Interactive Media

Platforms for Video in Interactive Media

Nowadays the places where media can be accessed is huge, compared to the world of 1990. We now use the Internet to chat, surf, send, post and buy products, without having to leave the house. Video has become a near extinct technology, with DVD and Blue-Ray pushing through with better picture quality. Phones are now portable and have a wide range of functions other then calling, surfing the internet, taking photos, recording videos, even doubling up as a MP3 player.

As said before one platform for the interactive media world is the internet, this is now on of the main factors of life in modern society. The most common used one is Internet Explorer, which is called a browser. It’s not the only one around with others advertising faster download speeds, such as Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari. Because of this creation, people from other sides of the world can communicate, through programs like MSN Messenger. A social and free downloadable talk program, that allows you to add friends and talk to them.

For those that have lost contact with friends, new ‘Social Networking’ sites have emerged such as Facebook, Bebo and MySpace. These sites allow you to add friends to your ‘profile’ and talk with them, play games using special applications, host your photos and videos. Programs like MSN Messenger are very good in terms of keeping people in contact, especially if you move around a lot; this is the best way to keep in touch. The only downside to this program is that people tend to add email address they don’t know in order to find out who it is. This can lead to a virus infecting your computer or a paedophile talking to your children. For social networking sites they are also the home of paedophiles, and sadly you can’t tell who is who (unless you know them) on these sites. The good side to these sites is the contact factor, always able to talk to an old friend about how life has gone without the stress of looking through phonebooks.

Something more in tune with Video platforms on the internet is YouTube, a video sharing site. The largest of its kind, YouTube is open to all people, allowing people to post up home videos, bits from films or cartoons they like. Or even parts of films altogether, because of the freedom given to the users, almost anything can be put up. Of course all ages can view this site, so strict rules on content are in place. This is a very useful media platform, because people’s personal views about things can be put up. Corporations can advertise on it by posting there own adverts for people to watch, families can host up home videos and send the link to another member of the family so they can watch it. This service is known world wide and is very popular, it is helpful, simple to use and rarely disappoints.

Another media platform used a lot are Email Attachments, these can contain things like photos, music or home videos. These files can be viewed by whoever you sent it to, and if you need the data within somewhere else, you can email it to yourself. Email Attachments are a really good idea, and have worked really well, in all kinds of environments. Whether it be a social thing, or even for work. The only downside is the Attachment can contain a virus of some sort; the only way to tell is using anti-virus software such as Mc Caffe.

As said above DVD and CD are now becoming the household norm in terms of viewing films. In the 1980’s and 90’s Betamax and VHS were the kings of household entertainment. But with the birth of the DVD which could hold more information on it, making the quality of the film better. This also allowed for menus to be created, meaning you can change the settings of the film to your liking, this meant things like; changing the language, adding subtitles, even seeing the Directors Commentary whilst the film is playing. CD’s are also a powerful tool when you want to take music or films around with you. A blank CD can go through a system called Burning, this is where a file such as a music album, has its data basically embedded into the CD. This can only work once on 1 CD, which means if you have more things to burn you have to buy more CD’s. With the creation of these 2 technologies, Video Tapes and Floppy Disk Drives are becoming a Dead technology. However even if these tools are able to remove 2 bits of tech, they themselves have problems. Sometimes a file burned onto disk will come out a horrible quality, with all the sound and picture completely messed up.

Kiosks are now becoming a usual site in town centres. These have a connection to the internet and allow tourists or someone who is lost to find out about the town. Using this tech people can find out about bus times near them, whether or not a café or pub is nearby, or even which sites to see in town. This isn’t just a way to help someone; advertisements would be placed all over the screen, meaning the person using it would have to see them.

Using computer programming people can advertise or sell an idea though physical speech whilst having images and videos at the same time. These presentations now allow someone to get their idea across in a much easier way. This way he doesn’t have to carry around with him lots of copies of graphs and stuff, instead the presentation would have it on there for him. Also if he would need to show how something would increase, he can make the actual graph move in the way needed. This is yet another way we can use music and video to get our ideas across. The system itself is fairly simple to use, but to create amazing presentations the pictures aren’t just what people are looking for!

Nowadays on TV you tend to see the ‘red button’ come up at the top right of a screen, or the actual host/presenter will tell you to click it. This opens up yet another world of interactive media in the home, usually when you do click it, it can open a new set of channels and information. If you want to find out the weather without having to wait till the end of the news, pressing the red button can help you access that information quicker. If a sporting event with multiple matches going on at the same time appears, the res button will give you the choice of which match you want to watch. The red button system is very popular and is helpful, the only problem is that sometimes it takes ages for the system to load, making the idea of a quick check up kind of pointless.

Mobile phones, PDA’s and Game Consoles are now becoming another main feature in everyday life. Before you could only text and call with a phone, now you can take pictures, record videos, access the internet, and even listen to music. Games Consoles are also hitting the multi-platforming world, with the ability to play games both offline and online, to surf the internet online, to watch TV on them, download music and content and yes even host photos and music. These are very popular as almost everyone who is 14 and up will own a mobile phone and a Games Console of some sort. Because of the usage of the items is very easy it appeals to people of all age ranges, making them a very successful technology.

