Types of Multimedia systems

Multimedia systems can be divided into two types: Home/Entertainment Systems Business Systems Sequence of events for the creation of a hypermedia document or complex record for a multimedia application is as follows:

Types of Multimedia Systems

Sequence of events for the creation of a hypermedia document or complex record for a multimedia application is as follows: A database record or multimedia document is created for combining a group of multimedia components. Paper documents are scanned as s folder, sound clips if any are digitized; and video clips if any, are picturized. We will call input process capture and digitized compressed files multimedia objects. Sound clips or video clips may be indexed to highlight specific sections within the clips.

Types of Multimedia Systems

Multimedia objects are indexed, indexing allows linking of multimedia objects with annotations. The Multimedia documents are viewed for quality. Hypermedia documents or complex application objects and their multimedia sub objects that have been indexed and grouped are committed to their magnetic or optical disk storage. Any multimedia objects committed to magnetic or optical disk are available immediately to all users on the network

Home/Entertainment Systems
Home entertainment programs are by and large interactive but not live. Although they are called interactive, the interaction is completely pre programmed on the game CD, and the programs interact with user in a pre defined manner. However, with the developments like Set Top box interaction between the player/user and the game/entertainment/database vendor will go live when users install the advanced set top systems. The service provider may provide live interactive game services, access to information databases, home shopping services with line ordering and electronic mail services.

Home/Entertainment Systems
Home entertainment systems are evolving very fast. They need to provide sophisticated multi protocol stack networking as well as fast compression and de-compression of graphics, text, image, voice and video.

Business Systems
Business systems can be classified into three categories as below:
Dedicated Systems Departmental Systems Enterprise-Wide multipurpose systems

Dedicated Systems
In a dedicated system the creation, storage and manipulation of multimedia objects is performed completely within the system. A dedicated system is dependent on neither a network or external storage management for its tasks. In dedicated system there is no communication with other systems. Multimedia object capture is performed primarily by and for the user of the dedicated system.

Dedicated Systems
The user is responsible for a number of tasks in a dedicated system, including the following:
Capturing graphics images, sound, and video as needed. Indexing the captured multimedia objects. Organizing the multimedia objects in a database and attaching them to appropriate database records or hypermedia documents. Managing storage Any other related tasks for using these objects from multimedia applications

Departmental Systems
A departmental system, on the other hand, uses a LAN to provide shared object storage management. In a departmental system, capture of multimedia objects is for local use or for distribution to other users in the department. The application can be for dedicated use or may be shared by a number of users. Most departmental systems support a specific business process or some well defined combination of business processes shared by most or all users in the department. The various users involved in the application perform some specific task.

Departmental Systems
The tasks may be performed in some pre defined sequence or random manner. Depending on the nature of the task, the user may have access to all data or limited subset of it. The users may also create some multimedia objects while performing the task. The sequence in which all the tasks are performed and all associated activities determine the workflow for the application.

Enterprise wide Systems

An enterprise wide system consists of a large number of LANs and WANs that are implemented and allow sharing a number of departmental level or enterprise level management and processing resources. An enterprise wide system supports a combination of dedicated local applications and departmental applications as well as interdepartmental applications such as electronic mail and corporate information repositories. Business process workflow spans multiple departments. For example, in a stock trading company the sale of portfolio of securities may involve the agents who interact with the clients, the investment bankers, the stockbrokers on the trading floor, the accounting department, and the security clearance.

Enterprise wide Systems

In this objects are shared across the enterprise. To ensure good performance, there will be multiple servers on the network across the enterprise to serve users distributed geographically across the enterprise. Restrictions on the use of the objects may become more difficult to administer. When multimedia objects reside on multimedia servers, the databases must be replicated to ensure consistency.