Multimedia and Communications Technology, 2nd Edition

Book description

Multimedia and Communications Technology is a practical explanation of the technologies that bring together existing products such as the PC, telephone and television. It is precisely this revolution that the book addresses - offering an up to date technical overview of developments in PC technology, video and audio compression, telecommunications and many other disciplines.

Written as a series of tutorials, the book starts with the fundamental techniques of digital audio and video, moving on to compression techniques such as JPEG and MPEG. The delivery systems for multimedia are then covered, starting with the CD and on to telephones, local and wide area networks and ATM and ASDL. The final chapters describe how these technologies are brought together in some key applications:

· video conferencing
· digital video broadcasting
· video on demand
· interactive television

Steve Heath is responsible for European Strategy and Technology Development at Motorola. He has had many years experience in computer design and has presented papers on multimedia technology at international conferences. He is a well known technical writer and has written fourteen other books for Focal Press, Newnes and Butterworth-Heinemann.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Table of Contents
  6. Preface
  7. Acknowledgements
  8. 1 What is multimedia?
    1. Multimedia requirements
    2. Multimedia scorecard
      1. The PC
      2. The television
      3. The telephone
  9. 2 Digital audio
    1. Analogue to digital conversion techniques
      1. Quantisation errors
    2. Sample rates and size
      1. Irregular sampling errors
      2. Nyquist’s theorem
    3. Codecs
      1. Linear
      2. A-law and μ-law
      3. PCM
      4. DPCM
      5. ADPCM
    4. Compression techniques
      1. Byte sized sampling
      2. RLL and Huffman encoding
      3. Differential encoding
      4. GSM full rate and half rate encoding
      5. Psycho-acoustic model
    5. Audio synthesis
      1. Voltage controlled oscillator
      2. Low frequency oscillator
      3. Voltage controlled filter
      4. Envelope generator
      5. Voltage controlled amplifier
    6. FM synthesis
      1. Linear arithmetic synthesis
      2. Additive synthesis
      3. Wave synthesis
    7. Digital signal processing
      1. Creating echo and reverb
    8. IBM PC sound cards
    9. Anatomy of a sound card
    10. Installing a sound card
    11. MIDI
      1. Using IBM PCs with MIDI
      2. Using Apple Macs with MIDI
    12. Summary
  10. 3 Digital video
    1. Building a digital picture
      1. Pixels and colour depth
      2. Bit planes
      3. Palettes
    2. A PC graphics controller
      1. Using video RAM
    3. RGB and YUV colour representations
    4. Frames and interlacing
      1. Frames and frame rate
      2. Interlacing
    5. The monitor
      1. Digital to analogue conversion
    6. VGA and SVGA standards
      1. MDA – Monochrome Display Adapter
      2. Hercules Adapter
      3. CGA — Colour Graphics Adapter
      4. EGA — Enhanced Graphics Adapter
      5. MGA — Multi-colour Graphics Array
      6. VGA — Virtual Graphics Array
      7. SVGA — Super Virtual Graphics Array
      8. EVGA — Extended Virtual Graphics Array
    7. Mixing video and graphics
      1. Analogue multiplexing
      2. Digital multiplexing
      3. Colour keying
      4. Future techniques
  11. 4 Digital picture compression
    1. Compression techniques
      1. The need for compression
      2. Restricting the choice of data
      3. Data compression through coding
      4. Using the human eye response
      5. RGB colour space model
      6. Luma / Croma Representation
      7. YCrCb sampling schemes
      8. Using the DCT
    2. JPEG and Motion JPEG
      1. JPEG encoding
      2. Optional JPEG modes
      3. JPEG decoding
      4. Re-encoding JPEG files
    3. JBIG
  12. 5 Digital video compression
    1. Video compression techniques
      1. Sending the differences
