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MultiMedia Unit PDF
MultiMedia Unit PDF
MultiMedia Unit PDF
Basics of Video- Anlog and Digital Video, How to use video on PC, introduction to
graphics accelerator cards, directX, introduction to ad/dv and IEE1394 cards, digitization
of analog video to digital video, interlacing and non interlacing, brief note on various
video standards-NTSC, PAL, SECAM, HDTV. Introduction to video capturing media
and instrument, videodisk, DVCAM, camcorder. Introduction to digital video
compression techniques and various file formats= avi, mpeg, mov, real video.
Brief introduction to video editing and movie making tools- quick time, video for
windows and adobe premier.
Analog Video
When light reflected from an object passes through a video camera lens that light is
converted into electronic signals by a special sensor called charged couple device (CCD).
Top-quality broadcast cameras may have as many as three CCDs (one for each color of
red, green, and blue) to enhance the resolution of the camera. The output of the CCD is
processed by the camera into a signal containing three channels of color information and
synchronization pulses (sync): There are several video standards for managing CCD
output, each dealing with the amount of separation between the components of the signal.
The more separation of the color information in the signal results in higher quality of the
image (and the more expensive the equipment).
If each channel of color information is transmitted as a separate signal on its own
conductor, the signal output is called RGB (red, green, and blue), which is the preferred
method for higher quality and professional video work. Output can also be split into two
separate color channels which results in poor quality of video.
Digital Video
Analog video has been used for years in recording / editing studios and television
broadcasting. For the purpose of incorporating video content in multimedia production
video needs to be converted into the digital format.
It has already been mentioned that processing digital video on personal computers was
very difficult initially, firstly because of the huge file sizes required, and secondly of the
large bit rate and processing power required. Full screen video only became a reality after
advent of the Pentium-II processor together with fast disks capable of delivering the
required output. Even with these powerful resources delivering video files was difficult
until the reduction in prices of compression hardware and software. Compression helped
to reduce the size of video files to a great extent which required a lower bit-rate to
transfer them over communication buses. Nowadays video is rarely viewed in; the
uncompressed form unless there is specific reason for doing so, e.g. to maintain the high
quality, as for medical analysis.
Digitizing video in general requires a, video capture card and associated recording
software. The capture card is usually installed at the PC end which accepts analog video
from a source device and converts it into a digital file using recording software.
Alternatively the capture card can be inside a digital video camera which is capable of
producing a digital video output and recording it onto a tape. The digital output from a
digital video camera can also be fed to a PC after necessary format conversion.
Basics of Video
Of all the multimedia elements, video places the highest performance demand on your
computer and its memory and storage. Consider that a high-quality color still image on a
computer screen could require as much as a megabyte of storage memory. Multiply this
by 30-the number of times per second that still picture is replaced to provide the
appearance of motion-and you would need 30 megabytes of storage to play your video
for one second, or 1.8 gigabytes of storage for a minute. Just moving these entire pictures
from computer memory to the screen at that rate would challenge the processing
capability of a super- computer. Multimedia technologies and re-search efforts today deal
with compressing digital video image data into manageable streams of information so
that a massive amount of image can be squeezed into a comparatively small data file that
still delivers a good viewing experience on the intended viewing platform during
playback.
Carefully planned, well-executed video clips can make a dramatic difference in a
multimedia project.
Using Video On PC
Analog video needs to be converted to the digital format before it can be displayed on a
PC screen. The procedure for conversion involves two types of devices- source devices
and capture devices.
The source and source device can be one of the following:
camcorder with pre-recorded video tape
VCP with pre-recorded video tape
Video camera with live footage.
We need Video capture card to convert analog signal to digital signal along with video
capture Software such as AVI capture, AVI to MPEG Converter, MPEG capture, DAT to
MPEG Converter or MPEG Editor.
DirectX
Microsoft changed the entire multimedia standards game with its DirectX standard in
Windows 95.
The idea was that DirectX offered a load of commands, also known as APIs, which did
things like "make a sound on the left" or "draw a sphere in front". Games would then
simply make DirectX calls and the hardware manufacturers would have to ensure their
sound and graphics card drivers understood them.
