Digital media BY ISABELLE CHACTY

What is Digital Media? Digital Media is practically traditional media manipulated by computers, and they are created and shared virtually rather than physically. Digital media is really everywhere, and it’s uses are grouped into text, audio, graphics, animation and video. Digital media is used in E-music, digital magazines, newspapers and books, gaming, TV, health and commerce. Digital media offers to make us more creative and allows us to access data more efficiently.

Where is Digital Media Used? - E-music; This is where music is sold online on stores like iTunes. Apple’s iTunes software, iTunes music store, iPhone, iPod, iPad and other portable digital music players let users buy and download thousands of songs online and easily store, organise and play them. E-music is usually available in the MPEG layer 3 (MP3) or AAC audio formats, and this allows digital data to be stored with minimal loss of audio quality and with small file sizes. - Digital newspapers, magazines and books; Digital newspapers and magazines are typed out n programs on the computer, and photographs of the book’s pages are scanned into the computer, so that all of these types of media can not only be read on paper, but on the laptop or computer as well. Some websites also allow users to create their own newspaper from their favourite sections of the world’s press.

Where is Digital Media Used? - Gaming; Many advances that are made in digital media are driven by the games industry. In the early days, computer games were played in shops and arcades and then as home computers became widespread, their popularity got larger. Some examples of gaming are Xbox and Nintendo games, and also the PlayStation. Three-dimensional realistic characters, complex background sounds and greater attention to detail means that gaming environments are even more compelling and popular. - TV; The ABC’s iView website gets viewers to catch up on missed free-to-air programs using their computer, a TV with web access or a mobile device. Interactive TV (iTV) allows viewers to selects aspects like the camera angle at which they watch a game of sport (football) or an alternative outcome to a TV soap. Interactive TV has a similar level or interactivity to DVDs.

Where is Digital Media Used? - Health Examples of digital media products in the field of medicine are used widely today. If you were to have an X-ray or computerised axial tomography (CAT) scan, you could ask for a DVD with your scan stored as a digital graphic. Digital hearing aids can be connected to computers and this allows the patients to adjust the sound quality and sensitivity to appease their needs. Surgeons have used digital techniques to perform remote operations using the internet, where they can select a camera view and angle to operate on a patient in another part of the world. - Commerce Some examples of commerce digital media is when you buy a soft drink from a vending machine, how all you do is simply phone up the vending machine on the railway station and it will automatically dispense a can and debit your account. Or maybe when you are at a supermarket, buying products from a self-checkout, and when you are scanning your products random digital ads scroll across the checkout screen. Real estate agents also create virtual digital journeys through houses which are for sale, using digital panoramic photographs.

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