Multimedia Systems Design

Contents
 Introduction
 Multimedia elements

 Multimedia applications

 Multimedia systems architecture

 Evolving Technologies for Multimedia

Systems
 Defining Object for Multimedia Systems
 Introduction
Definitions and terminologies
Multimedia:
It is an ideal language for communication

It is any integrated combination of text, art/images, sound,

animation and video delivered by computer or other electronic or
digitally manipulated means.

A Multimedia system is characterized by computer controlled,

integrated production, manipulation, presentation, storage and
communication of independent information, which is encoded at least
through a continuous and a discrete medium.
 Introduction
Definitions and terminologies
If the user has control over the multimedia presentation then it
becomes a non-linear and Interactive Multimedia presentation.
Applications that involve more than conventional data types
Multimedia is a computer-based interactive communication
process that incorporates text, graphics, sound, animation, and video
Hypertext:
Text which contains links to other texts/web pages or other
media.
It allows a nonlinear way of navigation through the content.
 Introduction
Definitions and terminologies
Hypermedia:
Media having links to other media.
All the web based applications and web sites are hypermedia
based.
 Introduction
Applications
• Multimedia courseware
• CBT and WBT
• Video/Audio
• Digital video editing and conferencing
production systems
• Video-on-demand
• Electronic
Newspapers/Magazines • Virtual reality
• Games • Digital Libraries
• Home shopping • Games
• Interactive TV • Multimedia authoring
 Introduction
Advantages
• Increase in Retention rate
• Reduced production costs
• Ease of use and development
• Better way of communication
• Increase in cognition levels
• Can be used by a wide section of target users
• Utilizes the power of E-delivery platforms
• Convergence of computers, telecom, and TV
• Collaboration, virtual environments, and web casting
 Introduction
Challenges and complexity
• For example video conferencing requires a combination of
technologies, including communications, high-resolution display
systems, and storage and rapid dissemination of multidimensional
objects consisting of text, image, voice, audio, and full-motion
video components.
• The system will have to understand and know how to interpret and
combine data elements of various types and be able to present it to
the user in the desired mode set by the user.
• Groupware systems( to allow a number of office workers to work
together on the same information)
• High bandwidth requirements.
 Introduction
Some more….
• Multimedia meant a combination of text with document images
• New application areas include
Medical applications
Real-estate on-line video clips with property descriptions
multimedia help and training material
security systems for employee identification
Elements Multimedia elements
• Facsimile
• Document images
• Photographic images
• Geographic information systems maps
• Voice commands and voice synthesis
• Audio messages
• Video messages
• Full-motion stored and live video
• Holographic images
• fractals
Facsimile Multimedia elements
• Facsimile transmissions were the first practical means of
transmitting document images over a telephone line.
• The basic technology, now widely used, has evolved to allow
higher scanning density for better quality fax
Document images Multimedia elements
• Document images are used for storing business documents that
must be retained for long periods of time or may need to be
accessed by a large number of people.
• Providing multimedia access to such documents removes the need
for making several copies of the original for storage or
distribution.
Photographic images Multimedia elements
• Photographic images are used for a Wide range of applications
such as employee records for instant identification at a security
desk, real estate systems with photographs of houses in the
database containing the descriptions of houses, medical case
histories, and so on.
Geographic information Multimedia elements
systems maps
• Known as GIS systems; maps created in a GIS system are being
used widely for natural resource and wildlife management as well
as urban planning.
• These systems store the graphical information of the map along
with a database containing information relating highlighted map
elements with statistical or item information such as wildlife
statistics or details of the floors and rooms and workers in an
office building.
 Voice commands and Multimedia elements
voice synthesis
• Voice commands and voice synthesis are used for hands-free
operation of a computer program.
• Voice synthesis is used for presenting the results of an action to the
user in a synthesized voice. Applications such as a patient
monitoring system in a surgical theatre will be prime beneficiaries
of these capabilities.
• Voice commands allow the user to direct computer operation by
spoken commands.
Audio messages Multimedia elements
• Annotated voice mail already uses audio or voice messages as
attachments to memos and documents such as maintenance
manuals
Video messages Multimedia elements
• Video messages are being used in a manner similar to annotated
voice mail.
 Full-motion stored Multimedia elements
and live video
• Full motion video started out as a very useful idea for on-line
training and maintenance manuals.
• The capability to use full motion stored video for electronic mail
or live video for presentations and videoconferencing are
important evolutionary steps.
• Three-dimensional video techniques are being adapted to create
the concept of virtual reality.
Holographic images Multimedia elements
• All of the technologies so far essentially present a flat view of
information.
• Holographic images extend the concept of virtual reality by
allowing the user to get “inside” a part, such as, an engine and
view its operation from the inside.
Fractals Multimedia elements
• Fractals started as a technology in the early 1980s but has received
serious attention only recently.
• This technology is based on synthesizing and storing algorithms
that describe the information.
Document imaging Multimedia applications
• The fundamental concepts of storage, compression, and
decompression and display technologies used for multimedia
systems were developed for document image management.
• Document imaging makes it possible to store, retrieve, and
manipulate very large volumes of drawings, documents and other
graphical representations of data.
• A compression efficiency of over 20:1 is considered highly
desirable for document images for most office systems.
• For high-resolution images, processing of the order of 10 pixels/ns
is considered adequate for monochrome still images.
Image processing Multimedia applications
and Image recognition
• Image processing involves image recognition, image enhancement,
image synthesis, and image reconstruction.
• Image enhancement includes image calibration, real-time
alignment, gray-scale normalization, RGB hue intensity
adjustment, Color separation, Frame averaging.
• Image animation – scanned images can be displayed sequentially
at controlled display speeds
• Image annotation – as a text file stored along with the image. The
annotation is overlaid over the original image for display purposes.
• OCR is used for data entry by scanning typed or printed words in a
form.
Image processing Multimedia applications
and Image recognition
• Handwriting recognition – ability to recognize writer-independent
continuous cursive handwriting accurately in real time. Two
factors are important; strokes or shapes being entered and the
velocity of input or the vectoring that is taking place.
• The strokes are parsed and processed by a shape recognizer that
tries to determine the geometry and topology of the strokes. It
attempts to compare it to existing shapes, such as predefined
characters. Then the word may be checked against a dictionary.
• Non-textual image recognition: uses facial expressions, posture,
and gestures which represent important input.
Full motion digital video Multimedia applications
applications

