Purpose_of_Interactive_Media_Context

Purpose of Interactive Media Context In this essay it is required of me to research and analyse current uses of interactive media. To achieve this task I will start by looking at platforms on which the media is being shown but before I continue I will like to describe my understanding of interactive media. Interactive Media: This is normally a term referred to products and services on computerized systems which respond to the user’s actions such contents are presented as text, graphics, animation, video, audio. Platforms on which interactive media are being shown are: • World Wide Web • DVD • Mobile Devices To augment my knowledge of interactive media platforms I will describe each format in detail and when it is likely to be used. Also to conclude each description I will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of each platform. World Wide Web The World Wide Web, which is abbreviated to WWW and commonly recognized as The Internet with the aid of a web browser, one can view web pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia and navigate between them by using hyperlinks. The Internet also allows the streaming of videos and allows the user to play games via java script. Certain Website seized this opportunity and uses the internet to stream live videos, even now the news paper can be read on the internet and they are all powered by java scripts. The websites include: • Youtube • BBC iPlayer • 4oD These are a few examples of websites that act as an interactive media. I am going to pick one and explain how it works. 4oD: 4oD also known as 4 on Demand is Launched in November 2006, 4oD stands for "4 on Demand", an Internet Television service which allows Internet users to view programming recently shown on Channel 4, E4 or More4, or from their archives as long as Adobe Flash Player is installed. The "Catch-up" service offers content free of charge for both streaming and downloaded versions of a programme for thirty days after its broadcast on Channel 4. The 4OD service is also partly available on Youtube. Advantages of “WWW” In the society today the media is not only accessed through the TV and Cinema but also through many online platforms and it has advantages such has: • You are able to access archive of past TV programmes and also movies. • Most platforms allow the viewer to watch the video in HD format. • Through the Internet people share their videos with other people through P2P – Peer to Peer. • The most important and user-friendly attribute of Internet players are; they allow you to control the pace of the video. They give you total control of how you watch the video i.e. Play, Stop, Pause, Rewind and Forward. • Also the user has the option to download the video for later viewing. Disadvantages of “WWW” • To use these platforms an Internet connection is needed not every home has access to the Internet. • These platforms stream slow if the Internet connection is not fast enough and the user has to pause the video and stream for a while. • The videos posted on these platforms expire after certain days. DVD A DVD also known as Digital Video Disc acts as an agent in which interactive media can be accessed. The platform used to play DVDs is known as a DVD Player. DVD is an optical disc used to store video and audio content. There are different formats of a DVD; DVD (+/-) R (recordable and can record data only once) and DVD (+/-) RW (can all record and erase data multiple times). The content of a DVD can only be accessed through a DVD player; the DVD player enables the viewer to manipulate the playing controls of the video. The DVD player allows the viewer to Pause, Play, Forward, Rewind and Stop. Due to the DVD’s ability to store and playback high quality video is it very much valued in the media industry compare to a CD-ROM. The difference between DVD and CD are: The basic difference is the amount of storage on each disk. CDs have 700MB. DVD single layer have 4.7GB. So DVDs can hold over 6 times the data. You can use both for pretty much the same things. DVD is the disk of choice for movies so the home players are primarily DVD players. Advantages of DVD • DVD provides high quality images and sound. • Blu-ray DVD enables the viewer to watch HD videos and surround sound. • DVD’s are small and mobile and can be carried with the viewer to either a presentation or friend’s house to watch a film. • If stored well DVDs will not deteriorate. • DVDs can be played on a lot of platforms; laptops, DVD players, Computers and so on. Disadvantages of DVD • Although DVDs can be played anywhere in the world; there’s a format rule (NTSC and PAL) whereas DVDs from USA don’t play in the UK because the USA uses the NTSC format and UK uses PAL format. • Also regional codes affect the playback as well USA is region 1 and UK is region 2. • Without a DVD Player or a playable platform the DVD is useless. • There are different types and these causes confusion for a media illiterate person. Mobile Phones A mobile phone or mobile is an electronic device used for mobile communications such as; mobile telephone, text messaging or data transmission. There are several categories of mobile phones, from basic phones to feature phones such as music phones and camera phones. There are also smart phones and the concept of the smart phone has evolved, and used as a standard phone today unlike 5 years ago where the smart phone was very high end. Several phone series have been introduced to address a given market segment, such as the BlackBerry a phone which focuses on enterprise and/or corporate customer email needs, the SonyEricsson Walkman series of music phones and Cyber shot series of camera phones and the Apple iPhone. Mobile phones features include: • Text messages • Voice calls • GPS navigation • Music (MP3) • Video (MP4) playback The mobile phone is often called the Fourth Screen (if counting cinema, TV and PC screens as the first three) because the user has