F.

4 CIT – Use of Multimedia Elements page 1

What is “Multimedia”?
Multimedia is a combined digital representation of different media such as text, graphics,
audio, videos and animations.

Properties of Multimedia
1. Multimedia is computer-based.
2. Multimedia data always results in large file size.
3. Interactivity
Interactivity is frequently described as the feature that distinguishes digital
multimedia from other forms of combined media. An interactive multimedia puts the
user in control. The user is empowered with the control of the content and the flow
of information (for time-based multimedia).
4. Modes of Delivery
In order to get multimedia production from its producer to consumers, multimedia
has to be delivered in some means, which are online and offline delivery.
Offline delivery uses removable storage medium to deliver the multimedia
production. To a certain extend, with the increasing popularity of CD-ROM drives in
the mid-1990s and its large capacity, CD-ROM helped the rise of interest in
multimedia at that time.
Online delivery uses a network to send information from one computer to another.
With the increasing network bandwidth and decreasing price of computer processing
power, and the capability of the delivery of live multimedia content, online delivery
is widely seen as the future of multimedia. But there is an increasing trend towards a
combination of offline and online delivery.

Digitization
Data can be either analogue or digital.
An analogue data can have arbitrary real values and can therefore represent continuously
varying signals.
A digital data can only have a finite set of discrete values and can therefore only
approximate continuously varying signals.

Analogue signal Digital signal

Media like sound, motions and graphics (light waves) are analogue signals. However, in
computer, all signals are stored in digital form. Therefore, we have to convert those
analogue signals to digital ones by using some special hardware devices called analogue
to digital converters (ADCs). This process of conversion is called digitization.

Digitization
F.4 CIT – Use of Multimedia Elements page 2

Digitization is composed of two steps: Sampling and quantization.

1. Sampling
This is the process of recording the values of a continuously varying signal at a
constant interval of time or space. The resulting values are called the samples and
the number of samples recorded in a unit time or space is called the sampling rate.

Sampling

If we want to reconstruct the original signal using the samples, we have to ensure a
higher sampling rate. If we undersample –– the sampling rate is too low which
results in distortion of the original signal, aliasing may occur. This will be discussed
in the next few chapters.
2. Quantization
Due to the restriction of digital representation of the samples (i.e. the number of bits),
the samples have to be approximated by a fixed and finite set of possible values.
This process is called quantization and the possible values are called the
quantization levels.
Quantization Levels Quantization Levels
Quantization

4 quantization levels
More quantization levels will produce a better reconstructed signal, but this implies
an increase in the memory needed.
Quantization Levels Quantization Levels
Quantization

7 quantization levels
Digitizations of different media are different and these will be discussed in the next
chapters.

Reconstruction
Finally, we have to reconstruct the quantized samples to the user in an analogue fashion,
such as sound, by using devices called digital to analogue converters (DACs).
If the sampling rate is high enough and the number of quantization levels is large, the
reconstructed analogue signal will be close to the original.

7 quantization levels 7 quantization levels

Low Sampling Rate High Sampling Rate

4 quantization levels Reconstructed Signal 4 quantization levels

Original Signal