Audio and Video
Jennifer Noble
INF 385E
November 13, 2007
Overview
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Digital media introduction
Information architecture’s
connection
Common vocabulary and
technical terms
Design guidelines for
implementation
Everyday uses for audio and
video
A glimpse into the future of digital
media
What is digital media?
• Literally, “digital media” refers to any kind
of electronic media that works on digital
codes.
• Examples of digital media include, but are
not limited to, cell phones, CDs, digital
video, digital TV, e-books, the Internet,
video games, etc.
• Audio and video can either be “digitized”
from analog sources or be created in
entirely digital environments.
What is new media?
• The convergence of media and
computing technologies led to the
term “new media.”
• Examples include video games, virtual
worlds, blogs, wikis, interactive
television, mobile devices, and mashups.
• As these media forms mature, the
inclusion of both digital audio and
video will become even more essential
parts of this type of communication.
What is the connection to
Information Architecture?
• Audio and video are both great ways to add
dynamic aspects to a project.
• This type of media is most accessible when
identified in some way, either through formal
taxonomies or less formal folksonomies.
• As Web 2.0 evolves, more user-defined videos
and audio tracks will become part of websites. It’s
easy to utilize these types of sites now in
personal pages thanks to the ease of
embedding… and who says you can’t create a
better version of youtube.com?
Foundations for Internet
Audio and Video
• Streaming Media: multimedia that is
continuously received and displayed to
the audience while being delivered by
the content provider.
• User Datagram Protocol (UDP) and
Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) are
the basis of steaming media technology.
More Common Vocabulary
• Codec: a codec is a computer program
that both shrinks(encodes) large movie
files, and makes them playable on your
computer. Codec programs are required
for your media player to play your
downloaded music and movies.
• Common codecs include XVID, DivX,
MP3, and WMA.
• To see how many video codecs are
available, check out this page.
Audio and Video Vocabulary
Continued
• Lossless Compression: type of encoding that
allows the exact original data to be
reconstructed from the compressed data.
• Lossy Compression: type of encoding that
discards some information during the
compression process; the data that is
retrieved during decompression is not
identical to the original file.
Video File Formats
File Format
Audio Video Interleaved .avi
Extension
Quicktime
.mov
Real Media
.ram, rm
Moving Pictures
Experts Group (MPEG1)
MPEG-4 Part 14
.mpg, .mpeg
Third Generation
Partnership Project
.3gp, .3g2
DivX
.divx
Shockwave Flash
Object
.swf
.mp4, m4a, .m4p
More Information
Multimedia container
file developed by
Microsoft
Multimedia container
file developed by App le
Multimedia container
format developed by
Real Networks; used
mostly fo r streaming
Group of AV coding
standards; quality is
close to a VCD/VHS
Multimedia container
format; can be used for
audio and video
applications
Simplified version of
MPEG-4 Part 14 for
mobile phones
Best known for the
DivX Codec; added a
media container format
in 2005
Originally developed
for vector graphics,
Flash now allows audio
and video as well
Audio File Formats
File Format
Audio Interchange File
Format
Waveform
Free Lossless Audio Codec
Extension
.aiff, .aif
Type
Uncompressed
.wav
.flac
Advanced Audio Coding
(AAC)
MPEG-3
.mp4, .m4p, m4a
Uncompressed
Lossless
Compression
Lossy C ompression
Windows Media Audio
.wma
Real Audio
.ra
.mp3
Lossy C ompression
(Proprietary)
Lossy C ompression
(Proprietary)
Lossy c ompression
(Proprietary)
Media Players
• Media players play back
multimedia files.
• Common media players
include:
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Windows Media Player
iTunes
Quicktime
Real Player
Flash
DivX Player
• For a full comparison of
player features, see the
Wikipedia article.
What are some general design
guidelines to follow?
• Make sure that having an audio or
video clip is useful to the purpose of
your site. If you don’t need it, don’t use
it.
• Be clear about the technological
demands of your media.
• Provide a clear link to the necessary
software to view your media.
• Stick with the more standard formats
in order to reach a wider audience.
• If you can, offer multiple formats for
those visitors who need choices.
Any video guidelines?
• Remember there are three primary ways of
displaying videos: as a download link, opening in
a separate page, or embedded in the primary
page.
• Try using screenshots of the video content in its
description.
• Segment long clips; if the file’s too big, it will take
too long to load - and where will your audience
be?
• Think about how your user will access the
content.
How about audio
guidelines?
• Again, summarize the content; the
user needs to know what the content
is about!
• Make sure users have control buttons
when the audio is embedded in the
page.
• Seriously consider whether or not
your page REALLY needs a looping
midi file in the background.
• Estimate download times if you’re just
providing links to the content.
How do you embed files on
a webpage?
• Choose your file format.
• Decide how you want to present your files. Do you
want people to download the files? Stream them?
• Pick a player. Should you allow the user’s browser
use its default player? Or do you want to use a flashbased player? You can even use embedded players
developed by other websites.
• Audio specifics can be found here while video-related
answers can be found here.
How I use Internet Audio
and Video… every day.
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Besides the obvious examples of
youtube, what kind of applications do
people use regularly?
Social networking sites such as
MySpace and Facebook support media
uploads. Other networking sites center
around media sharing, such as Imeem
or Pandora.
All forms of media have been translated
into Internet terms; you can listen to
Internet radio stations, see the latest
news online, watch your favorite
television shows , and even view
movies while waiting for a DVD in the
mail.
The Future…
is here!
• Portable devices like PSPs, iPods, cell phones, and
PDAs allow playback of downloaded material. With
3G and other wireless technology, it’s even easier to
download with these devices.
• Even the Emmys recognize the importance of this
content; in 2006, they started giving out an award for
Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Content for
Non-Traditional Delivery Platforms, the first time a
major awards show has recognized original
programming on new media platforms.
Current Issues in New
Media
• The Writer’s Guild Strike has been getting a lot of press,
especially since one of the primary issues involves new
media development and residuals.
• Oprah launches her own YouTube channel, featuring
“exclusive video including video I made myself just for
YouTube, what’s coming up on my show from time to time
we are going to be telling you, and also what happens
backstage and during commercials and more.”
• The BBC is encouraging UK users to take advantage of
multicasting, a way of broadcasting content to multiple end
users at one time.
More Resources
• Lost Remote TV Blog, Retrieved on November 13,
2007 from http://www.lostremote.com/
• Nielsen, J. (1999). Video and Streaming Media.
Retrieved on October 22, 2007 from:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990808.html
• Rahman, Syed Mahbubur. Multimedia Networking:
Technology, Management and Applications. Idea
Group, Inc: 2002
• Solution Watch Blog, Retrieved November 4, 2007
from: http://www.solutionwatch.com/