We are living through a revolution in communication technology, says Mark Chertkow, MD of Graphic Image Technologies. From phone calls over the Web to video on demand, we are starting to see huge leaps in our ability to communicate and interact through the digital medium.
"Almost every PC sold today has basic multimedia capacity - sound, a CD or DVD drive - and can deliver sound and video together with high-quality graphics," says Chertkow. "However, with multimedia standards maturing, advances in key areas such as MPEG video compression have set the stage for a whole range of communication ideas and concepts that take true multimedia to the next stage of business advantage."
Modern computers have come a long way since the days of grainy, postage stamp-size video clips on arbitrary entertainment tiles. Even entry-level PCs support streaming video at full frame rates, although higher-bandwidth video streams still require dedicated hardware support.
Multimedia is a professional as well as a consumer technology. Professional products are making their way to market as cost-effective alternatives to studio equipment, offering similar advantages to their hugely expensive relatives with little or no compromise in broadcast quality.
"At the other end of the scale," notes Chertkow, "entry-level multimedia products are pushing the envelope of PC-based video and sound production to its limits, opening previously undiscovered doors in terms of quality at a consumer price.
"Driving the revolution is the desire of business to make the most of existing hardware investments, straining every last bit of performance out of costly IT frameworks."
With the availability of high-end software development kits (SDKs), users and developers have access to a host of new applications, such as video on multimedia touch-screen kiosk or large-format plasma screen display. Staging, presentation video networking, video-on-demand and others can be used to effectively deliver on the business need.
With video playback at almost any quality or price available to the developer or corporate user, there are many applications available:
Multimedia presentations
: Digital presentations are far superior to those in analogue format; they don`t wear out and their clarity is exceptional. Multimedia presentation technology is becoming pervasive and will impact dramatically on the way we sell ourselves, our products and our services well into the next millennium.
Touch-screen kiosks
: Interactive applications need to add value to the end-user and offer something unique to be business-effective. Multimedia applications on touch screens - such as video and audio voice-overs - allow you to relate to your customer professionally and offer value. With current networked video technology it is possible to allow students to experience video and education online on an on-demand basis. The key components are bandwidth and quality. With today`s multimedia variety we can deliver full motion interactive video and sound at 128 kbits per second or at 800 kbytes per minute using off-the-shelf PC equipment.
Interactive CD-ROM
: Interactive CD-ROMs have established themselves in the corporate, educational and entertainment environments as valuable sales and marketing tools. The inclusion of full motion video on these applications has become commonplace. From launching new products to selling your services and building customer loyalty, CD-ROM is the medium of choice where high-quality video is used to best effect. Full-scale DVD applications are just around the corner.
Staging
: Large events require the best quality video possible, be it the launch of a new range of motor car or the opening of a hotel complex. Multimedia staging presentations are becoming standard in this environment. The technology exists today to accurately link up different video streams allowing you to show synchronised video clips as one coherent presentation. This enables you to reliably run staged applications in theme parks 24 hours a day without loss of quality and with minimal human intervention.
"Digital multimedia technology has in many cases surpassed older, analogue tools for the delivery of quality entertainment content," notes Chertkow. "From movie effects to Internet broadcasts via satellite, the impact of multimedia is only now being realised, and its potential is the birth of a global communication revolution."
Share
Editorial contacts