multimedia

A typical authoring tool, which is used to combine audio and video to create multimedia presentations or pages for the World Wide Web.

An example of how various elements can be combined to create a multimedia presentation. Text is combined with still images, and icons signify related video, audio, and hypertext links.

Computerized method of presenting information by combining audio and video components using text, sound, and graphics (still, animated, and video sequences). For example, a multimedia database of musical instruments may allow a user not only to search and retrieve text about a particular instrument but also to see pictures of it and hear it play a piece of music. Multimedia applications emphasize interactivity between the computer and the user.

As graphics, video, and audio are demanding of storage space, and as multimedia elements are increasingly used in digital content and applications, CD-ROMs have replaced lower capacity floppy disks for software distribution.

In the mid-1990s developments in compression techniques and software made it possible to incorporate multimedia elements into Internet Web sites.