      2. Motion estimation
      3. Near fit vector comparison
    2. MPEG1 overview
    3. MPEG1 video compression
      1. The constrained parameter set
    4. MPEG1 video compression process
      1. Colour space conversion
      2. Slices and macroblocks
      3. Motion estimation
      4. DCT conversion
      5. Encoding
      6. I, P and B frames
    5. MPEG1 audio compression overview
      1. Audio compression options
      2. Using the psycho-acoustic model
    6. The MPEG1 audio compression process
      1. Level I
      2. Level II
      3. Level III
    7. MPEG-1 systems
    8. MPEG2 overview
    9. MPEG2 video compression
      1. Profiles and levels
      2. MPEG2 enhancements
      3. MPEG2 scalability modes
    10. MPEG2 audio
    11. MPEG-2 systems
      1. Packetised elementary system components
      2. Program service information
      3. The transport stream
      4. The program stream
    12. MPEG decoder
    13. Indeo
    14. Video for Windows
    15. QuickTime
      1. Photo compressor
      2. Animation compressor
      3. Video compressor
      4. Graphics compressor
      5. Compact Video Compressor
    16. Wavelet compression
    17. Fractal compression
      1. The fractal compression process
      2. The fractal de-compression process
    18. MPEG 4
      1. The compression path
      2. Natural audio objects
      3. Synthesised audio objects
      4. Synthetic Objects
      5. Error recovery
    19. MPEG 7
  13. 6 CD-ROMs
    1. CD-ROM technology
      1. Raw data organisation
      2. Sector organisation
      3. Multi-speed drives
    2. CD-ROM IBM PC interfaces
      1. SoundBlaster interface
      2. Panasonic
      3. Mitsumi
      4. LMS
      5. Sony
      6. SCSI
      7. IDE
    3. ISO 9660
    4. Kodak’s PhotoCD
    5. Recordable CD-ROMs
    6. CD-i
    7. DVI
    8. CD-ROM XA
    9. Digital Video Disc
      1. The DVD disc format
      2. Video encoding
      3. Audio
      4. Sub-pictures
      5. A replacements for VHS
  14. 7 POTS/PSTN
    1. POTS and PSTN
    2. Dialling and ringing
      1. Pulse dialling
      2. Touch-tone
      3. The ringer
    3. The exchange or switch
    4. Providing digital communication
  15. 8 ISDN
    1. ISDN reference model
      1. ISDN standards
    2. User-network interfaces
    3. The subscriber interface
      1. AMI coding
    4. Frame structure
      1. Synchronisation
      2. Activation
      3. S/T multiframing
    5. Multipoint support
      1. Multiple subscriber numbering
    6. D channel protocols
    7. Primary rate
    8. ISDN configurations
    9. Making an ISDN call
    10. Summary
  16. 9 ADSL
    1. What is ADSL?
    2. Squeezing the bandwidth
      1. Discrete multitone
    3. Using ADSL
    4. Alternative DSL technologies
      1. High bit rate digital subscriber line (HDSL)
      2. Symmetric digital subscriber line (SDSL)
      3. Very high bit rate digital subscriber line (VDSL)
      4. ADSL lite or G-Lite
  17. 10 LANs
    1. Ethernet
    2. CSMA and its implications
    3. Ethernet standards
    4. Cabling options
      1. 10Base-5 – ‘thick Ethernet
      2. 10Base-2 – Thin Ethernet’
      3. 10Base-T – ‘UTP’
      4. Fibre optic cable
    5. Termination and cable breaks
    6. Ethernet packets
    7. Ethernet performance and its limitations
    8. Ethernet and multimedia
    9. Token Ring
    10. Basic principles
    11. Connectors and cables
    12. Token Ring performance and limitations
      1. Latency
      2. Early Token Release
      3. Priorities and reservations
    13. Token Ring vs. Ethernet
    14. Iso-Ethernet
    15. Switched Ethernet
    16. FDDI
      1. FDDI basic principles
      2. FDDI II extensions
    17. 100 Mbps Ethernet
    18. 100Base-T
    19. 100VG-AnyLAN
      1. Operation
      2. DPA operation
  18. 11 ATM
    1. The ATM structure
    2. The ATM cell
    3. Routing ATM cells
      1. Making a connection
    4. AAL service levels
      1. Processing data
      2. AAL1
      3. AAL3/4
      4. AAL 5
    5. Requesting an ATM service
    6. ATM over ADSL
    7. ATM networks
