Digital Media Report

DIGITAL MEDIA REPORT

C URIOUS D ESIGN C ONSUL TANTS J AS MIN A D UBR OJ A CONTENTS

1.0 Executive Summary……………………………………………...

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2.0 Digital Audio………………………………………………………. 4 2.1 Recording………………………………………………….. 4 2.2 Audio Players……………………………………………… 4 2.3 Editing/ Manipulation……………………………………. 4 2.4 Delivery…………………………………………………….. 5 2.5 Audio File Formats……………………………………….. 5 2.6 Benefits of Digital…………………………………………. 6 2.7 The Future of Digital Audio……………………………… 6 3.0 Digital Photography……………………………………………... 7 3.1 Photograph file formats…………………………………. 7 3.2 Photo Viewing Players…………………………………… 7 3.3 Recorders………………………………………………….. 7 3.4 Photo Editing Software…………………………………... 7 3.5 Delivery…………………………………………………….. 8 3.6 Image Resolution/ File Size/ Storage Capacity........ 8 3.7 Benefits of Digital…………………………………………. 9 3.8 The Future of Digital Photography…………………….. 9 4.0 Digital Video………………………………….…………………... 10 4.1 File Formats………………………………………………... 10 4.2 Digital Video Players…………………………………….. 10 4.3 Recorders………………………………………………….. 10 4.4 Video Editing………………………………………………. 10 4.5 Delivery……………………………………………………... 11 4.6 Benefits of Digital Video…………………………………. 11 4.7 Digital Video Future………………………………………. 11 5.0 References………………………………….……………………… 12

1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2

Digital Media has grown rapidly throughout the years and will always continue to grow. Audio Video and Photography have developed from analogue to digital over the years. The world has virtually eliminated analogue in the Photography industry, due to the efficiency and productiveness. Audio has expanded to using portable and effective mp3 players, flash players, and through the use of broadcasting via the internet. Video has developed extensively due to the wider field of video editing, allowing greater detail and effects to be added; also through the use of digital deliverables such as the DVD. Digital Media allows easier access to these areas for the general public.

2.0 DIGITAL AUDIO 3

Digital audio has emerged because of its usefulness in the recording, manipulation, mass-production, and distribution of sound. Music is now distributed across the internet, through online stores, due to digital recording and digital compression. 2.1 Recording Recording audio can be done a number of ways, through the use of a: • Microphone • Headset • Digital Recorder MIC All this equipment can be found for professional use or beginners. Either for business or home use.

Headset

2.2 Audio Players •

•

• Digital Jukebox

Flash-based Players - These are solid devices that hold digital audio files on internal or external media, such as memory cards. They are very portable but can be MP3 Player easily damaged. Hard Drive-based Players or Digital Jukeboxes - Devices that read digital audio files from a hard drive. These players have higher capacities, ranging from 1.5GB to 160GB. MP3 CD Players - Devices that can MP3 CD Player play audio files from a CD-ROM.

2.3 Editing/ Manipulation Audio editing is the process of taking recorded sound and changing it directly on the recording medium. There is a large variety of audio software, including professional and beginner levels. Editing software allows users to: •

Edit the start time and stop time of the audio aswell as the duration.

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• • •

Mix and combine multiple sound tracks, aswell as increase and decrease colume levels. Apply both simple and advanced effects or filters, alows the user to remove noise or equalise the sounds, along with many other tools Compress the audio file and convert into other audio file formats Editing

Examples of free Audio editing Sofware: • Audacity • SndBite • WaveSurfer 2.4 Delivery Digital audio can be delivered to the public through various mediums, including: • • • • • • •

Optical Disc: CD,DVD Mini Disc Internet Broadcast Flash Memory Hard Drive Digital Audio Tape (DAT)

Mini Disc

2.5 Audio File Formats Uncompressed audio formats Lossless compression Lossy compression

WAV, AIFF and AU FLAC, Monkey's Audio (APE), WavPack (WV), Shorten, TTA, Apple Lossless and lossless Windows Media Audio (WMA) MP3, Vorbis, lossy Windows Media Audio (WMA) and AAC.

According to Fig.1 the most widely used audio format is Mp3 which 80.14% of people use. Mp3 uses lossy compression, that is designed to greatly reduce the amount of Fig.1

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data required to represent the audio recording, but it still sounds like the original version. 2.6 Benefits of Digital • • • • • •

Digital audio sets an end of the tape hiss that builds up each time you re-record (or edit) analog tape. Digital audio stays at a precise rate, therefore speed-related distortions don't occur. When copying an audio signal digitally, the result is a perfect clone of the original data; much better sound than with analog tape is vivid. For audio distribution, there are benefits in the simplicity of making very accurate copies of an original. For electronic instruments and music, the benefits are in the capacity and flexibility for manipulation and combination that it offers. Distribution of audio as data files rather than as physical objects has reduced costs of distribution.

2.7 The Future of Digital Audio • • • • • •

New digital audio services like satellite radio, online radio, HD radio, and pod-casting will take over. Future systems will include wireless file transfer, so that you can seamlessly access songs from your player while in your car. A system such as a wireless LAN. Your digital music player, your PC, and your car stereo will all access and play your songs in a shared network. Also, file sharing through one person's player to another. All players need to have embedded lyrics-display technology. Portable storage; a PDA, mobile phones, a watch, and a video player on top of that. Considering how much people love music, it won't be long before they embed a player into a mop and other household items, to assist while doing chores.