The audio portion of DirectX 1 and 2 was called DirectSound, and this offered basic
stereo left and right panning effects. As with other DirectX components, this enabled
software developers to write directly to any DirectX-compatible sound card with multiple
audio streams, while utilizing 3D audio effects. Each audio channel can be treated
individually, supporting multiple sampling rates and the ability to add software-based
effects. DirectSound itself acts as a sound-mixing engine, using system RAM to hold the
different audio streams in play for the few milliseconds they must wait before being
mixed and sent on to the sound card. Under ideal conditions, DirectSound can mix and
output the requested sounds in as little as 20 milliseconds.
DirectX 3 introduced DirectSound3D (DS3D) which offered a range of commands to
place a sound anywhere in 3D space. This was known as positional audio, and required
significant processing power. Sadly we had to wait for DirectX 5 before Microsoft
allowed DS3D to be accelerated by third-party hardware, reducing the stress on the main
system CPU. DirectX 6 supported DirectMusic, offering increased versatility in
composing music for games and other applications.
DS3D positional audio is one of the features supported by the latest generation of PCI
sound cards. Simply put, positional audio manipulates the characteristics of sounds to
make them seem to come from a specific direction, such as from behind or from far to the
left. DirectSound3D gives game developers a set of API commands they can use to
position audio elements. Furthermore, as with much of DirectX, DirectSound3D is
scaleable: if an application asks for positional effects and no hardware support for such
effects is found, then DirectSound3D will provide the necessary software to offer the
positional effect, using the CPU for processing.
DS3D may have supported positional audio, but it didn't offer much support for adding
reverb, let alone considering individual reflections, to simulate different environments.
Fortunately DS3D does support extensions to the API, and this need was soon met by a
couple of new sound standards which have gained widespread support from games
developers: Aureal's A3D technology and Creative Technology's Environmental Audio
Extensions (EAX).
Video Formats
Video INPUT port to accept the video input signals from NTSC/PAL/SECAM broadcast
signals, video camera or VCR The input port may conform to the composite-video or
S-video standards.
Video compression-decompression hardware for video data.
Audio compression-decompression hardware for audio data.
A/D converter to convert the analog input video signals to digital form.
What is DV?
As you can guess, DV stands for "Digital Video". It is the new high resolution digital
video standard.
DV is compressed at the camera, on the tape itself. The camcorder has the DV "codec"
built in.
The DV spec is a 720x480 image size with a 5:1 compression. DV video information is
carried in a nominal 25 megabit per second data stream. The color information is sampled
at 4:1:1 for NTSC, and 4:2:0 for PAL.
Unlike MJPEG compressed video, DV video can't be scaled. You can't lower the screen
size, change the screen size or data rate.
DV format is typically reckoned to be equal to or slightly better than Betacam SP or MII
in terms of picture quality. Two types of DV camcorders, DVCAM and DVCPRO, are
widely used in TV industry today.
However, for most of us, DV often refers to MiniDV actually. MiniDV is just the home
level DV format. It is compressed to a constant throughput of 3,600 kilobytes per second.
The video quality is not as good as Betacam, but much better than S-video.
What is FireWire?
Technically, it is the high speed, short distance data transfer protocol IEEE1394. Apple
didn’t like the numbers and so called it "FireWire". Sony didn’t like it either, and so they
called it "iLink". And they are all the same thing.
When the FireWire concept was first announced a few years ago, it was envisioned that it
would become a new standard that would replace SCSI and link all our consumer
electronics equipment and computers together. Now, the dust has settled and the hype has
died down. The only application for FireWire that has actually come to fruition is for
transferring digital video (DV) information directly from a camcorder (or VCR) to your
hard drive.
What's the difference between DV and FireWire?
DV is the actual format of the video.
FireWire is the port and protocol that lets you transfer the DV data to your computer. The
full FireWire spec includes frame accurate device control and the ability to read and write
the digital video.
When the video goes through the 1394 cable, into the capture card, and onto the hard
drive, nothing is done to the video. It is a digital copy. It's identical to the original. And
this is really nice.
How's the quality of DV?
The DV (MiniDV) spec is a 720x480 image size, at roughly a 5:1 compression. More
accurately, it is compressed at a constant throughput of 3600 kilobytes per second which
averages out to 5:1 compression.
The images are crisp, bright and have excellent depth and contrast. In general, it's
acceptable even in TV stations.
Best of all, the information is stored on the video tape in digital form, so it can be copied
over and over without any loss.