E-mail
Business
Training and On-Line applications
manuals reference Video
conferencing

CD-ROM presentations
interactive
training
demos
Video karaoke
Pay-per-view
CD-ROM newspapers Interactive TV
interactive games
Games and Entertainment
Full motion digital video Multimedia applications
applications
• Full-motion video clips should be sharable but should have only
one sharable copy
• It should be possible to attach full-motion video clips to other
documents such as memos, chapter text, presentations, and so on.
• Users should be able to take sections of a video clip and combine
the sections with sections from other video clips to form their own
new video clip
• All the normal features of a VCR metaphor, such as, rewind,
FF,play and search etc should be available.
• Users should be able to search to the beginning of a specific scene,
that is , the full-motion video clip should be indexed.
Full motion digital video
Multimedia applications
applications
• Users should be able to place their own indexing marks to locate
segments in the video clip.
• It should be possible to view the same clip on a variety of display
terminal types with varying resolution capabilities without the
need for storing multiple copies in different formats.
• It should be possible for users to move and resize the window
displaying the video clip.
• The users should be able to adjust the contrast and brightness of
the video clip and also adjust the volume of the associated sound.
• Users should be able to suppress sound or mix sound from other
sources.
• When video clips are spliced, then sound components are also
spliced automatically.
Electronic messaging Multimedia applications
• Message store and forward facility
• Message transfer agents to route messages to their final
destinations across various nodes in a multilevel network.
• Message repositories (servers) where users may store them just as
they would store documents in a filing cabinet
• Repositories for dense multimedia components such as images,
video frames, audio messages and full-motion video clips.
• Ability for multiple electronic hypermedia messages to share the
same multimedia components residing in various repositories on
the enterprise network.
• Dynamic access and transaction managers to allow multiple users
to access, edit, and print these multimedia messages.
Electronic messaging Multimedia applications
• Local and global directories to locate users and servers across an
enterprise network
• Automatic database sync of dynamic electronic messaging
databases.
• Automatic protocol conversions and data format conversions
• Administrative tools to manage enterprise wide networks.
A universal multimedia Multimedia applications
application
• An application that manipulates data types that can be combined in
a document, displayed on a screen, or printed with no special
manipulations that the user needs to perform
• Full motion video messages
• Viewer interactive live video
• Audio and video indexing
 Multimedia systems
architecture
APPLICATIONS