3.0 DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY 6

Digital photography uses electronic devices to record and capture an image. Digital photography makes storage and editing of images easy. Digital cameras now outsell film cameras and include many features that are not found in film cameras. Some other devices, such as mobile phones, include digital photography features. 3.1 Photograph file formats Raster Formats Vector Formats

JPEG, PGF, TIFF, RAW, PNG, GIF, BMP, HDP, XPM and MrSID SVG [7]

3.2 Photo Viewing Players • • • •

Digital Camera Mobile Phone etc Various Computer image viewing programs e.g. Media player Projector/Television Media Player

3.3 Recorders • • •

Digital Cam Recorder Mobile Phone Other Media Recorders Digital Camera – Mobile Phone

3.4 Photo Editing Software There are many Image Manipulation Software, here are just a few: • Adobe Photoshop • Image Magick • GIMP 3.5 Delivery

Adobe Photoshop

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Digital cameras vary in what kind of memery stick/card they use. There are many data storagedevice formats, such as the following: SecureDigital card (SD)

xDPictureCard (xD)

CompactFlash (CF-I and CF-II)

MiniSD Card

Memory Stick

microSD card

MultiMedia Card (MMC)

USB flash drive

3.6 Image Resolution/ File Size/ Storage Capacity The figure below shows the amount of images that can be stored in a specific storage size, depending on the amount of mega pixels used. The larger the mega pixel the more storage space needed.

3.7 Benefits of Digital The advantages of digital photography over traditional film include: •

You can instantly view the pictures without having to develop the film first. 8

• • • • • •

If there's a problem with a picture the photographer can just take another one. Only the pictures your happy with can be printed, allowing the photographer to take several shots and then choose the best one. Minimal cost for people who want to keep there photos for computer use rather than print them. Images can be copied from one medium to another without decreasing the quality. Many digital cameras are smaller than film cameras Many digital cameras can be connected toa television, for reviewing images.

3.8 The Future of Digital Photography • •

• • •

In a few years Digital cameras will be using 16 or even a 25megapixel point-and-shoot, and it will not stop there. Future digital sensors will fix the problem with light sensitivity, with a broader range and greater light sensitivity (the ISO rating). At the same time, the digital noise that comes with high ISO today will diminish. The Digital camera of the future will be a great tool, with internet access, wireless connectivity as well as video viewing. Memory and storage for Digital cameras will increase. It is not yet commercially available, but it is starting to be used by museums. Attractive images of oil paintings created by an object's specular reflection which is captured using computer controlled lights and sensors.

4.0 DIGITAL VIDEO Digital video is a type of video recording system that works by using a digital, rather than analog, representation of the video signal.

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4.1 File Formats Here are the file formats of Digital Video: AVI (.avi) Quicktime WMV (.wmv)

Most commonly contains M-JPEG or DivX, but can contain nearly any format. Most often used for the locked Apple Sorenson codec, or for Cinepak (free), but can also hold other codecs such as mjpeg, etc. Basicaly MPEG4. It can contain nearly any codec.

4.2 Digital Video Players • • •

DVD Player Computer viewing Programs e.g. Media Player/ DivX Projector DVD Player

4.3 Recorders • •

Video Digital Camera Mobile Phone, etc.

4.4 Video Editing Video editing involves the removing, arranging, and combining of footage to create a new one. Some Manipulation Software includes: • • •

Adobe Premier Camtasia Final Cut, etc.

4.5 Delivery Internet

•

Optical Discs •Video CD (VCD) •DVD •HD-DVD •Blu-ray Disc •Sony ProDATA 10

• • • •

Broadcast Internet Flash Memory / Hard Drive Tapes…which would be considered as analog not digital

4.6 Benefits of Digital Video • • • • •

Digital Video has many benefits over analog, here are some: Digital gives you perfect picture pause with no distortion - and tear free rewind and fast forward. The images you see are much clearer. So the details you need such as small objects - are sharper than with a VCR. This is great for surveillance. Not only Crystal Clear digital video quality, digital video do not degrade, the image stays the same no matter how many times it is copied. With Digital there is no need or cleaning or replacing heads all the time. Or to squint at a fuzzy image because you recorded on the same tape too many times.

4.7 Digital Video Future • •

Eventually, set top DVD recorders will take the place of VCRs. The future will bring the decline of DVD’s and the increase in other Discs which are higher in storage capacity, here are some to look out for: •The HD DVD disc is designed to be the leader to the standard DVD format. It can store about three times as much data then the DVD (15 GB per layer instead of 4.7 GB). HD DVD stands for "High Definition Digital Versatile Disc". •The name Blu-ray Disc is derived from the blue-violet laser used to read and write this type of disc. A single layer Blu-ray Disc can store 25 gigabytes over five times the size of a single layer DVD at 4.7 GB. A dual layer Blu-ray Disc can store 50 GB, almost 6 times the size of a dual layer DVD at 8.5 GB.

5.0 REFRENCES WEBSITES 11

Video •http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_video 02/08/07 •http://www.shallowsky.com/linux/videoformats.html

01/08/07

•http://www.remotevideosurveillance.com/benefits.htm

07/08/07

•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD 07/08/07

Photography •http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_camera 24/07/07 •http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_photography

24/07/07

•google.blognewschannel.com/.../ 24/07/07 •http://www.oreillynet.com/mac/blog/2004/02/glimpse_into _ digital_photograp.html 02/08/07

Audio •http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_audio 07/08/07 •http://www.videomaker.com/article/3258/ 07/08/07 •http://www.gearlive.com/index.php/news/article/the_futur e_of_digital_music/ 02/08/07

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