WebDesign: Multimedia and the Web (W12-P1) [VID]

What is multimedia?



Multimedia is “communication of information using multiple mediums such as text, animation, graphics, video, sound and interaction.”

Another example of multimedia is the web. Think of the sites you visit that contain a mixture of text, animations, graphics, videos, audio and interactive features.  Multimedia!


Common Media Formats

When inserting multimedia into a website it is helpful know something about the common media formats.

Common image formats and characteristics

• JPG (.jpg) is a very common format. Default format used on most cameras.
• PNG (.png) is a format that allows for high quality photos, but has a larger file size.
• GIF (.gif) is a low quality format and is not highly recommended, except when you really have to have that animated GIF.

Common audio formats and characteristics

• AAC (.aac) is the audio format default format for in iTunes. “Plays well on Apple computers, but not in web browsers.”
• MP3 (.mp3) is an audio format that “is the most popular format for music players. Combines good compression (small files) with high quality. Supported by all browsers.”

Common video formats and characteristics

• MPEG (.mpg, .mpeg) is a video format that was the “first popular video format on the web. Used to be supported by all browsers, but it is not supported in HTML5 (See MP4).”
• AVI (.avi) is a video format that is “commonly used in video cameras and TV hardware. Plays well on Windows computers, but not in web browsers.”
• MPEG-4 (.mp4) is a video format that is “commonly used in newer video cameras and TV hardware. Supported by all HTML5 browsers. Recommended by YouTube.”

If you are curious, for more info see, W3schools page “HTML Multimedia”. The media format quotes above are from this site.



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