There are many media interactive media platforms. Here is a list of just a small percentage:
Media Platforms
Youtube
Online Books
DVD
Video Games
eBay
Kindle
Television
Sky
BT TV
Virgin TV
PlayStation 1 (PS1)
PS2
PS3
PS4
Xbox
Xbox 360
Xbox One
Smart phones
iPad
Vimeo
Internet Adverts
Kiosks
YouTube:
YouTube is a video hosting website that allows users to upload, view and share videos, by posting them on the internet. YouTube users Adobe Flash Video and HTML5
technology to display all different kinds of user content, as well as online adverts before the video is played. Some content that is featured on YouTube includes Music Videos, TV Clips, Video Blogging, Short Films and Educational Videos. YouTube is a fantastic way for users to share their videos with the world, allowing them to showcase their work.
The website is used by a variety of different people including proffesional film makers, as well as amatuer film makers.
Amateur Video - Canon 600D Shots:
This is just a short video that someone has made with their new camera. Although I don't know the exact reason why they have uploaded it, I assume that it is for them to show off their creativity and vision, by taking short clips of nature and woodland etc. and putting them into a short video for the world to see. They also could have uploaded it to show off their editing skills and choice of music etc. Basically, they have uploaded it in attempt to establish themselves as a short video maker. I get this impression because they have included their Facebook, Twitter and Flickr accounts in the bio of the video.
Most content on YouTube has been uploaded by individuals, but media corporations offer some of their material on the website, as part of the YouTube partnership program. Videos that have explicit or offensive content can be accessed only to registered users who are over the age of 18. People who don't have an account can also watch videos, and registered users can upload an unlimited number of videos to the website.
The reason why YouTube is so popular is because of how diverse the website is. Every time a video is uploaded it can be viewed by anyone with an internet connection. Also, YouTube nowadays is so accessible as you can view videos on iPads, Smartphones and Tablets.
For our Interactive Video project, we ourselves uploaded our video to YouTube.
Our Interactive Video - Penalty Shootout:
Smartphones:
A smartphone is a mobile phone which is more technical and has more advanced computer technology than a basic mobile phone, as well as being able to connect to the Internet. Smartphones are basically a phone, camera, media player, iPod, computer, sat nav and diary all in one. Also, smartphones have thousands of Applications (Apps) which allow users to download things like games and information content on to their phone.
As of November 2011, 27% of all photographs were taken by smartphones with camera's installed on them. In 2012, one billion smartphones were used worldwide. A study showed that in September 2012, 4 out of 5 smartphone owners used the device to shop online. As of 2013, 65% of U.S. mobile users owned smartphones.Another study in June 2013 showed that 56% of American adults owned a smartphone of some kind. Half of the World's population owned either a Smartphone or an Android. The smartphone market in Europe was worth £860 million by the end of 2013. All of these facts show just how popular and effective Smartphones are in the media industry. They also show that demand for smartphones are high, and are still rising as the years go by.
Smartphones are virtually always touchscreen, which means that you can touch what you want to do on them. They are a massive part of Interactive Media for a number of reasons. I think one of the most popular uses for them, is playing games. For example, the craze about 'Flappy Bird' spread across the country. it was a game that's concept was very simple, however it was actually really difficult. You had to basically guide a bird through some chambers by touching the screen when you want the bird to jump. the aim was to get as many points as you could, but that was easier said than done!
Flappy Bird Gameplay Video:
Smartphones also can connect to the Internet, which means you can access other media platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo, eBay and Online games. Another reason why smartphones are so effective is because you can take them anywhere, and access near enough anything.
Quality vs. Size
Quality:
Quality is basically how clearly you see something on a screen or monitor. It is made up of lots of different things, and all of these things together, in the right amount or resolution, determine how good the quality of something is.
One major part of quality is Resolution.
Resolution:
The resolution is the amount of pixels in the video. The typical ones are 240p, 360p, 480p, 720p, 1080p. For example, YouTube has the option of 240p, right up to 1080p. This is extremely clever from YouTube as not everybody has the band width to load and play 1080p HD videos. By letting the user choose what resolution they want, it means that more people are able to view videos on YouTube. The better your Internet in your home, the quicker the HD resolution will load. If it takes 20 minutes to load a 1080p video then you are less likely to wait. By having the option to choose a lower quality resolution, this means that you can still watch the video but the quality will be lower.
This is what you see when you click on the resolution choice on YouTube:
The size of the screen is also extremely important when it comes to quality. For example, if you have a 50" TV screen which only plays in 360p, then you will see all of the pixels in the video. A TV with a screen this big would need at least 720p so that you could even see the video clearly, 1080p would be a lot better. The higher the resolution, generally, the better the quality of the video.
This is what the picture would look like if you were playing 360p on a 50" TV:
Also, how far away from the screen you sit is key. if you sit really close to any television or screen then you are more likely to see the pixels as you are sitting so close. For example, in a cinema, the closest seats right at the front are about 10 feet away from the screen itself. This means that you can watch the film and still see the picture in good quality. If you were sat 2 feet away from the screen then, again, you would see the pixels and the film will be pixelated.
This is a dramatic photograph of pixelation, however the concept is the same. This is roughly what you will see if you sit too close to the screen:
This is a chart explaining the benefits of how far away you sit from a large screen with a higher resolution. It basically explains everything I've just said but in a chart form.
File Size
File size measures the size of a file. It is basically the capacity of whatever it is you are using i.e. DVDs, CD,s Memory sticks, Hard drives, etc. It is typically measured in bytes with an SI prefix. The actual amount of disk space consumed by the file depends on the file system. It is extremely important that you know your videos file size because you could be uploading it somewhere that doesn't support the file that you are uploading. It is crucial to know not only the size of the file you are using, but also the amount of space the software or website you are uploading it to.
A good example of File Size is Grand Theft Auto 5. The game is one disk on a PlayStaion 3, however it is 2 disks on an Xbox. This is because the disk on the PS3 is a lot bigger and has more capacity than the Xbox. This is a good selling point for PlayStaion as Xbox users will have to change disks half way through the gem, which is annoying.
This is a list of different devices and their file sizes:
PlayStaion 3 - 500 GB
PlayStation 4 - 500 GB
XBox 1 - 500 GB
DVD - 4.95 GB
Blu Ray - 25 GB
Containers and Codecs
Containers are file types.
Video File Types:
Data File Types:
Where you would find some of these File Types:
.mp3 :
iTunes
Adobe Audition
Microsoft Windows Media Player
.avi :
Apple QuickTime Player
Adobe Flash
Microsoft Windows Media Player
.mov :
Apple QuickTime Player
Microsoft Windows Media Player