Uses of Video In Interactive Media

In the Interactive world Advertising is the largest world wide business. With the creation of every new technology that can hold Music, Videos or Images, the advertising world would be on it straight away. The main area for Advertising is the Internet and TV, since these are the technologies people tend to use more then anything else. On nearly every website you find, ever channel you see on TV will have advertisements, ranging from full mini videos to just an image with words on them acting as a link to the real information on the product. Whilst TV needs you to pay to place your advertisement up, on the internet it is all free, so it has invaded some of the more personal areas. An example of this is emails, and the term ‘spam’, companies manage to get hold of email addresses and send people information on their product. Always a nuisance but it is a very efficient way to promote you product.
Promotional Advertising is a very risky way to advertise, but if done right can reap huge rewards for the company. Promotional advertising usually encompasses something like a free trial for a program or game. In doing so people start to use it, and might enjoy it getting them to want the real product. This doesn’t just work on the person who is using the trial, if someone wanted to know what it was like before trying it out. They would find out from the people who have tried it, thus spreading the ‘word’ about this certain product. One such company that is very well known for its Promotional Advertising is Blizzard Entertainment and their online game World of Warcraft. Currently the worlds largest online role-playing game, they give a free 10 day trial for people to try it out. The offer is shown all over the place, on TV it is broadcasted, on the internet at the right sites, such as game sites it is advertised. Some of their adverts have even included celebrities like Mr. T or Ozzy Osborne, thus boosting the appeal of the game. This offer has been going on for over a year now, and the company is finding no real draw backs to it as they keep getting more and more paying subscribers. There usage of Promotional Advertising is very well done, and so they are having no problems with loss of money due to the free trial.



The second type of advertising is Viral Advertising; this type is not as blatant as the first type of advertising. Instead of making the product he main thing you see on the clip, it becomes part of the background and may only make an appearance at the end of the advert. This is sometimes done in a comedic fashion, with the advert completely taking the piss out of the product in question or what it is meant to ‘solve’. It can also make the appearance as a normal home made video, thus making people think it is a harmless bit of fun. However the fun would still put the product into the viewers mind, thus boosting the knowledge of the product. Because of sites like YouTube, this can be done cheaply and so no one would have to worry about the cost of advertising. One example of this is the Sprite Zero advert that was made to look like a home video. It shows a couple of guys playing a prank on a friend, which in the end goes horribly wrong. The end says ‘Friendship is Overrated, No sugar, no bull***t’. Insinuating that if the friends hadn’t maybe been drinking a fizzy drink, they wouldn’t have had the energy to do that prank. When Viral ads are done like this, very simple and quick, people tend to enjoy them more as is the case with this particular one.




Short films duration is in the name, its short compared to most films. These things usually last about 10 minutes, nothing massive, and will force a lot of information into your head in that small space of time. For things like Films, they tend to last about 4 minutes, and give the audience a taste of what is to come. For comedy films, some jokes are shown, action some high adrenaline pumping explosions are shown. All of this is done so that people will get excited over the release of the film, thus making them want to go see it. This isn’t just reserved to the distributors of films, user generated short films are found a lot on the internet. These films tend to be spoofs of actual films, cartoons, games or even a persons view on a certain topic. A well known one is the ‘real life Pac man’ which follows the life of the ghosts and how they suffer about their friends being eaten by Pac-man. It only lasts 4 minutes but is done like it was a real movie. Short films are a good way to get a point across about a film, or to just make your ideas known. Though if poorly done will not be accepted warmly by the audience in question.



When you create something like a video, game or music, the only place you can post it is on your own website or a User Generated Content site. These sites are like YouTube, which allow you to post any work you have done. This can be posted just for fun, or it can be done in hopes someone in the industry will find your work and contact you about it. The uploading is usually free, and it is all based down to your skills if you want to be noticed. You can also put links in these videos to you site or a blog which could contain more ideas, thus allowing people to learn more about what you are aiming to achieve. Blogs are a place for the written word, but are also user generated content, with these blogs you can create your own articles, even post up a book your righting. Most of them also allow you to embed movies into the posts, so you can easily show pictures or even give your readers some music to listen to whilst they read. UGSC’S (User Generated Content Sites) are a very good way for people to let out there freedom for free, this also helps promote themselves as aspiring artists, directors even writers. Though to do this one would need to be prepared to take harsh criticism as there are some nasty jealous people around.

Virtual Tours are now becoming an Estate Agents friend, since without having to take a person round a house several times, they can go through a virtual tour online or on DVD at home. It is very helpful for those with busy lifestyles, having it so they do not have to take time out of it to look around a house. This doesn’t have to just focus on houses for Estate Agents; Universities employ this technology, allowing students to see what the place is like before applying to it or deciding to visit it. They tend to show the dorms, library, campus, and cafeteria, everything that would catch the observer’s eye. Some even go to the length of having a small version for night life, so it boosts the student’s choice of the University.