Graphical user Multimedia extensions

Interface

Operating system Software drivers Multimedia driver

support

System-Hardware Add-On multimedia

(Multimedia-Enabled) devices and peripherals
Multimedia systems
architecture
 Multimedia systems
architecture
High resolution graphics display
VGA mixing
VGA mixing with scaling
Dual-buffered VGA mixing/scaling

The IMA architectural framework

It is based on defining interfaces to a multimedia interface bus. The
multimedia interface bus would be the interface between systems and
multimedia sources and would provide streaming I/O services,
including filters and translators.
Network architecture for Multimedia systems
multimedia systems architecture
The network congestion can be attributed to a combination of the following causes
• Increased computing power of the desktop systems, workstations, and
PC’s and their ability to run multiple applications concurrently.
• Business needs for more complex networks for a larger variety of data
transmissions including voice, data, and video messages
• Increased traffic loads on existing backbone networks.
• Use of client server architectures for a wide range of applications
• Graphics-intensive applications
• Voice and video based multimedia applications that require large volumes
of data storage.
• Number of users accessing the network
Network architecture for Multimedia systems
multimedia systems architecture
Task based multilevel networking – Higher class of service require
more expensive components in the workstations as well as in the
servers supporting the workstation applications. If we adjust the class
of service to the specific requirements of the user it is task based
multi-level networking
High speed server to server links – duplication and replication
Networking standards
ATM, FDDI
Hypermedia Evolving Technologies
Documents for Multimedia Systems
Hypertext
Hypertext implements the organization of non sequential data by
natural associations of information rather in hierarchical filing
structures as in paper-based text documents.
Hypertext systems allow authors to link information together, create
information paths through a large volume of related text in
documents, annotate existing text, and append notes that direct
readers to bibliographic information or to other reference material.
Hypermedia is an extension of hypertext in that these electronic
documents.
Hypermedia Evolving Technologies
Documents for Multimedia Systems
Hypertext
Hypermedia documents used for electronic mail and workflow
applications provide a rich functionality for exchanging a variety of
information types.
The hypertext technology was developed originally as an alternative
to the simple method of moving around text-based databases.
With hypermedia, this basic. concept has been enlarged to operate on
networks and to support a variety of data formats other than text.
Hypermedia Evolving Technologies
Documents for Multimedia Systems
Hyper speech
Accelerating trends such as multimedia and cellular-phone networks
stimulated the development of general-purpose speech interlaces.
Speech synthesis has been used in a limited form only.
However, expectations make speech synthesis and indexing of
speech an important component of multimedia systems.
Speech synthesis and. even mow, speech recognition. require
substantial processing power.
Hypermedia Evolving Technologies
Documents for Multimedia Systems
Hyper speech
High-performance microprocessors, such as the main CPUs in
workstations, and digital signal processors and codec supporting
encoding and decoding of sound based on emerging standards, can
handle speech recognition and synthesis.
Speech recognition—that is, converting the analog speech into a
computer action and, more important, into ASCII text—is a
fundamental requirement for hyper speech systems.
Some challenging aspects of both speech synthesis and speech
recognition in a networked environment are maintaining cadence
 Evolving Technologies
HDTV & UDTV
for Multimedia Systems
A parallel development going on in the electronics industry is
attempting to raise the resolution levels of commercial television
broadcasting. Among the better-known television broadcasting
standards are NTSC, PAL, SECAM, NHK, and others.
There are some key technologies necessary to make the jump to a
3000-line UDTV standard. it requires the development of ultra-
resolution displays at a commercially viable price, high-speed video-
processing ICs, and ultra .broadband communications bandwidths for
WAN services such as ISDN.
Already there is development in progress for digital codec,
Modulators, And Demodulator: for terrestrial NTSC, and wide-hand
satellite broadcasting.
 Evolving Technologies
HDTV & UDTV
for Multimedia Systems
3-D Technology & Evolving Technologies
Holography for Multimedia Systems
Three-dimensional technologies are concerned with two areas:
pointing devices and displays. 3-D pointing devices are essential to
manipulate objects in a 3-D display system. 3-D displays are
achieved using holography techniques.
These approaches bypass the photographic plate and instead use
separate lasers to project the red, blue, and green components of light
to provide a three-dimensional effect.
