Multimedia Production

MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTION 4(1+3)

Lesson 4 : Hardware Requirement for Multimedia

Monitors

1. The most important output device for multimedia development and delivery is the monitor. A monitor is a device for display. It is just like a television set and is measured diagonally from two opposing corners of the picture tube. The standard monitor size is 14 inches. Very large monitors can measure 21 inches diagonal or greater.
2. Multimedia developers need to use large 17’’ or 19‘‘ (measured diagonally across the screen) monitors in order to have room to display the multimedia application under development and the various dialogue boxes of the authoring tools.
3. Some multimedia developers use two monitors that are driven using special graphics cards so that they can see the multimedia application on one screen and have the tools displayed on the other
4. An important type of monitor for use in point of information applications are touch screens which are both input and output devices. Touch screens are an intuitive way for users to interact with a multimedia application by allowing them to touch buttons and links directly rather than indirectly via a mouse or other pointing device. Touch screens include three key components:
• A touch screen sensor panel that generates a voltage to indicate where the screen was touched;
• A controller that converts the voltage into a digital signal and transmits it to the processor;
• A software driver to translate the digital signal into data that emulates the mouse.
5. There is one other type of monitor which is used in public multimedia presentations called a data projector. Data projectors enable the normal output from a computer to be projected onto a large screen so that a larger audience can see.