Multimedia Systems and Applications

The computer's ability to control different media sources simultaneously is only one aspect of today's communication revolution. For the first time, people have discovered a domain that challenges the way we organize and interact with text, images and sound. It is available on low-cost personal computers and is accessible to virtually everyone. Multimedia is developing at an incredible rate. Hardware and software products may have short lives, but new and imaginative multimedia packages appear with increasing regularity. This text brings together a collection of international contributions on multimedia systems and applications and examines some of the current issues in the research and development of multimedia and the applications which exploit it. Part 1 (systems) looks at technology, interfaces and techniques; Part 2 (applications) looks at simulation, education, publishing and multimedia features. This book should enable those new to the field to obtain a good grounding in the technology required, and the applications which can utilize it effectively.
It shoudl also be useful reading for graduates and professionals in computer graphics, human-computer interaction and multimedia.