In the early stages of web design, the first Internet browsers had
support for text only, and even the text support was limited to a
single font in a single color, and little or nothing else.
Then came web browsers with support for color, fonts and text styles,
and the support for pictures was added. The support for sounds,
animations and videos is handled in different ways by different browser
MULTIMEDIA FORMATS
Multimedia elements in web design
(like sounds or videos) are stored in media files. The most common way
to discover the media type is to look at the file extension. Picture
formats are recognized by extension like .gif, .jpg as well as others.
Sound Formats: - Sound can be stored in many different formats
The MIDI Format: -- The MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital
Interface) is a format for sending music information between electronic
music devices like synthesizers and PC sound cards.
Sounds stored in the MIDI format have the extension .mid, .midi
The
AIFF Format: - The AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) was developed
by Apple. Sounds stored in the AIFF format have the extension .aif or
.aiff extension
The MP3 Format (MPEG):- MP3 files are
actually MPEG file. But the MPEG Format was originally developed for
video by the Moving Pictures Expert Group. We can say that MP3 files
are the sound part of the MPEG video format. MP3 is one of the most
popular sound formats for music recording. The MP3 Encoding system
combines good compression (small files) with high quality. Sound stored
in the MP3 format has the extension. MP3
VIDEO FORMAT:-
The AVI (Audio video Interleave) format was developed by
Microsoft. The AVI format is supported by all computers running
windows, and by all the most popular web browsers. It is a very common
format on Internet, but not always possible to play on non-windows
computers.
Sound stored in the AVI format has the extension. .avi
THE
MPEG Format: - (Moving Picture Expert Group) format is most popular
format on the internet its cross-platform, and supported by the entire
most popular web browser. Video stores in the MPEG format have the
extension .mpg or .mpeg
The Quick Time Format: - The Quick
time format was developed by Apple. Quick time is as common format on
the Internet, but Quick Time movies cannot be played on a Windows
computer without an extra (free) component installed.
Video stored in the Quick Time format have the extension .mov
Using multimedia elements on your website can enhance how your
site/business is perceived online. It is however very important not to
overdo the number of multimedia elements on your website. If you are
unsure how to integrate music, sound or video to your website, why not
use a professional web designer who can guide you through the process?
Keith McGregor is a partner of Strawberrysoup, a web design agency with offices in Chichester and Bournemouth. Strawberrysoup specialise in creative web design, content managed websites, search engine optimisation, search engine marketing and graphic design
