

2-5 Data stream characteristics for continuous Me-

dia

The following section describesdata stream characteristics that

relate to any audio
and video data transfer in a multimedia systems (multimed,ia
d,ata streams).More-
over' we consider the effects of compressionon data stream characteristics
during
data transfer. These data stream characteristicsapply to distributed
as well as local
environments.

2.5.r The Time rnterval Betweena complete Tbansmissionof con_

secutive Packets

This first property relates to the time interval between a complete

transmission of
consecutivepackets. Based on ihe availability of paCkets,t; disiingui;n
rmongtm
following possibilities:

If the time interval between two consecutivepackets is constant, a datastream

. ,:-----
is called strongly periodic. The1ef91e,in an ideal case,jiiter rrii ir," ,rrd,",.;.
Figure 2.1 shows such a data stream. An exampr"'ir'FCvr.oa"a-tp"*r,
i"

Figure2.7: stronrly y::r!r":t-ream, (T-time rimit betweentwo consecutiue

packets),
i'e.,timeinteFffiEar'i:.;f7E,;am,eIengthbetwieb|itiioconsecuIiuepackets.

traditional telephone switching systems.

t lltg duration of the time interval between two consecutive packets

can be
describedtlrough a periodical function with finite p"rioa, Urt ifr" ti-"
irrt"rrii
between consecutivepackets is not constant (otherwise it *ooia 6e
a stiongly
p"tiodi. data stream). Th; dita siieam is called weakly per:iodic.
f urrs caseis
shown in !'igure 2.2.
 MEDIA
FORCONTII{UOUS
2.5. DATA STREAMCHARACTERISTICS 2I

Figure 2.2: Weakly peri'odicstream, i.e., time interuals betweenconsecutiuepackets

are of periodic nature.

e All olhgrp9g_!!rli!iel9l tl3"'qission *'-!l--'-9't9.-t.i'-!*q,tltervalareknown

as aperiod,icdata strearns.Figure 2.3 shows such a data stream.

Figure 2.3: Aperiod,icstream, i.e., the sequenceof time interaals is neither strongly
nor weakly periodic.

An example of an aperiodic data stream can be found in a cooperative ap-

plication with shared windows. Very often, the status and actual coordinates
of the user's mouse must be distributed among all participants of the multi-
media conference. If this information is transmitted periodically, extremely
high redundancy is present. Thus, given that an optimal system should trans-
mit information only when necessary,after an initialization phase, data are
exchangedonly when a change in position or status occurs'

2.5.2 Variation of Consecutive Packet Amount

A secondcharacteristic of data streams is the variation of the amount of consecutive

packets.

o If the amount of data stays constant during the lifetime of a data stream,
;;. ;;11rth; aJu ;tt"ffi ii,trongtyrisutai. s"ih i datilt*tm l; tho*" i"
TGuiJ.4. T-fi'-TJJt"iliJ tyt[:'t foi uiicdmpiessed digitil dataiir"'-isiio".
 CHAPTER 2. MULTIMEDIA: MEDIA AND DATA STREAMS

,t
Dl
\l/
lr

Dt

Figure 2.4: strongly regular stream, i.e., constant data size of all packets.

Examples are the video stream taken from a camera in uncompressedform

and the audio stream from an audio CD.

If the amount of data varies periodically (with time), this is a weakly regular
data,s,tr-eam.{g gxample of a weakly regular data gtream i; ; ;i,mpi-essa
video stream which uses a compressionmethod as follows: individual images
are.codedand compressed as an individual,whole unit, which representsa rel-
atively large packet inside the data stream (bounded packet length of network
transmissionis left out in this consideration.). Packetswill be periodically
transmitted. e.g., every two seconds.Inbetweenthe two secondperiods, addi-
tional packets will be sent which include the information abouf the rlifference
of the two consecutivecompressedimages.
an 91?!1n! _gf-a-compression method which works similarly to the above
descriptionis the MPEG compressionmethod (seesection 6.7). MpEc air
felentiltgg among I, P and B images i" iompi"rr"d lrid"o stream. I-i-u,g",
"
representcompressedindividual images,while p- and B-imagestake into ac-
count lmage differences. With this approach the data rate is reduced essen-
tially. There is no constant bit rate for individual l, p, B compressedpackets,
but the I:B:P relation of the created data amount for every image is known
(often used'oalueof the I:B:P relation is 10:1:2for individual iinigbs-). Suih a
data stream can be characterizedon averageover a long time period as weakly
regular(Figure 2.5).

Data streams are irregulor if the amount of data is neither constant nor changes
according to a periodic function (seeFigure 2.6). Transmission and processing
 MEDIA
FOR CONTIT\TUOUS
2.5. DATASTREAMCHARACTERISTICS 23

Dl

ry
D3

Dr

4
D3

Figure 2.5: WeaklAregular streanl, 'i.e.,d,atasize of the packets changesperiodically.

r--;I

Figure 2.6: Irregular d,atastrearn, i.e., data s?,zeof the pacltets is nei'ther constanl
nor changing periodi,cally.

is more complicatedin this case.In the casewhen a compression method is

applied to the {at.a 9!_reg,m,the data stream has-a t'-ariible6j! f"t31d1F"
sizeof an individ.ualpacket.(derived from aniliiyt9gd imagg)*i949!g1q[9a
from the content of the previouschangedimage. The size of the created
information therefore dependenton the
"oit it- "t399jg09"*9 31{ffi?!9
streamis irregular.

