Multimedia file formats

Multimedia formats

• Multimedia formats represent the various ways

each media type is stored and used to transport
multimedia data.
• This section covers a range of multimedia file
formats ;especially audio, video, and image file
formats ;used in the delivery of multimedia and
includes both formal standards and de facto
standards.
Media formats

• Media formats may differ for the purpose it is used,

for example, for streaming or for downloading.
• Formats suitable for streaming should be able to
transfer data in a continuous stream (usually for
audio or video)
• for example, over the Internet, so that the
player can play it as the data arrives without
waiting for the entire file to be downloaded.
Streaming Media formats vrs Buffer
• At start the streaming media players store several seconds
worth of data, known as a buffer, in its memory.
• The player then begins playback of the file from the buffer,
while the data continues to fill in.
• The buffer, as the name suggests, allows for continuous
playback of the audio or video by compensating for any
delays in the transmission of the rest of the file.
• The buffer absorbs the bursts of data as they are received and
releases it at a constant bit rate for smooth playback.
• For downloading purpose, the file format does not need to
satisfy this criterion of transferring data continuously.
Media formats
• There are several formats for each media with
different features requiring the players to be
capable of decoding these features.
• Fortunately many hardware and software players
are now available, which are able to support
common multiple formats.
• There are also tools available for converting a
media in one format to different formats
Types of Multimedia File Formats

• Multimedia File Formats include

1. Audio formats
2. Video formats
3. Image formats
Audio formats
• There are a number of different types of audio file formats.
• The most common are
• wave files (wav),
• MPEG Layer-3 files (mp3)
• AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) file types.
Common
• Common streaming audio formats include
• Windows Media Audio/Active Streaming Format (ASF),
• QuickTime, RealAudio
• MP3.
Audio formats
• The format types are also represented by the file
extension.
• Codec determines the way the audio is
compressed and stored.
• Some file types always use a particular codec,
while others may support multiple codecs.
Audio formats
• Initial internet browsers, such as Netscape Navigator and Mosaic,
included;
1. AU (Audio, or m-law),
2. WAV (Waveform Audio),
3. AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) formats

• These formats got widespread Internet acceptance. They are

also considered as better choices for inclusion on web pages
because of their ;
1. cross-platform support
2. their ability to run natively within a browser.
• Both WAV and AIFF are commonly used on the Web at lower-
quality sampling rates to keep file size reasonable and reduce
upload and download time.
Audio formats
• Most of the streaming multimedia formats are proprietary and
require special servers for encoding and transmission.
• Some commonly used streaming audio formats are
1. RealAudio,
2. XingMPEG, and
3. Streaming audio for the popular Shockwave plug-in.

XingMPEG and Shockwave each have compression ratio of up

to 26:1 and 176:1, respectively.
For both these formats the average file size varies depending on
the strength of compression.
Audio formats
• The two streaming formats, MPEG (Moving Pictures Expert
Group) and RealAudio have changed audio on the
Internet.
• MPEG is best known as a standard for the compression of
video files claiming very high compression ratios as high as
26:1.
• However, ratios greater than 12:1 are seldom used due to
the sacrifices in quality.
• Even at this compression ratio MPEG is capable of
delivering CD-quality audio files that in any other
format is extremely difficult to achieve
Common Digital Audio Formats
Video formats

Some common video formats are

1. AVI (Audio Video Interleave)
2. MPEG (Moving Picture Expert Group)
3. QuickTime (MOV).
4. ASF(Advanced Systems Format),
5. WMV(Windows Media Video)
AVI (Audio Video Interleave)

The characteristics include ;

1. Uncompressed results high quality video, but large files.
2. Often there is problem synchronizing audio with video.
3. The entire file must be downloaded before being
played.
4. Native support on Windows.
5. Average AVI file size is between a MOV file size and
MPEG file size.
MPEG (Moving Picture Expert Group)
The Characteristics include ;
1. Can provide VHS or better quality movies.
2. Up to 200:1 compression ratio and storage rate is 2.8MB
per minute.
3. Can produce full-motion video with relatively small file
size.
4. Typically MPEG1 is used to make a one hour VCD movie.
5. MPEG1 quality is same as VHS.
6. MPEG2 quality is better than VHS and used to make DVD
video, can be used to make about a 30 minute high
quality VCD.
QuickTime (MOV).
MOV(Apple QuickTime Movie) characteristics include ;
1. Requires Apples QuickTime Movie Player.
2. Runs natively on the Mac platform.
3. Up to 50:1 compression ratio and storage rate is 4 MB/minute.
4. Relatively large file size.
5. Depending on Compression chosen it can provide a very
high quality video clip.
6. However, better quality video requires more storage space.
7. Can be streamed across the Internet and viewed before
entire file has been
8. downloaded using a QuickTime streaming server
ASF(Advanced Systems Format),
WMV(Windows Media Video)
The characteristics of these formats include;
1. Can be streamed across the Internet and viewed before
entire file has been downloaded when using a Windows
Media server.
2. Audio and/or Video content can be compressed with a
wide variety of codecs.
3. An extensible file format designed to store synchronized
multimedia data.
4. Requires Windows Media Player be installed on client.
RM(Real Media)

The characteristics of this formats include;

1. Can be streamed across the Internet and viewed before
entire file has been
2. downloaded when using a Real Networks Streaming
server.
3. Has very high compression, but at a cost to quality.
4. Requires Real Networks RealPlayer to view content.
 Image formats
Image File Format: Most common image file formats
include
1. JPEG
2. GIF
3. TIFF
4. PNG
JPEG - Joint Picture Expert Group
The Characteristics of this format include ;
• Developed in 1991. In most cases lossy format.
• 24-bit total for red, green, and blue. Produces relatively small
file sizes.
• Min. compression about 5:1 ratio may be achieved compared
to BMP-RGB.
• Min. progressive compression about 7:1 ratio may be
achieved.
• Max. compression about 50:1 ratio may be achieved
compared to BMP-RGB.
• Max. progressive compression about 70:1 ratio may be
achieved.
GIF -Graphics Interchange Format

The Characteristics of this format include ;

1. 8-bit palette or 256 colors.
2. Supports animation and is still widely used to provide
image animation effects.
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)

The Characteristics of this format include ;

1. image format that normally saves 8, 16, 24 or 48 bits per
color.
2. Gray scale – 8 or 16 bit.
3. Line Art (bi-level) - 1 bit.
4. Can be lossy or lossless; provide relatively lossless
compression.
5. Widely used as printing industry photograph standard.
6. Simple and widely used for good quality archived
master.
PNG - Portable Network Graphics

The Characteristics of this format include ;

1. RGB - 24 or 48 bits
2. Grayscale - 8 or 16 bits
3. Indexed color - 1 to 8 bits
4. Line Art (bi-level) - 1 bit.
5. Compress files at a similar ratio to jpeg. Unlike jpeg,
resaving an image will not degrade its quality.
6. Used for good quality archive or master.