access to the ability to record footage and play it back whenever they please. The iPhone introduced an application that allows the user to edit whatever footage they have on their phone and this gives the user to manipulate the video to the satisfaction. Mobile phones are small and portable and with data transmission the user has the ability to upload and download pictures, videos and music to and fro internet sites such as: youtube, facebook, myspace and so on. It also allows the user to stream live TV and allows the ability to record directly. Advantages of Mobile Phone • It is small and mobile so the user can move about with it. • It is user friendly and easy to adapt to • Smartphone is like having a mini computer in your hand • There is a wide range of application to choose from to satisfy the user. Disadvantages of Mobile Phone • Needs to be charged at all times as at the battery life dies due to the usage of application • There is a video recording limit • There is a limited amount of space available on the phone • The user will have to upgrade or buy separate memory to use the phone to its fullest capability Analyzing the Different uses of Video Interactive Media Music Videos is a really good and flexible example of a video that can be watched, manipulated and interacted with on many mediums. Before the introduction of “WWW, Mobile Phones and DVDs” music videos could only be accessed through satellite TV and only the privileged had the opportunity to watch such videos. These affected the sale and promotion of music artist. But nowadays consumers are able to watch music videos on youtube, they are able to pause when they like it play when they feel like it and even forward and rewind it. Even the artist user social networks on the internet such as myspace and facebook to promote themselves and they do this through java or adobe scripted players like QuickTime player, and Flash player. The consumers go as far as downloading the videos onto their mobile phones and share it with their mates. The artists also promote themselves by burning the videos onto DVDs and distribute it large scale. Using Internet based platform such as iPlayer and Youtube has their flaws. The iPlayer as a limited amount of manipulation that user can do; the user can only play, pause, forward and rewind. The iPlayer deliver videos at a broadcast level, showing in high quality video and also high quality sound so the user has no reason to manipulate them unlike Youtube which allows the user a wide range of manipulation such as changing the resolution of the video because the owner of the video might have the uploaded the video in the wrong format. The user is also able to take the audio and video clips off Youtube. Lastly Youtube allows the user to annotate the video. The owner of the video can point out certain information for the viewer. There is an argument that suggest that while the media is becoming interactive there is more choice for the user in effect it is making non manipulative content access perhaps the interactive is an illusion. For example a modern computer game such as Call of duty 4 the user is made to believe he is in the world and interacting with the game play but in reality the world is but for the user and their choices are more or less limited. Interactive Media Technology Digital Media Players is used for playing audio, video and still image contents. To use or power interactive media certain technologies are needed to help support the media files. Media Players such as: QuickTime Player plays only MOV files and Apple Mac powers QuickTime player. Windows Media Player plays only AVI files that are a different and lower quality to MOV files. QuickTime player won’t play AVI files and Windows Media Player won’t play MOV files so consumers often download a platform that plays both format and an example of such platform is VLC media player, it plays almost every format of media files. Other technology behind interactive media includes Screen Resolution. Screen resolution is important to the producer and equally to the consumer. If the wrong screen resolution is used the video will be distorted and useless and unable to watch. The quality of an image depends on how many pixels present in that image so if it is really stretched it becomes really pixilated. Mobile phones are mostly affected by this technology because they come in different screen sizes so the video or media has to be the right size for the consumer to enjoy the product. Also the user is able to edit the size to their satisfaction. Most mobile phone plays every format of files. Lastly Internet interactive media uses different format to stream their media and this arises competition between the companies. Most Internet interactive media uses adobe flash player to enable the user to stream videos. But most mobile phone use java scripts to view videos. Conclusion To conclude I will say that the aim of interactive media is for the viewer or user to have more control of what they are watching i.e. to begin watching from wherever pleases them; skipping the adverts and opening sequence. In reference to my last paragraph I implied the notion “does interactive media really give the user all the control'” Personally after reviewing the game “call of duty” and few other interactive media products out there the term “interactive” could also been seen as an illusion in the sense that the platforms used to create this product still have more control that is invisible to the user i.e. it is designed to give the user pleasure and enjoyment by making them seem that they r in control Call of Duty is still a very good example. Players rank 1st 2nd and 3rd in the world and they f=think that they are the best shooters or killers but in reality that’s what the game wants them to think. In my interactive media I am going to make a music video but I will give the viewer sense of interaction if they are able to pause, rewind or even forward the video.