Multimedia Applications

Video

Overview
Using video. How video works? Broadcast video standards. Analog video. Digital video. Video recording and tape formats. Shooting and editing video. Optimizing video files for CD-ROM.

Video
Video is the most recent addition to the elements of multimedia

It places the greatest demands on the computer and memory (using about 108 GB per hour for full motion)

Often requires additional hardware (video compression board, audio board, RAID - Redundant Array of Independent Disks- for high speed data transfer)

Using Video
Carefully planned video can enhance a presentation (eg. film clip of JFK, better than an text box of same message)

Before adding video to a project, it is essential to understand the medium, how to integrate it, its limitations, and its costs

Using Digital Video

Digital video has replaced analog as the method of choice for making and delivering video for multimedia.

Digital video device produces excellent finished products at a fraction of the cost of analog.

Using Digital Video

Digital video eliminates the image-degrading analog-to-digital conversion.

Many digital video sources exist, but getting the rights can be difficult, time-consuming, and expensive.

Video Clips
Ways to obtain video shoot new film clips with a digital camcorder convert your own video clips to digital format acquire video from an archive - often very expensive, difficult to obtain permissions or licensing rights

Be sure to obtain permission from anyone you film or for any audio you use!

How Video Works

Light passes from an object through the video camera lens and is converted into an electrical signal by a CCD (chargecoupled device).High quality cameras have 3 CCD Signal contains 3 channels of color information (red, green, blue) and a synchronization pulse.

How Video Works

If each channel of a color signal is separate it is called RGB ( preferred) A single composite of the colors and sync signal is less precise A typical video tape has separate tracks for audio, video, and control

Video Basics

How Video Works

The video signal is magnetically written to tape by a spinning recording head following a helical path Vedio is recorded on a separate straight track

The control track regulates the speed and keeps the tracks aligned as the tape plays/records.

Video Basics

Broadcast Video Standards

NTSC
PAL

SECAM
HDTV

Broadcast Video Standards

National Television Standards Committee (NTSC):
These standards define a method for encoding information into electronic signal that creates a television picture. It has screen resolution of 525 horizontal scan lines and a scan rate of 30 frames per second.

Broadcast Video Standards

NTSC- National Television Standards Committee 1952 1 frame = 525 horizontal lines every 1/30 second 2 passes - odd/even lines, 60/second (60 Hz) interlacing - to reduce flicker

Broadcast Video Standards

Phase Alternate Line (PAL) and Sequential Color and Memory (SECAM):
PAL has a screen resolution of 625 horizontal lines and a scan rate of 25 frames per second. SECAM has a screen resolution of 625 horizontal lines and is a 50 Hz system. SECAM differs from NTSC and PAL color systems in its basic technology and broadcast method.

Broadcast Video Standards

Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) Digital Television (DTV):
This digital standard provides TV stations with sufficient bandwidth to present four or five Standard Television (STV) signals or one High Definition TV (HDTV) signal. This standard allows for transmission of data to computers and for new Advanced TV (ATV) interactive services.

Broadcast Video Standards

Several incompatible standards: NTSC (US, Japan, many other countries) PAL - (United Kingdom, parts of Europe, Australia, South Africa) SECAM - (France Russia, few others) HDTV - ( US ) - newest technology

Broadcast Video Standards

HDTV- High Definition Television now available, allow viewing of Cinemascope and Panavision movies with aspect ratio 16:9 ( wider than high) Twice the resolution, interlaced format Digitized then compressed for transmission

Broadcast Video Standards

4: 3 Aspect Ratio

Broadcast Video Standards

16: 9 Aspect Ratio

Integrating Computers and Television

Television video is based on analog technology and international broadcast standards

Computer video is based on digital technology and other image display standards

DVD and HDTV merges the two

Analog Video
Analog television sets remain the most widely installed platforms for delivering and viewing video. Television sets use composite input. Hence colors are less pure and less accurate than computers using RGB component.

NTSC television uses a limited color palette and restricted luminance (brightness) levels and black levels.

Analog Video
Some colors generated by a computer that display fine on a RGB monitor may be illegal for display on a NTSC TV.

While producing a multimedia project, consider whether it will be played on a RGB monitor or a conventional television set.

Video Overlay System

To display analog video (TV) images on a computer monitor, the signal must be converted from analog to digital form.

A special digitizing video overly board is required for the conversion. Produces excellent quality, full screen, full motion video, but costly.

Video Overlay System

Many companies use computer based training (CBT) systems These require a computer and monitor cabled to a TV and video disc player. Overlay boards allow the video disc to be controlled by the computer and display the images on the computer screen.

