Multimedia is content that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animation, video and interactive content.The use of computers to present text, graphics, video, animation, and sound in an integrated way. Long touted as the future revolution in computing, multimedia applications were, until the mid-90s, uncommon due to the expensive hardware required. With increases in performance and decreases in price, however, multimedia is now commonplace. Nearly all PCs are capable of displaying video, though the resolution available depends on the power of the computer's video adapter and CPU.
Multimedia can be recorded and played, displayed, dynamic, interacted with or accessed by information content processing devices, such as computerized and electronic devices, but can also be part of a live performance.
A Classification of Multimedia
• Text - ASCII/Unicode, HTML, Postscript, PDF
• Audio – Sound, music, speech, structured audio (e.g. MIDI)
• Still Image - Facsimile, photo, scanned image
• Video (Moving Images) – Movie, a sequence of pictures
• Graphics – Computer produced image
• Animation – A sequence of graphics images
Examples of Multimedia Applications
• Residential services
– Video-On-Demand
– Video phone, A/V
conferencing
– Home shopping
• Business services
– Corporate education
– E-business
• Education
– Digital libraries
– Distance learning
• Science and technology
– Virtual environment
– Scientific visualization,
prototyping
• Entertainment
– Games
– Interactive TV
– Post production of movie
and music
• Medicine, Web applications, etc.
Advantages of multimedia :
· Increases learning effectiveness.
· Is more appealing over traditional, lecture-based learning methods.
· Offers significant potential in improving personal communications, education and training efforts.
· Reduces training costs.
· Is easy to use.
· Tailors information to the individual.
· Provides high-quality video images & audio.
· Offers system portability.
· Frees the teacher from routine tasks.
· Gathers information about the study results of the student.
Disadvantages of multimedia :
· Expensive
· Not always easy to configure
· Requires special hardware
· Not always compatible