E-Learning is now becoming used more and more. For those who have no time to go back to College or University to get a new qualification, the can use the internet to teach yourself a language, science, history, the list goes onwards. These sites usually are legit and you can get an actual certificate proving it, though its not just big learning to get a qualification these sites do. If there is just a general interest in something you can find the information on it and continue from there, it also may hold up small games to help with revision. Sites like the BBC’s Bitesize used for GCSE’s and A Levels are a Prime example of this. They hold the information you need for your up and coming exam and do it in a nice relaxing way. They also give revisions tips, small games to help boost your understanding of the topic and printable pages to use if your away from the computer. These are mainly used by Schools and Colleges, as they do have the information correct and students tend to enjoy there quizzes rather then listening to a teach blather on and on.

Games are now becoming a very dominant technology in our lives, as they are now able to multi-platform. However games themselves are becoming more and more realistic with the increase in better physics engines, graphics and artwork. Games well soon be entering the virtual world as we currently have things like the Wii which focuses on moving the body, which is read by an infa-red bar. This gets the body moving as if it was actually in the game, but visually you are still watching the action on a screen.

Video in Interactive Media Technologies

Video Compression is the ‘shrinking’ or ‘compressing’ of data, this is done so that people can receive files such as videos, music or images and not have to wait a long time for it to reach them. This is mainly done when someone is going to upload a video onto a site like YouTube, if the file is compressed, then uploading it will take hardly anytime at all. Whilst if you were to use the file straight from an editing program, just trying to put the file onto a USB would take a long time to do. The main program for compressing videos are called Codec, and these specialize in the coding of a data stream.
Codec work in a sort of ‘pair system’, to compress and code then to decompress/code you need the exact same type of Codec all the way through. For every file, there is a different type of Codec, they are needed if you want to send/upload/download files on the internet. With technology as it is, MPEG-4 is the most common and worldwide used Codec when it comes to film downloading. A reason for this is that this codec can be changed into other signal types, allows more flexibility with developers at creating multimedia software. The data compression isn’t just limited to Films, games as well have their own Codec called WinRar, which allows people to open and close the files as well as burn them onto disk. The systems of Codec are well done and helped achieve maximum efficiency and enjoyment from the programs that need to use it in order to be accessed.

On the internet, one can watch a film, or take it from a site onto their computer ‘live’. This is called Streaming and downloading, when you watch a show or user video that is called Streaming. Taking the actual video and ‘saving’ it to your computer to use it elsewhere is called Downloading. Many things factor in when trying to watch something online, such as connection speed which is measured in bytes. Bites range from just kilobytes which are exceedingly small files, to Megabytes, Gigabytes and onwards. 1000KB are in 1 Megabyte and the same amount of MB into Gig. That and the file you are watching is measured in this unit, the actual name of the data transfer rates is called a Bandwidth. The bandwidth’s speed is decided on the number of available data resources and those which have been ‘consumed already’. Using this data the computer can then be able to work on allowing you to watch your film online.

However if the resources are limited and your browser is not up-to-date, than the time taken for the video to load will increase. In terms of downloading it depends on your download speed and the size of the file you are trying to take. So if the actual file size is 600MB, and your download speed which is on average 2megabits a second, that is an hour long download. Of course if the bandwidth is not good then it would end up taking longer for it to happen. However it just doesn’t all fall onto the bandwidth and things like that, the Format as well is an important part of the package. Different media players on computers use a different format, meaning only a file made in that same format will be able to play. So things like WMV which is the format for Windows Media Player, or MOV which is a Quicktime format.

Frame Rates or more commonly known as FPS (Frames per Second) is the frequency of consecutive images produced by a projectable device. Every second is made up of individual frames which when played in a continuous motion, create a sequence of images. The British Standard is 25 FPS whilst in the USA it is 24 FPS, the lower the number the worse the quality of the film becomes. However this is only noticeable at 12 FPS, as the image becomes jerky, and the pixels start to blend together. As of course the higher the frame rate the better the quality of the film.

The screen of a computer or television is made up of pixels and a ratio. The Picture Ratio is the height divided by the width of the screen. The most common ones are 4:3, 14:9 and 16:9, the smaller and closer together the ratio is, the different the shape is. So 4:3 is a very small box like shape, whilst nowadays people watch things in 16:9, tending to opt of the more widescreen view. Screen Resolution is how many pixels are within this ratio, a small screen would only need something small like 400x600, whilst something with a larger screen would be asking for 900x1200.

DRM or more known as Digital Rights Management, which is enforced more on the internet than anywhere else. It is like a digital copyright, usually placed on games, songs and videos. Their current hotspot would be a place like YouTube, where they would make sure no one was breaching the terms by posting up a music video. This is what they do when they check videos that are embedded into blogs or websites.