Internet, the World Wide Web and Issues in Delivering Multimedia Content on the Net

Background Internet was born 1960s US DoD, create a non-centralized network designed to survive partial nuclear war and still function when parts of the network were down or destroyed ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) with the aim of providing a secure and survivable communications network for organizations engaged in defense-related research

Background 1969, first attempted to implement a long distance networked computers 4 computers linked by 50Kbp circuits –UCLA –Stanford Research Institute (SRI) –UC Santa Barbara –University of Utah in Salt Lake City Telephone connection

Background Standard protocols – IP (Internet Protocol) 1977 – TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) Allowed users to link various branches of other complex networks directly to the ARPANet, which soon came to be called the Internet MiliNet (dedicated to military research establishment) and dropped the ARPAnet ARPAnet grew, 1985 National Science Foundation (NSF) establish Internet access across the United States

Background Internet – global network of computers connected together using the TCP/IP technology Web (Encyclopedia Britannica 2002): “WWW, (byname THE WEB), is the leading information retrieval service of the Internet (the worldwide computer network). The Web gives users access to a vast array of documents that are connected to each other by means of hypertext or hypermedia links-i.e. Hyperlinks, electronic connections that link related pieces of information in order to allow a user easy access to them”

Background How multimedia could help in utilizing the Internet: –Global exchanges of information, which could contain media rich, content, i.e. electronic mails enhanced by audio and video; and –Creation of new environments for business, education, entertainment and delivery of news of information.

Delivering Multimedia Content on the Web Content of Internet has transformed form text-based environment to graphics, animation, audio and video Graphics format used GIF, JPEG and GIF Streaming technology and compression techniques help speed up the download time

Audio and Video Streaming The audio file is broken up into small pieces (streams) and then sent from the sever to the client’s machine Browser on the client’s machine uses a helper application (like RealAudio) to re-assemble the audio stream Advantage –No waiting time (or very little) from the time the mouse is clicked until the time the sound start playing RealAudio producer to broken the audio file into streams ready for broadcasting over the Internet

Compression Audio –MIDI A musical score, such as notes and what instrument will play these notes –MPEG (MP3) Deletes the redundant information that human hearing could not pick up, reducing the file size up to 12 times Video –MPEG Remove spatial redundancy within the video frame and temporal redundancy between frame

SMIL “The Synchronised Multimedia Integrated Language (SMIL, pronounced ‘smile’) enables simple authoring of interactive audiovisual presentations. SMIL is typically used for ‘rich media’ / multimedia presentations which integrate streaming audio and video with images, text or any other media type. SMIL is an easy-to-learn HTML- like language, and many SMIL presentations are written using a simple text-editor” ~ W3C XML-based language that allows control over the what, where, and when of media elements in a multimedia presentation.

SMIL Functionality –Timing –Time manipulations –Animation –Content control –Layout –Linking –Media objects –Meta information –Structure and –transitions

SMIL mechanism used to enable the client’s browser to make informed decision about the presentation –To check the internet connection of a client Tutorial

Mobile Multimedia Technology Emergence of multimedia computer systems integrated into the telecommunications and networking infrastructures and offer access to services and applications using combinations of data, text, voice, video to anybody, anytime, anywhere 1980s Advanced Mobile Phone Systems –First generation of cellular systems in U.S. –Speech transmission NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephone System) –Europe, use FM Modulation

Mobile Multimedia Technology GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) –2 nd generation of mobile communication –13.8kbps –Based on circuit switching Once the connection established, the user has the exclusive access to certain amount of bandwidth until the connection terminates Voice calls, send and receive data –2.5G, improved data capabilities, and “always-on- connection”

Mobile Multimedia Technology i-mode –NTTDoCoMo largest cellular operator inJapan –Wireless technology offering wireless web browsing and from mobile phones –Access internet via their wireless phones –Based on packet data transmission

Mobile Multimedia Technology 3 rd generation (2005) –Higher data rates (Mbps) intended for applications other than voice – such as mobile games –Support full-motion video, video conferencing and advanced data services with full Internet access –Universal Mobile Technology Services (UMTS), 2Mbps

Mobile Multimedia Technology Bluetooth –A short-range radio technology designed to simplify peer-to-peer connectivity –Enables mobile phones, printers, PCs and PDAs to communicate directly with each other at high speeds without the need for a network server or cables –Uses radio transmission, transfers voice and data in real time –Operates in the 2.4Ghz frequency band (problem in France!)

Mobile Multimedia Technology Application areas: –M(Mobile)-commerce: shopping, ticket purchases, reservations, and comparison shopping –Finance: statements, funds transfer, and shares trading –M-billing: notification, presentation, and payment of bills –Enterprise Access: inventory, shipment/sales updates, and access –M-care: customer service, payment status, and other backroom operations –Entertainment: games, gambling, and interactive multi-player events –Messaging: communication and collaboration –Traveling: scheduling, reservations and advisories