Digital Media Dr. Jim Rowan Chapter 2

First, some mac software you will be using (found in the application folder) Grab - used to do a screen capture TextEdit - used as a simple word processor PhotoBooth - used to take your picture with the built in camera and take video with the built in camera Preview: Change image file formats

About file formats and extensions (like.au,.doc,.ppt,.mov) Indication to us (the humans) what kind of file this is Some software looks at the extension –so... some software will try to open files with improper extensions –results in “file corrupted” error message –try it... change the extension from.doc to.jpg

File formats and extensions Some software looks at the data in the file for more definitive answer (the header) important file-related information is encoded in the data of the file for example: some image formats have color tables to reduce the size of the file some video just saves the changes from one frame to the next we’ve seen the header before when we used hexFiend to look at images… image size is stored in the header

The Question: How do you put stuff in a computer –so that you can manipulate it –so that you can send it –so that someone else can see and use it? How do you represent the real world in a digital world?

The answer: Represent the real world as numbers Store the numbers Transmit the numbers Retrieve the numbers Display them in a form humans understand

Today: Chapter 2 is a “first cut” of nearly all the material that will be covered in greater detail this semester About the real world About digital representation

From the first day’s lecture we saw different types of real world stuff as a bunch of numbers

Note on paper

Picture

Song: fieldsOfGold.mp3

Video

So it’s all just numbers, and binary numbers at that! First we must talk about numbering systems!

Numbering systems: Decimal Binary Hexadecimal

Which statement is True? = = = 10 F + 1 = 10

well… it depends… = 10 (in decimal) = 10 (in binary) = 10 (in octal) welcome to numbering systems!

Numbering systems Humans: decimal –Humans: 10 fingers, 10 digits –0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 10 Computers: binary –Computers: 1 finger, 2 digits –0 & 1

Hexadecimal Humans and Computers: hexadecimal –Hexadecimal: 16 fingers, 16 digits –0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F

Why Hexadecimal? You can use one hexadecimal instead of 4 binary digits While this seems complicated.. it is actually easier (after some practice!) for humans to deal with 16 different digits than 4 0s and 1s In Hex: ABCDEF In binary:

How many different things? In Decimal 1 digit can represent 10 different things: – In Decimal 2 digits can represent 100 different things: – … In Binary 1 digit can represent 2 different things: –0 and 1 In Binary 2 digits can represent 4 different things: – In Hexadecimal 1 digit can represent 16 different things: – A B C D E F In Hexadecimal 2 digits can represent 256 different things: – A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F A 1B 1C 1D 1E 1F 20 21… F9 FA FB FC FD FE FF

How many different things? So… how many things can you count with 4 hex digits? –USE THE FORMULA! –[number of digits in the numbering system]**[number of digits used]… –[16]**[4] = 65,536 How many things can you count with 4 decimal digits? –[number of digits in the numbering system]**[number of digits used]… –[10]**[4] = 10,000 How many things can you count with 4 binary digits? –[number of digits in the numbering system]**[number of digits used]… –[2]**[4] = 16

Counting… with a different number of fingers (it’s the same process but different number sets) 10 fingers: Counting in decimal –0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 then… start over with 0 and increment the digit to the left ==> 10 1 finger: Counting in binary –0, 1 then… start over with 0 and increment the digit to the left ==> fingers: Counting in hexadecimal –0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F then… start over with 0 and increment the digit to the left ==> 10

Binary Coding Data for a computer... Binary –zeros and ones Data for humans... Hex –1 Hexadecimal represents 4 binary digits Data for humans… ASCII (the alphabet) –2 hex codes ==> 1 ASCII code For example ==>

Example: ASCII Code Humans and Computers: ASCII –The ASCII code for C is in hexadecimal: 43 (In decimal: 67) which is binary:

Stuff in the Real World to Stuff on a computer… HOW? A note… –Letters of the alphabet-> bits (0s and 1s) A picture… –Reflected light -> bits (0s and 1s) A song… –Pressure waves in air -> bits (0s and 1s) A video… –Pressure waves in air and Reflected light -> bits (0s and 1s)

