Multimedia Web Pages

Multimedia displays Browser can load web pages that

contains multimedia elements1. Helper applications:

stand-alone programs that display data that is not directly integrated into a web. Helpers display their information in their own window.

2. Plug-ins: Programs that play audio, movies, or

animations.

Comparison

Plug-ins Helper ApplicationsClosely tied to browser.Displays inside Browser’s window.Installation involves down loading the plug in an running a procedure.Launches quickly.

Program Stands alone.Displays in separate window.Configuring involves downloading the helper application and editing your preferences.May launch more slowly.

Examples of Plug-ins Shockwave and Quicktime Includes animation, sound, video,

interaction and virtual reality Useful Links:

www.meninblack.com/mibflashpage.html www.shockwave.com www.macromedia.com

Audio Audio can be included in a web page. The

process of streaming is used with large audio files.

There is a good number of audio formats: AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format), developed by

Apple AU by Sun Microsystems MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) Real Audio by Progressive Networks. WAV by Microsoft

Audio And Web Pages To include an audio file in a web page we use

the <object> and</object> tags. For example to include the WAV audio file called mymusic.wav using the object tag you can use the following code:

<object data=“mymusic.wav” type=“audio/wav”>

</object> The Data attribute specifies the source of file

and the type attribute specifies the object’s MIME type.

Audio and Web Pages Microsoft Internet Explorer supports the

background sound tag <bgsound>, Netscape doesn’t. To include the same audio file on a page to be loaded by IE you could use the following code:

<bgsound SRC=“mymusic.wav”>

Demo:http://journalism.berkeley.edu/multimedia/tutorials/

elements/drums.mov

Movies and Video As with video, a large number of video formats

are currently in use. Some of the most popular are:

AUI Audio Video Interloaded by Microsoft MPEJ Motion Picture Experts Group Quick Time By Apple

Video and Web Page To include a video in a web page we can use the object

tag:<object data=“myvideo.avi” type=“video/msvideo” High=“150” width=“150”></object>

Type specifies the object MIME type and high and width the pixels are on which the video will be display

http://journalism.berkeley.edu/multimedia/tutorials/elements/buenos.mov

For more information Here are some more resources that you may

find useful:

Web Developers Virtual Library Multimedia for the Webhttp://wdvl.com/Multimedia/

Multimedia Authoring Webhttp://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/authoring/

http://www.webdeveloper.com/multimedia/multimedia_putting_video_on_website.html

Conclusion When used properly, multimedia can

compliment the contents of a Web site by making it easier and more interesting to browse for information.

Various multimedia formats are commonly used on the Internet. When adding multimedia to a Web site, it's important to know strengths and weaknesses of various multimedia formats and know when to use which formats.