The easy-to-point wand designed for a futuristic human-machine
interface provides computer users the ability to point to a 3-D
representation of their data.
3-D Technology & Evolving Technologies
Holography for Multimedia Systems
The wand can be used to make simple selections, as with a
conventional mouse, or to perform a midair trace of runes (symbols
Or gestures that indicate actions to be performed). The wand, shaped
like a small pistol with a button on top, uses a radio-frequency sensor
to feed orientation information to the computer to which it is
attached.
Three-dimensional (holographic) displays that seem to float in midair
are under development. However, specialized approaches with two-
dimensional displays, based on technology developed for pilots, are
being adapted for commercial use. One implementation of this
consists of a vibrating mirror mounted on a headband that creates a
two-dimensional image that appears to float in space before the
viewer.
 Evolving Technologies
Fuzzy Logic
for Multimedia Systems
Fuzzy logic, a subject of much research, has been in use for some
time for low-level process controllers.
An interesting evolution, that may actually work synergistically with
DSPs, is the development Fuzzy logic signal processors (FLSPs).
Like DSPs, FLSPs provide interesting applications for multimedia
systems. Use of fuzzy logic in multimedia chips is the key to the
emerging graphical interfaces of the future. Fuzzy logic is expected
to become an integral part of multimedia hardware.
 Evolving Technologies
Fuzzy Logic
for Multimedia Systems
The benefits of FLSPs over DSPs are obvious from a computational
perspective.
Another major advantage is seen in the results produced by using
fuzzy logic.
Based on mathematical rule-based calculations, special effects such
as shading appear considerably smoother when performed in fuzzy
logic than when performed by other calculation methods which result
in uneven surfaces.
As in fractals, decoding of fuzzy logic algorithms is very fast.
Digital Signal Evolving Technologies
Processing (DSP) for Multimedia Systems
Digital servo technology is a major contributor to this
miniaturization, as DSPs permit greater track densities and faster
seek times compared with older analog technology.
DSPs are becoming an essential component of disk controller
designs. DSP servos are also now standard in all the new magneto-
optical (MO) disk drives.
DSP Architectures and Applications : Architecturally, a DSP
operating system must be highly configurable and, consequently,
highly modular so that it can be adapted to the specific DSP hardware
and target applications.
A typical DSP operating system architecture would contain the
following subsystems
Digital Signal Evolving Technologies
Processing (DSP) for Multimedia Systems
Memory management - DSP architectures provide dynamic
allocation of arrays from multiple segments, including RAM, SRAM
and DRAM.
Hardware-interrupt handling - A DSP operating system must be
designed to minimize hardware-interrupt latency to ensure fast
response to real-time events for applications, such as servo systems.
Multitasking - DSPs need real-time kernels that provide preemptive
multitasking and user-defined and dynamic task prioritization.
Intertask synchronization and communication - Mechanisms for
Intertask communication include message queues, semaphores,
shared memory, and quick response event flags.
Digital Signal Evolving Technologies
Processing (DSP) for Multimedia Systems
Multiple timer services - The ability for the developer to set system
clock interrupt-managed timers to control and synchronize tasks is
needed for most real-time applications.
Device-independent I/O - DSP operating systems should support two
fundamentally different forms of program interaction with underlying
devices —an asynchronous data stream for passing data between
program and device, and synchronous message passing for passing
control messages between the device and the program.
DSP architectures were altered to allow designers to take better
advantage of the direction in which they were heading. This was the
start of the DSP's evolution from a pure math engine to one with
more general-purpose DSP features, and further to an application-
specific processor.
 Defining Object for
Types
Multimedia Systems
We will list these basic types of data since these basic types require
different ways of handling the data and have an impact on both
encoding of data for compression and processing for storage and
retrieval.
In our view, these basic types include text, image (this includes all
varieties of still images, including document images, still video,
fractals, and Medical Resonance Imaging), audio, holograms, and
full-motion video.
 Defining Object for
Text
Multimedia Systems
Text is obviously the simplest of data types and requires the least
amount of storage. In addition, text data types can be made fields in a
database that can be indexed, searched and sorted.
Text is also the basic building block of a document. The major
attributes of text include paragraph styling, character styling (such as
hold, italics, and so on), font families and sizes, and relative location
in a document.
