Computer Maintenance Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. Trade & Industrial Education

How Multimedia Changed Computer Interface Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia

Summary Slide Multimedia Sound Card The history of multimedia How a sound card works MIDI, FM synthesis, Digital sound 3D audio MP3 music Choosing a sound card Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

Summary Slide Continued Video card How a video card works Troubleshooting a video card Choosing a video card Virtual Reality Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

Multimedia Any computer-delivered electronic system that allows the user to control, combine, and manipulate different types of media, such as text, sound, video, computer graphics, and animation. Interactive multimedia integrate computer, memory storage, digital (binary) data, telephone, television, and other information technologies. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

History of Multimedia 1905 – First jukebox is released 1906 – First animated cartoon film is produced 1907 – Bell &Howell develop a film projection system 1914 – The camera is invented 1928 – Television sets in households 1948 – Cable TV is installed Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia

History of Multimedia (cont.) 1967 – Prerecorded movies on videotape sold for home TV sets 1979 – In Japan, the first cellular phone network 1985 – The first CD-ROM can store 270,000 pages of text 1995 – A CD-ROM can carry a full-length feature film The original IBM PC had no sound or video. Multimedia is now an integral part of the web. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia

Sound Cards None of the multimedia that enhances the use of the PC could exist without sound capabilities. The sound card allows a computer to play and record high-quality sound. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

How a Soundcard Works 1 2 The signals go to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) chip where the chip changes the analog signal to digital data (0’s and 1’s). A soundcard receives a sound in analog signal, sometimes more than one signal at a time. 4 3 A ROM chip, or in newer designs, rewritable memory, contains the instructions for handling the digital signal. The ADC sends the binary information to a chip, called a digital signal processor (DSP). Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

Soundcard (cont.) 6 5 The DSP sends the compressed data to the PC’s main processor, which in turn sends the data to a hard drive to be stored, typically as a .WAV or .MP3 file. To play a recorded sound, the CPU fetches the file containing the compressed signal replication of the sound from a hard drive or CD-ROM, and sends it to the DSP. 8 7 The analog current is amplified; then the stronger current powers an electromagnet that’s part of the speaker, causing the speaker's cone to vibrate, recreating the sound. The DSP decompresses the data on the fly and sends it to a digital-to-analog converter chip, which translates the digital information to a constantly wavering electrical current. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

MIDI Whereas some types of sounds are straightforward recordings, such as those contained in .WAV files, musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) sound was developed to conserve disk space by saving only instructions on how to play music on electronic versions of various musical instruments, not recording the actual sounds. Many musicians use MIDI to compose music on a computer. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

FM synthesis In FM synthesis, the DSP tells an FM synthesis chip to produce the note. The chip stores the characteristics of different musical instruments in a collection of mathematical descriptions called algorithms. By combining the DSP instructions with the algorithm, the chips synthesize a facsimile of the actual instrument playing the note. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

Digital Sound Before a sound track is recorded, Dolby Digital B – also known as AC3 and used in many DVD movies – encodes soft, treble sounds so they will be recorded louder than they actually are. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

3D Audio 3D Audio effects sounds detected by the ear The interaural intensity difference is detected because the sound is louder to the ear nearer to the source The interaural time difference occurs because the sound reaches one ear sooner than the other Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

MP3 MP3 is a form of audio compression adapted from the MPEG format for compressed video. MP3 compresses the original sound by filtering out differences in the sound signal that the human ear cannot detect. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

Choosing a soundcard When choosing a soundcard you should consider the following: MIDI support to ensure the sounds often found in games and presentation packages can be generated. FM Synthesis to produce MIDI sound. Sound Blaster compatibility ensures that the sound card will work with most programs and operating systems. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

Choosing a soundcard (cont.) Sampling size and rate of a sound card determine the quality of the sound produced. 16-bit sampling size and a 44.1 kHz sampling rate are good. Full-duplex sound cards can send and receive sounds at the same time, allowing conversation over the Internet. Multi-speaker capability can support up to five speakers, which can enhance the sound capabilities of the computer. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

Choosing a soundcard (cont.) Upgrading may allow you to add memory to your sound car,d which allows you to increase the capabilities of the sound card. Sound cards usually contain enough memory for most programs, including games, so you will only need to add memory if you plan to compose or sample music. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

Video card A video card generates the text and images that appear on the display area of the monitor. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

How a Video Card Works 1 2 On the video-capture adapter card, an analog-to-digital converter chip converts the wavering analog video and audio signals to a digital pattern. A camera and microphone capture the picture and sounds of a video, and send those analog signals to a video-capture adapter card. 4 3 The combined audio and video elements of the signal are sent to a digital-to-analog converter, which translates binary data into analog signals that go to the screen and speakers. A compression or decompression chip or software reduces the amount of data needed to re-create the video signals. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

Video Card (cont.) 6 5 A PC at a remote location receives the digital signals, decompresses them, and converts them to the analog signals needed to control the display and audio playback. Advanced forms of compressing use a sampling process to cut down on the amount of data that must be recorded or transmitted. 8 7 Motion Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) compression records only key frames and then predicts what the missing frames look like by comparing the changes in the key frames. Lossy compression saves time and memory without any discernible change in the image. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

Troubleshooting a video card If your monitor is not displaying information due to a malfunctioning video card, test your monitor on another computer first. Also, ensure that the video card is installed in the correct expansion slot. Some computers require that the video card be plugged into a specific slot in the computer. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

Choosing a video card The resolution determines the amount of information displayed on the screen and is measured by the number of horizontal and vertical pixels. The video card and monitor must be able to use the same resolution. The Color depth – the video card determines the number of colors a monitor can display. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

Choosing a video card The refresh rate determines the speed that information is redrawn on the screen; it is measured in hertz (Hz). The video card and monitor must be able to use the same refresh rate. Always ensure that you are using the correct and most up-to-date driver for your video card. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

Choosing a video card Memory – a video card uses memory chips to store the information it displays on the screen. You can add memory chips to a video card to increase its capabilities. Adding memory chips can increase the resolution and color depth the video card can display. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

Choosing a video card Graphics Processing Unit – The GPU allows the video card to display information on the screen without using the CPU, which can improve the computer’s performance. Built-in Video Port – Many system boards come with a built-in video port. To upgrade the video capabilities you must disable the port on the system board and then install a new video card in an expansion slot. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

Virtual Reality Virtual reality can deliver the ultimate multimedia experience. Using 3D animation and sound, virtual reality takes you through exotic worlds, futuristic shoot-outs, and flying aircraft that yaw, pitch, and roll. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia Trade & Industrial Education

Review What is multimedia? List some important historical events that contributed to the development of multimedia. List some features you should look for when purchasing a sound card. Briefly explain how a sound card works. Briefly explain how a video card works. List some features you should look for when purchasing a video card. What is virtual reality? Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved. IT: Computer Maintenance - Multimedia