Video Capture Boards

Video overlay boards can capture or digitize video frames and play them back as QuickTime MPEG and AVI movies. Some also include audio input and sound management to interleave sound and images Some also offer compression and accelerate digitizing, or support NTSC video.

Differences Between Computer and TV Video

Computer scan refresh rate = 480 lines/sec Computer scan is progressive ( noninterlaced) at 66.67 HZ or higher TV scans at 525 (or 625) lines/sec, with interlacing at a frame rate of 60 Hz

Interlacing Effects
The TV electron beam actually draws all the odd line, then all the even lines, interlacing them On a computer (RGB) monitor, lines are painted one pixel thick and are not interlaced. Displayed on a TV they flicker because they appear in every other field. To avoid this avoid very thin lines and elaborate lines.

Differences Between Computer and TV Video

TV broadcasts an image larger than the screen so that the edge of the image is against the edge of the screen. This is called overscan Computer images are smaller than the screen area (called underscan) and there is a border around the image

Computers and Video

Differences Between Computer and TV Video

When a computer screen is converted to video the outer edges do not fit on the TV screen only about 360-480 lines of the computer image are visible. Avoid using the outer 15% of the screen for graphics, or titles for use on TV Use the safe title area.

Video Color
Color reproduction and display are also different in TV and computers monitors Computers use RBG component video and produce more pure color NTSC TV uses a limited color palette and restricted luminance (brightness) and black levels

Working with Text and Titles for Video Productions

Use plain, bold, easily read fonts Use light color text on a dark background Avoid color combinations like yellow/violet, blue/orange which vibrate Avoid black or colored text on white background

Working with Text and Titles for Video Productions

Make lines and graphics at least two pixels wide Use parallel lines and boxes sparingly and draw them with thick lines Avoid hot colors Keep graphics and titles in the safe screen area

Working with Text and Titles for Video Productions

Bring titles on slowly and let them remain on the screen sufficiently long, fade out Avoid busy screens- use additional pages instead

Digital Video
Digital video architecture. Digital video compression.

Digital Video Architecture

Digital video architecture consists of a format for encoding and playing back video files by a computer. Architecture includes a player that can recognize and play files created for that format.

Digital Video Compression

Digital video compression schemes or codecs ( coder/decoder) is the algorithm used to compress (code) a video for delivery. The codec then decodes the compressed video in real-time for fast playback. Streaming audio and video starts playback as soon as enough data has transferred to the users computer to sustain this playback.

Video Compression
To store even a 10 second movie clip requires the transfer of an enormous amount of data in a very short time 30 seconds of video will fill a 1 GB hard drive Typical hard drives transfer about 1MB/second and CD- ROMs about 600K/second

Video Compression
Full motion video requires the computer to deliver the data at 30 MB/second more than todays PCs and MACs can handle Solution- use video compression algorithms or codecs Codecs compress the video for delivery and then decode it for playback at rates from 50:1 to 200:1

Video Compression & Streaming

Codecs ( such as MPEG, JPEG) use lossy compression schemes Streaming technologies are also used to provide reasonable quality , low-bandwidth on the WEB Playback starts as soon as enough data have been transferred to the users computer instead of waiting for the whole file to download ( RealAudio and RealVideo software)

MPEG
Standard developed by the Moving PIcturesExperts Group for digital representation of moving pictures and associated audio http://mpeg.org

Digital Video Compression

MPEG is a real-time video compression algorithm. (Moving Picture Experts Group) MPEG-4 (1998-1999) includes numerous multimedia capabilities and is a preferred standard. MPEG-7 (2002) (or Multimedia Content Description Interface) integrates information about motion video elements with their use. MPEG 21 under development

Digital Video
Video clips can be shot or converted to digital format and stored on the hard drive. They can be played back without overlay boards, second monitors or videodiscs using QuickTime or Active Movie for Windows Analog video can be converted to digital or now created in digital form

Video Recording and Tape Formats

Composite analog video. Component analog video. Composite digital. Component digital. ATSC digital TV.

Composite Analog Video

Composite video combines the luminance and chroma information from the video signal. Composite video produces lowest quality video and is most susceptible to generation loss. Generation loss is the loss of quality that occurs while moving from original footage to editing master to copy.

Component Analog Video

Component video separates the luminance and chroma information. It improves the quality of the video and decreases generation loss. In S-video, color and luminance information are kept on two separate tracks (Y/C) to improve the picture quality. Betacam is a new portable professional video format which lays the signal on the tape in three component channels.

