Types of Multimedia systems

Multimedia systems can be divided into two types:

• Home/Entertainment Systems
• Business Systems
Sequence of events for the creation of a hypermedia document
or complex record for a multimedia application is as follows:
 Types of Multimedia Systems
• Sequence of events for the creation of a hypermedia
document or complex record for a multimedia application is
as follows:
• A database record or multimedia document is created for
combining a group of multimedia components.
• Paper documents are scanned as s folder, sound clips if any
are digitized; and video clips if any, are picturized. We will
call input process capture and digitized compressed files
multimedia objects.
• Sound clips or video clips may be indexed to highlight
specific sections within the clips.
 Types of Multimedia Systems
• Multimedia objects are indexed, indexing allows
linking of multimedia objects with annotations.
• The Multimedia documents are viewed for quality.
• Hypermedia documents or complex application
objects and their multimedia sub objects that have
been indexed and grouped are committed to their
magnetic or optical disk storage.
• Any multimedia objects committed to magnetic or
optical disk are available immediately to all users on
the network
 Home/Entertainment Systems
• Home entertainment programs are by and large interactive
but not live.
• Although they are called interactive, the interaction is
completely pre programmed on the game CD, and the
programs interact with user in a pre defined manner.
• However, with the developments like Set Top box
interaction between the player/user and the
game/entertainment/database vendor will go live when
users install the advanced set top systems.
• The service provider may provide live interactive game
services, access to information databases, home shopping
services with line ordering and electronic mail services.
 Home/Entertainment Systems
• Home entertainment systems are evolving very fast.
• They need to provide sophisticated multi protocol stack
networking as well as fast compression and de-compression
of graphics, text, image, voice and video.
 Business Systems
• Business systems can be classified into three categories as
below:
– Dedicated Systems
– Departmental Systems
– Enterprise-Wide multipurpose systems
 Dedicated Systems
• In a dedicated system the creation, storage and manipulation
of multimedia objects is performed completely within the
system.
• A dedicated system is dependent on neither a network or
external storage management for its tasks.
• In dedicated system there is no communication with other
systems.
• Multimedia object capture is performed primarily by and
for the user of the dedicated system.
 Dedicated Systems
• The user is responsible for a number of tasks in a dedicated
system, including the following:
– Capturing graphics images, sound, and video as needed.
– Indexing the captured multimedia objects.
– Organizing the multimedia objects in a database and attaching
them to appropriate database records or hypermedia documents.
– Managing storage
– Any other related tasks for using these objects from multimedia
applications
 Departmental Systems
• A departmental system, on the other hand, uses a LAN to
provide shared object storage management.
• In a departmental system, capture of multimedia objects is
for local use or for distribution to other users in the
department.
• The application can be for dedicated use or may be shared
by a number of users.
• Most departmental systems support a specific business
process or some well defined combination of business
processes shared by most or all users in the department.
• The various users involved in the application perform some
specific task.
 Departmental Systems
• The tasks may be performed in some pre defined sequence
or random manner.
• Depending on the nature of the task, the user may have
access to all data or limited subset of it.
• The users may also create some multimedia objects while
performing the task.
• The sequence in which all the tasks are performed and all
associated activities determine the workflow for the
application.
 Enterprise wide Systems
• An enterprise wide system consists of a large number of LAN’s and
WANs that are implemented and allow sharing a number of
departmental level or enterprise level management and processing
resources.
• An enterprise wide system supports a combination of dedicated local
applications and departmental applications as well as inter-
departmental applications such as electronic mail and corporate
information repositories.
• Business process workflow spans multiple departments.
• For example, in a stock trading company the sale of portfolio of
securities may involve the agents who interact with the clients, the
investment bankers, the stockbrokers on the trading floor, the
accounting department, and the security clearance.
 Enterprise wide Systems
• In this objects are shared across the enterprise.
• To ensure good performance, there will be multiple servers
on the network across the enterprise to serve users
distributed geographically across the enterprise.
• Restrictions on the use of the objects may become more
difficult to administer.
• When multimedia objects reside on multimedia servers, the
databases must be replicated to ensure consistency.