Hypertext is an application of indexing text to provide a rapid search
of specific text strings in one or more documents. Hypertext is an
integral component of hypermedia documents.
 Defining Object for
Images
Multimedia Systems
 Defining Object for
Images
Multimedia Systems
Visible - The group of visible images includes drawings (such as
blueprints, engineering drawings, space maps for offices, town
layouts, and so on), documents (scanned as images), paintings (both
scanned or created from a computer-based paint application), photo-
graphs (scanned or entered directly by an electronic camera), and still
frames captured from a video camera.
In all of these cases, the image exists for some duration in a complete
bitmap form, which includes every pixel captured by the input
device. All input devices, whether they are scanners or video
cameras, use scanning methodology to capture the color and intensity
of pixels in a predefined grid.
 Defining Object for
Images
Multimedia Systems
Non-Visible - Non-visible images are those that are not stored as
images but are displayed as images. Examples of these include
pressure gauges, temperature gauges, and other metering displays.
Abstract -Abstract images are really not images that ever existed as
real-world objects or representations. Rather, they are computer-
generated images based on some arithmetic calculations.
The discrete functions result in still images that remain constant on a
temporal scale. Continuous functions are used to show animated
images and such operations as an image fading or dissolving into
another image.
 Defining Object for
Audio and Voice
Multimedia Systems
Stored audio and voice objects contain compressed audio
information.
This can consist of music, speech, voice commands, telephone
conversations, and so on. Audio objects, similar to video objects,
have a time dimension associated with them.
An audio object needs to store information about the sound clip such
as the length of the sound dip, its compression algorithm, playback
characteristics, and any sound annotations associated with the
original clip that must be played at the same time as overlays.
 Full-Motion and Defining Object for
Live Video Multimedia Systems
Full-motion and live video are the most processing, and storage-
intensive components.
In our definition, full-motion video mostly refers to pre-stored video
clips, while live video, by its very definition, is live and must be
processed while it is being captured by the camera.
From a storage perspective, it is important to have the information
about the coding algorithm used for compression that would
therefore be required for decoding.
From a processing perspective, it is important that the video as
presented to the user is smooth with no unanticipated breaks.
 Full-Motion and Defining Object for
Live Video Multimedia Systems
This requires that the video object and its associated audio object he
transferred over the network to the decompression unit (if it is
different from the display station) and then played at the fixed rate
specified for it.
 Multimedia Data
File Formats
Interface Standards
 Multimedia Data
File Formats
Interface Standards
Video Processing Multimedia Data
Standards Interface Standards
Intel's DVI - The Digital Video Interface (DVI) standard was defined
to provide a processor-independent specification for a video interface
that could accommodate most compression algorithms for fast
multimedia displays.
The wide range of requirements for displays from low-resolution text
only to fast full-motion video GUI displays, require a range of
different solutions, from using the workstations or PCs CPU to
dedicated chips and processors designed to support DVI.
A dedicated DVI chip has the advantage that it can operate software
video processing in real time and share the processing with the host
CPU. It could also handle additional vector-quantization-type
algorithms in conjunction with host processing.
Video Processing Multimedia Data
Standards Interface Standards
Simultaneously manipulating images, high-resolution graphics, audio
and full-motion video can take tremendous processing power. If
some of this load is shared by the CPU, the DVI chip does not need
to be as powerful. Advanced DVI chips and DVI boards will boost
power significantly, by factors of as much as 10 or more.
Apple's QuickTime - The QuickTime standard, developed by Apple
Computer, is designed to support multimedia applications.
Apple's QuickTime is viewed as a multimedia interface that is
evolving to become a standard part of the Apple as well as MS-
Windows-based systems.
Video Processing Multimedia Data
Standards Interface Standards
QuickTime is designed to be the graphics standard for time-based
graphic data types. Quicklime, as defined by Apple Computer, refers
to both the extensions to the Mac operating system and to the
compression/decompression functionality of the environment.
The definition of QuickTime has been extended to include the
following:
System software
File formats
Compression/ decompression algorithms
Human interface standards
 Multimedia Data
Microsoft's AVI
Interface Standards
Microsoft's Audio Video Interleave (AVI) standard offers low-cost,
