EXPERIENCING ICT
Unit 1: Introduction to Multimedia
Digital Arts 1
Lesson 2
Multimedia Hardware
Requirements
When working with a multimedia project, there are specific computer specifications required to run
all the necessary programs and be able to handle images, videos, and sounds to use. The two types
of desktop computers which are both capable of handling files to create a multimedia application are
Microsoft’s Personal Computer (MPC) and Apple Mac computer.
The following technical specifications are the recommended requirements to run multimedia
applications efficiently on a Microsoft Personal Computer (MPC):
Intel Core i3, 4 or Intel Centrino, Intel Xeon, or
Processor
Intel Core Duo
Windows 7 with service Pack1, Windows 8.1,
Operating System
Windows 10
RAM 4 GB
Hard Disk At least 250 GB
Display 1280 x 1024
Graphics Card NVIDIA GTX 750
Optical Drive DVD-RW x12, DVD-R 16x
Integrated high-definition audio with 7.1-channel
Audio
support
Network PCIE Ethernet 10/100M or WiFi Network Adpter
Pointing devices, Keyboard, Speakers or
Peripherals
Headphones, Microphone, Webcam
Video Card
A Video Card is an electronic circuit board that resides in one slot on
the main board. One will not be able to see the video card from outside
the computer. All that is visible is that part of the card where monitors
can be plugged. It is important to know what kind of video card the
computer is equipped with, as this affects what the monitor can display.
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EXPERIENCING ICT
Lesson 2 Multimedia Hardware Requirements
Digital Arts 1
Video cards are often referred to by sets of initials, e.g., VGA (Video Graphics Adaptor) or SVGA
(Super Video Graphics Adaptor). When purchasing a software, make sure that the computer has
a video card that is compatible with the software being used. Some software will only work, on
computers equipped with SVGA cards, or cards with higher specifications.
The appropriate video driver software must also be correctly installed on your computer. It is
important to install the video drivers supplied with the video card. Do not assume that the standard
Windows drivers will be adequate; most problems arise because the software supplied by the
manufacturer of the video card has not been installed correctly - or not at all or are rendered
inadequate depending on one’s technological requirements.
Video cards and the softwares associated with them control the resolution of the text, pictures,
and video that appear on the screen. CAI software often requires a video card that can display
colored photographs and color videos. It is, therefore, important that the video card can display a
large number of different colors (usually a minimum of 256 colors).
Most modern video cards are capable of displaying more colors. However, it is important to know
how to vary the resolution of what is displayed on the computer screen, i.e., the number of dots per
square inch (also known as pixels) that make up the picture on the screen.
Most modern video cards are accompanied by software that enables one to control the resolution of
the display screen. Windows itself has its own built-in controls under Display Settings.
Network Interface Cards (NIC)
These are computer circuit boards or cards installed in the computer
in order to connect to a network. These cards allows the computers to
connect with one another in a local network or in a wide area network to
be able to access files and information.
Hard Disk
It is necessary to have a large capacity hard disk for storing large files
and have enough space for video and sound editing tasks.
CR-ROM Drive
CD-ROM stands for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory. A CD-ROM drive is an optical drive onto
which data has been read with the use of laser. It looks much the same as an audio CD and can
contain text, sound, pictures, and motion video.
A CD-ROM drive is essential for small files running multimedia applications. CD-ROMs are the most
common storage medium for multimedia applications.
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EXPERIENCING ICT
Unit 1: Introduction to Multimedia
Digital Arts 1
A CD-ROM drive can also play standard audio CDs, so one can listen to one’s favorite music while
working.
Compact Discs (CD) can store at least 650-700 megabytes of data. Compared to older storage media,
the Compact Discs storage capacity is impressive. A standard high-density floppy disk (1.44Mb)
can store a 500-page novel. A single Compact CD, however, can comfortably accommodate 500
medium-length novels, a 12-volume encyclopedia, the complete works of Shakespeare, or a whole
year’s edition of a newspaper. It is this enormous storage capacity that makes CDs attractive. When
graphics audio and video recordings are stored in a computer-readable format, they take up much
more space than text, and they can only be made available to consumers in reasonable quantities
if they are stored on the CD or DVD.
