Introduction to multimedia

In order to take full advantage of the potential for a wide array of multimedia applications it is important to have a broad understanding of the principles of various media. The person preparing a multimedia "package," which may include such media as sound, computer graphics, and software, will most likely have a strong background in only one or perhaps none of the media to be used.

Introduction to Multimedia Systems has been developed to be the first place to turn, both as an introductory textbook or as a professional reference for anyone diving into multimedia preparation. Multimedia is first and foremost a medium of communication. In order to take advantage of the nearly unlimited potential provided by digital environments a full survey of multimedia capabilities is covered in this book.

Website Feature: Learning by doing! The editors currently use the book in combination with a wide array of sample software and weblinks for students to learn how to build by example. Each part of the book will have a direct link to a publicly accessible website that will maintain these available software tools. The weblinks will be updated as software versions advance, and most of the software involves demo or scaled down versions of commercially available multimedia design software/editing tools.

Contents

Preface

Note to Students

Prelude to Multimedia

1. Overview of Multimedia Systems
   Prelude to Audio
2. The Nature of Sound
3. Introduction to Digital Audio
4. Audio Editing
5. Music and Speech
   An Interlude: Free for All
6. Audio: From CD to the Web
7. The WAV File Format
   Prelude to Graphics
8. The Paint Shop Pro interface
9. Colors An Interlude: The Properties of Light
10. File Formats and Web Graphics
11. Layers and Filters
    An Interlude: Vision
12. Process of Animation
13. Video
    An Interlude: The Term Dimension
14. 3-D Graphics
15. Text in Multimedia and the Internet
    An Interlude: Meaning in Binary Strings
16. Art and Design
17. Cognitive User Interfaces
    An Interlude: Development of Cognitive Systems
18. Authoring Multimedia in VisualBasic