low-resolution video processing for the average desktop user.
AVI is a software-only solution but can make use of supporting
hardware such as Intel's DVI chips. Unlike Quicklime, which adjusts
automatically to the hardware being used by the user, AVI is scalable
and allows users to set parameters such as window size, frame rate,
quality, and compression algorithm through a number of dialog
boxes.
This allows users to adjust the operating parameters according to the
hardware available as well as the capacity of the system based on
other applications in use
 Need for Data
Compression Standards
Compression
Standardization has been an essential requirement for any technology
that is supported by a large number of manufacturers.
It makes it easier for the equipment from participating manufacturers
to interact correctly and removes the need to customize the basic
drivers of each manufacturer's hardware or software.
Compression standards for images have been defined by CCITT.
Originally defined for facsimile transmission, the original standards
have been supplemented with new standards for higher-resolution
images. Standards for compression of multimedia objects include
non-lossy as well as lossy compression.
Non-Lossy Compression Need for Data
for Images Compression
Non-lossy image compression standards are designed to retain all
information in the original multimedia object —image, voice/audio,
or video. CCITT Groups 2, 3, and 4 are non-lossy.
The CCITT Group 2 is a very early compression scheme developed
for facsimile machines featuring resolutions as high as 100 dpi. It did
not provide a very high level of compression and is generally not in
use anymore.
The CITT Group 3 ID compression scheme is also known as run-
length encoding. This scheme is based on the assumption that a
typical scan line has long runs of pixels of the same color (black or
white). Note that this scheme was designed for black and white
(dual-tone) images only, not for gray-scale or color images.
Non-Lossy Compression Need for Data
for Images Compression
The CCITT Group 3 2D compression scheme is also known as
modified run-length encoding. This scheme is more commonly used
for software-based document imaging systems. While it provides
fairly good compression, it is easier to decompress in software than
CCITT Group 4.
CCITT Group 4 compression is a two-dimensional coding scheme. In
this method, the first reference line is an imaginary all-white line
above the top of the image. The first group of the same pixels are
encoded utilizing the imaginary white line.
This becomes the reference for the next scan line (the current coding
line). The new code line becomes the reference line for the next
coding line, and so on. Each successive line becomes the reference
for the next line. There are no end-of-line markers.
 Lossy Compression for Need for Data
Photographs and Video Compression
Joint Photographic Experts Group (Parts 1 and 2) - The Joint
Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), formed as a joint ISO and
CCITT working committee, is focused exclusively on still-image
compression.
The JPEG compression standard is designed for still color images
and gray-scale images, otherwise known as continuous-tone images.
JPEG has been released as an ISO standard. The standard has been
released in two parts. Part 1 specifies the modes of operation, the
interchange formats, and the codec specified for these modes. Part 2
of the standard describes the compliance tests that determine whether
the implementation of an encoder or a decoder conform to the
standard specification of Part 1 to ensure interoperability of systems
compliant with JPEG standards.
 Lossy Compression for Need for Data
Photographs and Video Compression
Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) - Standardization of
compression algorithms for video was first initiated by CCITT for
teleconferencing and video telephony. The International Consultative
Committee for Radio (CCIR) is chartered with standardizing video
compression techniques for transmission of television signals.
CCIR is working with CCITT and ISO, and they have jointly
undertaken an effort to develop a standard for video and associated
audio on digital storage media.
This effort is known as the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG)
and is currently a part of the ISO-TEC/JTC1/SC2/WG31. Unlike
still-image compression, full-motion image compression has a time
factor associated with it.
 Need for Data
Asymmetrical Applications
Compression
Asymmetrical applications are applications that need to be
compressed once but are read many times. Reference documents,
help files, and archived memos are examples of multimedia
components that need to be compressed once but that can be
referenced frequently.
With asymmetrical images and video clips, it is possible to use hard-
ware assist for compression (or even to accept the performance
penalty during compression) and to achieve faster decompression
without hardware assistance.
Both JPEG and MPEG fall in this class. The discrete cosine
transformation and motion compensation for JPEG and MPEG
require a very high level of processing power for encoding.
 Multimedia Database
Benefits