  19. 12 Multimedia conferencing
    1. What is multimedia conferencing?
    2. Achieving interoperability
    3. Delivering conferencing data
    4. User requirements
    5. The H.320 multimedia conferencing standards
    6. H.320 overview
    7. ISDN call set-up
      1. ISDN call types
    8. H.261 video coding and decoding
      1. Frame organisation
      2. H.261 video compression
      3. H.261 encoder
      4. H.261 decoder
    9. Video options
      1. Game show format
      2. Document camera
      3. Privacy screen
    10. G. 7xx audio encoding
      1. G.711
      2. G.722
      3. G.728
    11. H. 221 framing structure
      1. 1B audio visual call
      2. 2B audio visual call
      3. Multiframes and sub-multiframes
      4. Controlling alignment
      5. HSD and LSD data channels
    12. H.230 control and indication
    13. H.242 communications and capability
      1. Capability exchange
    14. H.233 security coding (encryption)
    15. H.243 multipoint control standard
    16. T.120 data and multipoint data
    17. H.320 terminals
      1. Conference suite
      2. Roll-about
      3. PC based
      4. Video telephone
    18. Making an H.320 call
      1. Making the initial call
      2. Losing and replacing B channels
    19. Conferencing applications
      1. File transfer
      2. Chalkboard
    20. Transcoding
    21. H.263 video compression standard
      1. Supported picture formats
      2. Unrestricted Motion Vector mode
      3. Syntax-based arithmetic coding mode
      4. Advanced prediction mode
      5. PB-frames mode
      6. Error handling
  20. 13 Digital video broadcasting
    1. The delivery mechanisms
      1. Satellite
      2. Microwave
      3. Telephone network
      4. Cable
      5. Terrestrial broadcast
    2. Encoding techniques
      1. Phase shift keying
      2. Binary phase shift keying
      3. Quadrature phase shift keying
      4. Quadrature amplitude modulation
    3. Coping with burst errors
      1. Convolution
      2. Interleaving
      3. Pseudo random distribution
    4. DVB data streams
      1. Packetised elementary system components
      2. Program service information
      3. DVB service information
    5. DVB bouquets
    6. Video servers and video on demand
    7. Digital audio broadcasting
  21. 14 The multimedia PC
    1. The software environment
    2. MCI – overview
    3. Video control
      1. Defining video windows
      2. Re-sizing and positioning
      3. Multiple screens
      4. Frame capture
      5. Switching sources and destinations
    4. Video player control
    5. Video for Windows
      1. Video compression/decompression — overview
      2. MCIAVI driver
    6. TAPI and TSPI
    7. TSPI — overview
      1. TSPI call types
      2. Supporting unsupported calls
      3. Asynchronous vs. synchronous completion
      4. Asynchronous messages
      5. Controlling media streams
      6. Line definition
      7. Call definition
      8. Address definition
      9. Telephone definition
    8. POTS call
      1. Installing the TSPI driver software
      2. TSPI driver initialisation
      3. Opening a line
      4. Making a call
      5. Status messages
      6. Closing a connection
      7. Shutting down the TSPI driver
    9. Making a fax call
    10. Identifying the media stream
      1. Assisted telephony
      2. Hardwired media streams
      3. Configurable media streams
    11. Switching video sources
    12. Mixed source dialling
      1. Determining media modes for outgoing calls
    13. Data communication
      1. Data communication via a network
      2. NDIS — network communications driver
      3. ODI
      4. Restrictions
      5. Multipoint support
      6. Data communication using dedicated data channels
    14. Supporting video conferencing
      1. T .120 series
      2. Incorporating the T series
  22. Index

Product information

  • Title: Multimedia and Communications Technology, 2nd Edition
  • Author(s): Steve Heath
  • Release date: July 1999
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781136025693