HOW? First, the real world of: Discrete & Continuous

Phenomena in the Real world: discrete vs continuous Things in the real world can be discrete They either ARE or they ARE NOT These things can be counted Examples: –The number of cars in the parking lot –The number of beans in a jar

Phenomena in the Real world: discrete vs continuous Things in the real world can be continuous Continuous can’t be counted, it must be measured Examples: –Atmospheric pressure –Height of an ocean wave –Frequency of a sound wave

The problem is... computers can only count Discrete data is easy for a computer –count it and store it as a number Continuous data... easy? not so much –music: measure the frequency & amplitude encode as a collection of numbers –pictures: measure the amount (intensity) and frequency of light (color) in a number of spots of light (pixels) encode the frequency and the intensity as a collection of numbers

Question... If computers only store 0s and 1s... How does all this continuous stuff end up in a computer so that we can save it and play it back? Answer –Continuous data must be converted to discrete data

Converting continuous phenomenon to digital data: -You must SAMPLE to convert it to discrete Sampling consists of two processes 1) stop to take a measurement the number per time period is called the sample rate 2) take the measurement the number of different values each sample can take on is called the quantization level Digital data back to continuous phenomenon: –Display samples using “sample and hold” Play the sample for the duration of the sample time From the Real World …and Back!

Before we go further with sampling: What this stuff means: Bit: binary digit Byte: 8 Bits KB: kilo byte (1000 bytes) MB: mega byte (1,000,000 bytes) GB: giga byte (1,000,000,000 bytes) TB: tera byte (1,000,000,000,000 bytes) KBPS: kilo (1,000) bits per second MBPS: mega (1,000,000) bits per second

Note this! Communications are usually stated in bps (bits per second) File size is usually stated in bytes AND: 8 bits per byte –you will have to convert from one to the other when you do download/upload calculations

Network access dial up connection ADSL T1 T3

Network access... dial up connection –phone modem –asymmetric 56,000 bps (bits, not bytes) max downstream (internet to modem) 33.6 kbps upstream (modem to internet) –rarely get these speeds

Network access... ADSL –asymmetric digital subscriber line –over copper phone wires –limited to short distance from phone switch –asymmetric 6.1 mbps downstream 640 kbps upstream

Network access... Other options –Cable modem (also asynchronous) –satellite with phone (also asynchronous) –satellite alone (expensive but available in the boonies) –local wireless networks –high altitude tethered balloons –transmission over power lines

Network access... Commercial internet users T1 connection mbps T3 connection 44.7 mbps Provide web servers for others to put websites on Large commercial enterprises will have their own web server

Time-to-download/upload calculations The Speeds: –Dial-Up 56,000 bps internet to modem (downstream) 33,600 bps modem to internet (upstream) –ADSL 6.1 mbps (million bps) downstream 640 kbps (thousand bps) upstream –T mbps –T mbps NOTE! bps is bits per second while filesize is stated in bytes

Time-To-Load calculations For a 1.2 megabyte video: How long would it take to load it to youTube over -fastest dialup -adsl -T1 -T3 How long would it take to download it from youTube over -fastest dialup -adsl -T1 -T3

But... How many samples do you need? It depends… So let’s look at sampling…

single sample

single sample (sample and hold)

two samples

two samples (sample and hold)

three samples

three samples (sample and hold)

four samples

four samples (sample and hold)

five samples

five samples (sample and hold)

Taking it a lot farther…

How frequently should I sample? too few –small file size (good) –not a faithful representation when replayed too many –large file size (bad) –excellent representation when replayed The Nyquist rate –twice as many samples as the frequency being captured –Results in an ok file size –Results in faithful representation when replayed

CD quality is 44,100 samples per second Why? –Human hearing response is in the range of 20 to 22,000 cycles per second Nyquist sample rate = highest frequency to be captured = 22,050 CPS 2 x 22,050 = 44,100 samples per second

Looking at FieldsOfGold.mp3… 4 minutes and 59 seconds long 1,201,173 bytes in length Can this be right? CD quality –44,100 samples per second (sample rate) –16 bit samples (quantization level is 16 bit) –16 bits can store 65,536 different levels (2**16 = 65,536 individual levels)

FieldsOfGold.mp3 4’59 = 299 seconds long 299 x 44,100 samples per second = 13,156,000 samples 13,185,900 x 2 bytes/sample (2 bytes = 16 bits) –26,371,800 bytes Stereo: 2 channels => 52,743,600 bytes Should be 52+ megabytes! Why does it show only 1.2 megabytes? HMMMmmm...