• Significant reduction of the time and space needed to file, store and
retrieve documents in electronic form rather than paper form
• Increased productivity by eliminating lost or missing file conditions
using automatically maintained indexing provided by a data
management system
• Providing simultaneous document access to multiple users for
display on screen as well as hardcopy print
• Improvement of multidimensional information flow within the
organization
• Reduction of time and money spent on photocopying by reducing
the need for distributing multiple paper copies
 Multimedia Database
Benefits

• Facilitation of rapid and correct responses to requests for

information through stored visual interaction
• Conversion of paper-based information into a manageable, strategic
asset that allow easy inclusion in other reports and documents
 Multimedia Storage Multimedia Database
and Retrieval
Massive Data Volumes - Statistics show that less than 20% of all
strategic information is automated, while more than 80% typically
resides on paper or is performed interactively in meetings,
discussions, and presentations.
Paper records and films or tapes are difficult to integrate, control,
search and access, and distribute.
Locating paper documents, films, and audio or video tapes requires
searching through massive storage files, complex indexing systems
understood only by a few key staff personnel (who become a
bottleneck in the flow of information), and require a major
organizational effort to ensure that they are returned in proper
sequence to their original storage locations.
 Multimedia Storage Multimedia Database
and Retrieval
Storage Technologies - Microfiche and microfilm started out as a
medium for storage of paper documents. However, they proved to be
very cumbersome and slow and prone to frequent failures.
Recovery from failures that cause physical damage to the microfilm
is very time-consuming and can cause loss of information.
Microfiche and microfilm are prone to a high level of mechanical
failure and physical (optochemical) deterioration of microfilm media.
Another factor to note is that microfiche or microfilm tends to leave a
lot of noise on documents (i.e., very small black spots).
 Multimedia Storage Multimedia Database
and Retrieval
There are two major mass storage technologies used currently for
storage of multimedia documents: optical disk storage systems and
high-speed magnetic storage.
Obviously, managing a few optical disk platters in a jukebox is much
simpler than managing a much larger magnetic disk farm.
Keeping such a system operational can get very cumbersome.
Another important factor to note is that optical disk storage is an
excellent vehicle for off-line archival of old and infrequently
referenced documents for significant periods of time.
 Multimedia Storage Multimedia Database
and Retrieval
Multimedia Object Storage - Multimedia object storage in an
optical medium serves its real purpose only if it can be located
rapidly and automatically.
A key issue here is random keyed access to various components of a
hypermedia document or hypermedia database record. Optical media
provides very dense storage.
Speed of retrieval is another major consideration.
Retrieval speed is a direct result of the storage latency (time it takes
to retrieve the data from the storage media), size of the data relative
to display resolution (compression efficiency), transmission media
and speed (transmission latency), and decompression efficiency.
 Multimedia Storage Multimedia Database
and Retrieval
Multimedia Document Retrieval The simplest form of identifying a
multimedia document is by storage platter identification and its
relative position on the platter (file number).
These objects can then be grouped using a database in folders
(replicating the concept of paper storage in file folders) or within
complex objects representing hypermedia documents.
The capability to access objects using identifiers stored in a database
requires capability in the database to perform the required
multimedia object directory functions.
Another important application for sound and full-motion video is the
ability to clip parts of it and combine them with another set
 DBMS for
DBMS Approach
Multimedia System
• Extending the existing relational database management systems
(RDBMSs) to support the various objects for multimedia as binary
objects.
• Extending RDBMSs beyond basic binary objects to the concepts of
inheritance and classes. RDBMSs supporting these features provide
extensions for object-programming front-ends and/or C ++ support.
• Converting to a full-fledged object-oriented database that supports
the standard SQL language.
• Converting the database and the application to an objected-oriented
database and using an object-oriented language, such as C++, or an
object-enabled SQL for development.
 RDBMS Extensions for DBMS for
Multimedia Multimedia System
Most of the leading relational databases have adapted a data type
commonly known as binary large object (BLOB) for binary and free-
form text as a workaround to these limitations.
BLOBs are used for objects such as images or other binary data
types. Relational database tables include location information for the