2.5.3 Contiguous Packets

A third property characterizescontinuity,or the connectionbetweenconsecutive

packets.Are consecutivepaciiietJtiaiismitteariiTectt!oii;ftei tnot6ei, or ii there
. *uo betweenttre paitiefsf tfiis iun U" .t utilizatiott oi a certain-tyti"-
"u"r,
resource,suchas a network.
 CHAPTER 2. MULTIMEDIA: MEDIA AND DATA STREAMS

o Figure 2,1 showsa connectedinformation transfer. Al1 packetsare trans-

Figure 2.7: Continuousstream,i.e., the packetsare transmitted,without intermediate

gaps-

mitted successively
ll,th9ut a gap- Necessary additional information (e.g.,
Coriroicodes)of the dila-ii'.""Jia;i;d. Tn"this"cise,
t6"-6ndia;;"a
"tror
system resource is 100% utilized. A connected data stieam allowJ'maximai
data throughput u;d ;;;.ii"s optimat utiliiation of the syitu- i"r"fi". A
B-channel of ISDN with trarsmission of 64 kbit/s dati is an example.
1lqi"
. T\9
1?1"streamthrougha channelwith a higher
!11ry35.io" 9.11.9119.t-"-d
capacity leads to gaps between individual packets. A d3.!a stieam yi1_trg_ap-g
t.t*""" iniotmaiion-units is called un ur"orr,"cted'dai;a stream. An example
,;;
rl.,!:g-gtg_
t9-94-9yq ?,s, ,I!9.-"y"1,
it-i' i{
",q!iqpo,rtant -g",pr,-u_TIl-e*g€
3!

Figure 2.8: Discrete stream, i.e., gaps erist among the packets.

packets ot
lf !!r-9!ulu!i"" of lhe gaps varies. For example, the transmission of
data coded with the Jppc method, wiitr r.z Mlit/r thioughput on
_a {l:lli
average?will lead to gaps among individual packetson an FDDI network.

In the following example, the properties described above should be made clear: an
NTSC video signal is captured from a video camera and digitized in a computer,
yet no compressionis done. The created data stream is strongly periodic,
strongly
 IIfFORMATIOI\I UNI?S

regular and connected, as shown in Figure 2.4. There ale no gaps among the pack-
ets. During the digitizing process, the DVISTV method for compression, using
the ActionMedia IITMcard, is performed. The resulting data stteam (considered
over a longer period of time) is now weakly periodic, weakly regular, and, through
transmissionover a 16 Mbit/second Token Ring, unconnected.

2.6 Information Units

Continuous media consist of a time-dependent sequenceof individual information

Such an information unit is called a L,ogicnl ntata iii (LDU); *tric,[]J .tose
""iii
to a Protocol Data (Jnit (PDU).
-- The meaning of the information and daiu u-outtt
"bt
u" Lou ii" u" ain"i""t'--

1. Considerfor example the symphony "The beaf'by JosephHaydn. It consists

of four sentences:uiuace assa'i,allegretto, minuef and fi,nale u'iuace.Each sen-
tence is an independent, self-containedpart of this composition, consisting of
a sequenceof notes for different instruments. The notes are representedin a
digital system as a sequenceof samples (no compressionis consideredin our
example.). With CD-DA qua-li!y-, there are 44,100.samplesper second,which
are coded with 16 bits per sample. On a CD the samplesale grouped into
units of 1/75 secondduration. One could talie as the LDU the whoie sym-
phony, individual sen[bnces,individual notes, gi;up"d sami]leJ i/ZS seCbnd
"f
durationoi just ildiyi4uSl l?-pl"': r!3 narll9ul1rapplicationdetermines
what is consideredto be the LDU. For example, applications using output
functions of the whglg rymphony will take the whole symphony.,asthe iDU.
Other applications use functions which consider the smallest meaningful units
(in our case,notes). A digital systemconsiderssamplesas the LDUs.

2. An example of an uncompressedvideo sequenceconsisting of individual video

clips, which present u rpe.ific ,."n","ir-riio*o i" fig"i" i'g. S".ft i.""" i.
"
comprisedof a sequenceof images.An image can b" divided, tor exirnpteinto
16x16 groups of .pixels. E1ch pixel co:rgistsagain of 19min3,199*g$-=:!tggi-
nance values. The image is therefore not the only possible LDU of a video
sequence.A sceneor a pixel can also bein LDU. In ; nideileililnce,'Coaea
26 CHAPTER 2. MULTIMEDIA: MEDIA AND DATA STREAMS

Film

Clip

Frame

Figure 2.9: Granularitg of a motion picture sequence.

with MPEG or DVI, existent -redundanciescan be used through applying an

interframe compressionmethod. The smallest self-containedmeaningful units
here are imaqe sequences.

The notion of granularftgrcharacterizes the hierarchical division of audio or video

datq qtrypms.!4tg lheir componenti. in our examples, the most geneiu,fna--ilind
best-known information units are the symphony and the movie. Yet there exists
also another ciassificationof LDU with respect to duration. ClosedLDIIs have a
pre-iefined duration. An example of such an LDU stieam is i data stream of audio
samplesin the computer. If the duration is not known in advance,we encounter an
open LDU. An example of such an LDU stream is a data stream sent fiom a iu,mera
or microphoneto the computer.