FieldsOfGold.mp3 Why 52+ megabytes not 1.2 megabytes? –wait for it…

FieldsOfGold.mp3 Why 52+ megabytes not 1.2 megabytes? This is an MP3! The data is COMPRESSED! If you had the song on a CD it would be 52+ megabytes long and in.aiff format

Two types of compression Lossy Lossless.mp3 audio.jpeg images run length encoding table compression

Further reading signal_processing%29

The side effects of sampling: sampling artifacts Sampling Artifacts are the negative side effects caused by having to sample continuous data

Sampling Artifacts Under-sampling: not enough samples being taken of continuous data can produce undesired artifacts Examples might be: –Moire’ patterns on images –retrograde motion on video

Sampling Artifacts (cont.) Not enough quantization levels when sampling continuous data can produce undesired artifacts Examples might be: –too few grey levels: gradients become steps –too few brightness levels: posterization

Sampling Artifacts Retrograde Motion 4 samples/cycle, 2 cycles 2 samples/cycle, 2 cycles

Sampling Artifacts (cont.) Audio –too few amplitude levels, quantization noise 8 bits (256 amplitude levels) produces discernable noise 16 bits (65,536 amplitude levels) CD quality, no discernable hiss –general sound “fuzziness” or a “flat” sound

Data Representations How stuff is stored in a computer Images Bitmapped Vector Audio Animation Video Text

Images, bitmapped TuTh Are stored as arrays of pixels Can be stored directly –TIFF & PNG for example Can have an associated color map –JPEG for example Generating these pixels from the stored model is called rendering

Images, vector graphic Are stored as mathematical descriptions Often smaller than bitmapped Size of the file is independent of resolution or image size Not suitable for some type of images

Example & Comparison Bitmapped graphics –Defined as spots (pixels) of color –Has problems scaling –File size unaffected by image complexity –File size affected by the image size Vector graphics –Defined by their mathematically described parts –File size affected by image complexity –File size unaffected by the image size (scaling is easy)

Moving images Captured live with camera –iMovie –Stored as video Generated from animation –Blender –Similar to 2D vector graphics… but in 3D and with a means of creating motion

Network communication & Servers and Clients

Servers & Clients... Clients consume and display internet content Your browser is a client Clients request content from servers –by sending a server an message which is a request for a web page Servers respond to requests for internet content –send requested web pages to Clients The content is sent in HTML code –HTML sent by the server is interpreted by the client (browser) and displayed on your display Look at and view sourcehttp://

URL (uniform resource locator)… a human-readable name URL takes the form: URL has 3 parts –the protocol that you are using ( –The domain name: ( –The directory and file you want to see: (newStuff.index.html) –the URL maps to a number called an IP address

Servers & Clients... servers have fixed IPs so they are easy to find your computer probably uses DHCP which is a dynamic (changing from connection to connection) IP An example: my IP right now (assigned through dhcp) is: (look it up in system preferences) IPv4 vs IPv6

The Internet your computer DHCP: your browser (Safari)(client) yahoo.com (server) walmart.com (server) Domain Name System (DNS) requested webpages

yahoo.com (server) The Internet walmart.com (server) ISP DHCP: your computer your browser (Safari)(client) Domain Name System (DNS) requested webpages

yahoo.com (server) The Internet walmart.com (server) DHCP: your computer your browser (Safari)(client) Domain Name System (DNS) = requested webpages

yahoo.com (server) The Internet walmart.com (server) /index.html DHCP: your computer your browser (Safari)(client) Domain Name System (DNS) = requested webpages

Questions?