BLOBs which may actually be stored outside the database on
separate image or video servers.
Relational databases have the strength of rigorous set management
for maintaining the integrity of the database, an important feature of
the RDBMSs that has been lacking in early ODBMSs.
 Object Oriented DBMS for
Databases for Multimedia Multimedia System
ODMSs are extensible and allow incremental changes to the database
applications. These changes would be more difficult in a procedural
language environment.
Message passing, for instance, allows objects to interact by invoking
each other's methods and the process of handing off data from one
component of the application to another.
Extensibility means that the set of operations, structures, and
constraints that are available to operations are not fixed, and
developers can define new operations, which can then be added as
needed to their application.
 Object Oriented DBMS for
Databases for Multimedia Multimedia System
• Encapsulation, or the ability to deal with software entities as units
that interact in pre-defined and controllable manner, and where the
control routines are integral with the entity.
• Association, or the ability to define a software entity in terms of its
differences from another entity.
• Classification, or the ability to represent with a single software
entity a number of data items that all have the same behavior and the
same state attributes.
The inheritance mechanism allows building objects rapidly with
characteristics similar to the parent. New classes of objects can be
created by inheriting the attributes and methods of existing classes.
Database Organization for DBMS for
Multimedia Applications Multimedia System
The following are some key issues of data organization for
multimedia systems:
1. Data independence
2. Common distributed database architecture
3. Distributed database servers
4. Multimedia object management
Database Organization for DBMS for
Multimedia Applications Multimedia System
Data independence’s features
1. Storage design is independent of specific applications
2. Explicit data definitions are independent of application programs
3. Users need not know data formats or physical storage structures
4. Integrity assurance is independent of application programs
5. Recovery is independent of application programs
Database Organization for DBMS for
Multimedia Applications Multimedia System
Common distributed database architecture’s features
1. Multiple independent data structures in system (server)
2. Uniform distributed access by clients
3. A single point for recovery of each database server
4. Convenient data reorganization to suit requirements
5. Tunability and creation of object classes
6. Expandability
Database Organization for DBMS for
Multimedia Applications Multimedia System
Distributed Database Servers - Distributed database servers are a
dedicated resource on a network accessible to a number of
applications. The database server is built for growth and
enhancement, and the network provides the opportunity for the
growth of applications and distributed access to the data.
Database Organization for DBMS for
Multimedia Applications Multimedia System
Multimedia Object Management - Hypermedia documents and
hypermedia database records may contain linked multimedia objects.
The object management system must be capable of indexing,
grouping, and storing multimedia objects in distributed hierarchical
optical storage systems, and accessing these objects on a keyed basis.
The design of the object management system should be capable of
indexing objects in such a manner that there is no need to maintain
multiple storage copies.
 Transaction Management DBMS for
for Multimedia Systems Multimedia System
Multimedia transactions are very complex transactions. We define a
multimedia trans-action as the sequence of events that starts when a
user makes a request to display, edit, or print a hypermedia
document.
The transaction is complete when the user releases the hyper-media
document and stores back the edited versions or discards the copy in
memory (including virtual memory) or local storage.
A hypermedia document may consist of text, data fields, document
images, still video frames, audio messages, and full-motion video
clips
 Transaction Management DBMS for
for Multimedia Systems Multimedia System
These transactions become complex when data has to be retrieved
from multiple data servers that can be accessed simultaneously by a
large number of users.
Conflicts arise when two users attempt to read from, and even more
so write to, the same data record. Multi-phase commit methodologies
are used to address the conflicts in relational databases.
A hypermedia document cannot be presented successfully to the user
until all of its components are available for display and negotiations
have been completed with the servers to play out the data at the rate
required by the workstation.
 A Course-on-Demand System
On-line facilitator

Courseware
developer

Multimedia Network
Database
Database server

user
 A Course-on-Demand System

Authoring Metadata
Tool DB

Integration Software
DB Application
Java Client

Network

User Server
Interface Media
Server
THANK YOU