Chapter 16 Creating Desktop Video and Animation

Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16 Getting Started In this Chapter, you will learn: What is digital audio How to transfer video footage to your computer How to edit a digital video How to finalize a video for DVDs, Web sites, and other uses Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16

Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16 Getting Started In this Chapter, you will learn (continued): About the most popular video formats About codec About animation About Hardware: PC display devices Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16

Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16 What is digital video? Video is a series of still frames projected at a rate fast enough to appear to have continuous motion Digital video uses bits to store color and brightness data for each pixel in each frame Easy to post, view, and download digital videos Maintains quality no matter how many times copied Easily manipulated on a personal computer Store on CDs, DVDs, videotapes, memory cards, or the Web Display on a computer screen with video player software Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16

How do I transfer video footage to my computer? The video must be on your hard disk to view and edit Digital camera: Connect camera to computer with cable and use video editing software to edit photos and control data transfer VHS tape, analog video camera, or television broadcast: Convert into digital data stream using video capture device DVDs: DVD ripping and decryption software can convert, decrypt, and copy your DVD to your PC Cell phone: Connect cell phone using cable or e-mail the video to computer Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16

How do I edit a digital video? Video editing software helps cut unwanted frames, add special effects, arrange segments, overlay a soundtrack, and designate transitions Wide variety of video-editing software available To edit a digital video Open your video editing software Import any files you want in the final video Drag the elements onto a timeline Add transfer effects, if desired Add titles and other special effects Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16

How do I edit a digital video? Editing a digital video Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16

How do I finalize my video for DVDs, Web sites, and other uses? Video settings depend on intended use Some software allows you to select a use: Sending as an e-mail attachment Posting on Web Viewing from hard disk You can also manually select settings: Aspect ratio refers to relative height and width of video frame Display size corresponds to the resolution of video window Frame rate is number of frames displayed per second Videos intended for DVD use need to be laid out in DVD-Video format Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16

What are the most popular video formats? There is no standard file format. Digital video file formats, sometimes called container formats, are a receptacle for video elements Quick Time Movie (MOV): Apple QuickTime Player Advanced System Format (ASF): Windows Media Video Audio Video Interleave (AVI): An original format; used with open source players MPEG (MP4 & M4V): Variety of formats; used by iTunes store Flash Video (FLV): Proprietary video format used on YouTube, CNN.com, and other Web sites; uses .flv and .swf extensions RealMedia: RealPlayer multimedia software; .rm extension Video Object File (VOB): Used with commercial DVDs Videos can be converted from one format to another using a process called transcoding Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16

Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16 What’s a codec? Codec (compressor/decompressor) is software that compresses video stream when stored and decompresses it when played Locate and download the appropriate codec to view a video Each codec uses a unique algorithm to shrink the file Compression ratio indicates the ratio of compressed data to uncompressed data Bit rate refers to the amount of data transferred per second Lower bit rates download smoother but are usually lower quality than high bit rates Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16

Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16 What about animation? Animation is a sequence of 3-D images in which one or more objects are changed between frames In hand-drawn animation, a chief artist draws keyframes and then assistants create the in-between images (24 images per second) With computer animation, a computer creates the in-between images Graphics design companies use 3-D animation techniques to produce films, such as Toy Story You can create 3-D animations by using software, which is available in varying degrees of complexity and price levels Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16

Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16 What about animation? Animation software Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16

Hardware: PC display devices PC display device, such as an LCD display or a CRT, provides feedback about what’s going on as you use your PC Everything on your screen is produced by dots of light called pixels Clarity of image depends on the quality of the source image and the capabilities of the display equipment CRT (cathode ray tube) monitor is the least expensive. CRT monitors are dependable, relatively inexpensive, but are large and heavy, making them inconvenient LCD (liquid crystal display) are used on notebook computers. They are compact, lightweight, have low power requirements, and have a clear, bright image LCD monitors are available for desktop PC’s as a “flat panel display” incorporating an LCD panel in a free-standing case Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16

Hardware: PC display devices CRT (left) and LCD (right) display devices Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16

Hardware: PC display devices Factors that effect the monitor’s quality and price: Screen size: measured diagonally, standard sizes include 15”, 17”, 19” and 21” Viewable image size (vis): measured diagonally, area that actually displays the image Dot pitch: distance between dots of colored light that display image on screen. Most of today’s monitors have a .28 to a .24 dot pitch Screen resolution: size of the pixel grid. The minimum is 640 x 480. Higher resolutions allow you to view larger documents or graphics, but text becomes smaller and harder to read Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16

Hardware: PC display devices Display device connects to a socket in the back of your PC called a video port Graphics card converts data from your PC’s processor into electronic signals for a display device Graphics circuitry, or shared video memory, is integrated on the computer’s system board Stand-alone graphics card is a separate circuit board that can be installed inside the system unit Graphics cards are also referred to as video cards, graphics adapters, or display adapters Basic graphics card is suitable for most applications For 2-D and 3-D graphics, video editing, desktop publishing, and computer games, you might want a graphics card with extra memory or graphics acceleration Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16

Hardware: PC display devices Graphics cards contain a graphics processing unit (GPU) and video RAM where images are constructed before being sent to the display Each pixel in an image requires storage space, which can limit the resolution and color depth available on your PC Graphics accelerator cards have specially designed accelerator circuitry that speeds up specific 2-D and 3-D graphics operations Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16

Dead celebrities live again What do you think? Have you seen deceased celebrities featured in any recent TV ads or films? Do you think that multimedia developers should have the right to create a digital character by digitizing a celebrity look-alike? Should laws prohibit the creation of digital characters based on the composite traits of several deceased celebrities? Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16

Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16 Chapter Summary You should now know: About digital audio How to transfer video footage to your computer How to edit a digital video How to finalize a video for DVDs, Web sites, and other uses Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16

Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16 Chapter Summary You should now know (continued): What are the most popular video formats What’s a codec About animation About PC display devices Practical PC 5th Edition Chapter 16