Composite Digital
Composite digital recording formats combine the luminance and chroma information. They sample the incoming waveforms and encode the information in binary (0/1) digital code. It improves color and image resolution and eliminates generation loss.

Component Digital
Component digital formats add the advantages of component signals to digital recording. D-1 component digital format is an uncompressed format which has a very high quality image. It uses a 19 mm (3/4-inch) tape in order to save data. Several other digital component formats are DCT, Digital Betacam, DV format, DVCPRO, and DVCAM formats.

ATSC Digital TV
These standards provide for digital STV and HDTV recordings that can be broadcast by digital TV transmitters to digital TV receivers. ATSC standards also provide for enhanced TV bringing the interactivity of multimedia and the Web to broadcast television.

Vaughns Law of Multimedia Minimums

Your goal is to produce multimedia that is adequate and does its job but doesnt throw you into bankruptcy. Experiment with various levels of consumer grade equipment Professional sound and video equipment is very expensive

Recording Formats
S-VHS and Hi-8 consumer quality Component (YUV) - Sony BetacamSP the professional standard for broadcast quality Component Digital- a digital version of the Betacam- best format for graphics > $900,000 and produces 15 minutes of video Composite Digital most common >$110,000

Shooting and Editing Video

Shooting platform
use a steady tripod or a camera with an electronic image stabilization feature to avoid shaky hand effect or use camera moves and moving subjects to disguise your lack of steadiness

Shooting and Editing Video

Lighting performance is the main difference between professional and consumer camcorders Use a simple floodlight kit or natural daylight to improve the image Onboard flood lights can be used as fill light to illumine faces

Shooting and Editing Video

Shooting and Editing Video

Chroma Key or Blue Screen - popular technique for making multimedia without the use of expensive backgrounds In shooting against a blue screen, be sure that the lighting is perfectly even and that actors are not too close to the screen so that color spills over on them

Shooting and Editing Video

Composition
Avoid wide panoramic shots Use close-ups, head and shoulders Remember the more a scene changes the slower the playback will be Keep the camera still, let the subject add the motion by walking, turning...

Using Video Tapes

Fast forward new tapes and rewind them so that the tension is even (called packing) Black-stripe the tape by running it through the recorder with the lens cap on -eliminates snowy noise Do not reuse tapes after editing Remove break off tab to avoid overwriting

Video Hardware Resolution

Horizontal resolution -the number of lines of detail the camera can reproduce Different from the vertical scan lines on TV The lens, and number, size and quality of the CCDs determine the resolution Poor resolution = poor image

Consumer Grade Equipment

Mass production at low cost; easier to use Cameras and camcorders that use HI-8 and S-VHS formats are superior to 8 mm and VHS systems HI-8 is most widely available tape format and best consumer grade

Making Tape Copies

For demo or promo tapes use at least Super VHS ( HI-8 is best and allow unlimited copies to be made without degradation) Copying ( dubbing) depends on the tape format and the quality of the equipment being used Copy in SP mode- faster writing produces better images

Video Window Size

Shrinking a digitized image improves it perceived sharpness ( Also happens when you switch from 19 to 13 TV) The image is crisper because the scan lines are closer together

Editing with Consumer VCRs

Editing with 2 VCRs causes problems because the two machines are not in sync Editing software, such as Premier, or After Effects, has become more commonly used in multimedia

P*64
Video telephone conferencing standard for compressing audio and motion video images Encodes audio and video for transmission over copper or fiber optic lines Other compression systems are currently being developed by Kodak, Sony, etc.

Optimizing Video files for CD-ROMs

CD- ROMs are an excellent distribution media for multimedia: inexpensive, store great quantities of information, with adequate video transfer rates Suitable for QuickTime and AVI file formats as well as those produced by Director, etc.

Optimizing Video files for CD-ROMs

Limit the synchronization between video and audio
AVI interleaves them QuickTime files must be flattened - to interleave the audio and video

Use regularly spaced key frames (10 to 15 frames apart) Limit the size of the video windowthe more data the slower the playback

Optimizing Video files for CD-ROMs

Choose the software compression algorithm carefully
Sorenson codec is optimized for CDROM playback Cinepack algorithm, available with AVI and QuickTime, is also optimized for CD-ROM playback Use Norton speed Disk to defragment your files before burning the master

Summary
Various video standards are NTSC, PAL, SECAM, and ATSC DTV. Categories of video standards are composite analog, component analog, composite digital, and component digital.