Other key storage devices that a multimedia computer could
have are optical disc drives. These include, CD-Recordable
(CD-R), CD-Rewritable (CD-RW) and the Digital Versatile Disk
drive (DVD). The DVD-R is the standard drive used for delivering
multimedia. The DVD-R drives, often called WORM (Write Once
Read Many), are commonly used for creating backup of files.
DVD-ROM Drive
A Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc (DVD) is a popular medium for storing videos and
data. An interesting aspect of DVD is that the world is divided into six regions, also called locales,
each of which has its own DVD standard. DVD-Video discs are regionally coded - look for a small
standardized globe icon on the packaging with the region number superimposed on it. If a disc plays
in more than one region it will have more than one number on the globe.
Similar to CDs, the DVDs have several formats which are based from how data are stored. DVD-
ROM (Read-Only Memory) has data that can only be read and not written, DVD-R (Recordable)
and DVD+R can record data only once and then function as a DVD-ROM. DVD-RW (Rewriteable),
DVD+RW and DVD-RAM (Random Access Memory) can both record and erase data multiple times.
DVD Storage Capacity
DVDs can store about seven times more data than CDs. This is
because saving of data in a DVD is arranged physically tighter
than in CDs. Another factor is the lesser information needed for
error correction stored in the disc. Compared to a CD with the old
scheme of error correction, a repetition of information is stored using
a lot of space in the disc. Thus, a significantly lesser data can be
handled. Lastly, DVDs have multiple layer features, which allows
them to store data up to four layers, two on each side.
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EXPERIENCING ICT
Lesson 2 Multimedia Hardware Requirements
Digital Arts 1
The table below shows the capacities of the different forms of DVDs:
Format Capacity
Single-sided/Single-layer 4.7 GB
Single-sided/Double-layer 8.5 GB
Double-sided/Single-layer 9.4 GB
Double-sided/Double-layer 17.1 GB
Input Devices
Mouse
The pointing device, which allows the user to control the program by selecting
commands and clicking the icons in the program.
Keyboard
The keyboard is an input device used to enter letters,
numbers, and symbols needed in writing the content
for the multimedia.
Digitizing Tablet
Also called the Graphic TabIet, it is an input device which
works similarly like a pen and pencil. One draws on the tablet
and the drawing will be captured. It allows one to hand-draw
images and graphics, and is popular in capturing handwritten
signatures.
Output Devices
Monitor
The monitor is the most basic output device in a computer
system. For multimedia creators, the display quality and
color are very important for the presentation. Most designers
prefer having a 17” to 19” (measured diagonally across the
screen) monitor screen to clearly display the multimedia
application and the various dialogue boxes of the authoring
tools.
The monitor size adds to the convenience of the user
in creating the multimedia project, but most of all, the
resolution and number of colors available are the utmost
consideration. Multimedia monitor should support a high graphic resolution ranging from 480x640
pixels to 7680x4320 pixels and a million colors. Graphic display cards have their own special RAM
which contain the current screen display pixel by pixel. Some multimedia tasks, like video and image
editing and displaying 3D graphics, require between 4 to Mega bytes of graphic display RAM.
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EXPERIENCING ICT
Unit 1: Introduction to Multimedia
Digital Arts 1
Printer
A high quality color printer is important when developing multimedia. Though the printer cannot print
the exact color of an image as displayed in the monitor, it should at least print the best for pictures
and images.
There are two types of color printers in the market today - the Inkjet and the Laser Printer.
An Inkjet printer prints images by putting small droplets onto the paper. These dots are extremely
small (between 50 to 60 microns in diameter). The ink dots are positioned in precise locations with
resolutions of up to 1440x720 dots per inch (dpi) containing millions of different colors.
Inkjet Printer
The Laser Printer, on the other hand, is widely used because of its speed, precision, and economy.
A laser can move very quickly, so it can “write” with much greater speed than an Inkjet. Since the
laser beam has a fixed diameter, it can draw more precisely without spilling any excess ink.
Laser Printer
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