Comunicação Multimédia

Objectives

The Multimedia Communication course acknowledges that the world has been transformed due to multimedia communications and concentrates on the most important multimedia communication systems as well as on the main enabling technology, this means source coding. This course addresses the key concepts, tools, systems and services in multimedia information representation, notably for image, video and audio.

Syllabus

1. Introduction to multimedia communication. 2. Multimedia representation concepts. 3. Human visual and auditory systems. 4. Quality and quality assessment. 5. Digital image representation: concepts, tools and standards. 6. Digital video representation: concepts, tools and standards. 7. Digital audio representation: concepts, tools and standards. 8. Multiplexing and synchronization of multimedia information. 9. Main multimedia communication systems, notably videotelephony, videoconference, digital TV, storage, 3D systems: requirements, architectures and tools. 10. Future trends on multimedia systems and services with emphasis on multimedia representation

Prerequisites

Minimum background on basic communication and signal concepts and tools

Cross Competence Component

The project has a very strong component of soft skills, notably: - Critical and strategic thinking (10%) - the project has a strong creative component, notably associated to the design of the project Web page and the 3-minute video, and also strategic thinking associated to the free multimedia topic technical paper structuring. - Interpersonal competences (50%) - the project clearly asks for oral and written communication competences, notably in the 8-pages technical paper, the Web page and the 3-minute video; moreover it also asks for team working skills since it is a group project. - Intrapersonal competences (10%) - the project has 3 parts, thus requiring auto-discipline, auto-motivation and perseverance to follow the required planning. - Media and information literacy (30%) - the project on a free multimedia topic requires the capability to Web search the necessary information as well as the usage of media applications to create the Web page and the 3-minute video.

Laboratorial Component

There will be at least 3 lab sessions using an application able to simulate the coding of multimedia information where the students may control the coding parameters of several codecs to gain sensibility to their performance.

Programming And Computing Component

The computation and programming valences will be exercized only from a user perspective, notably in the coding application used at the lab, the application used to create the project Web page, and the application used to create and edit the project 3-minute video.

Ethical Principles

All members of a group are responsible for the group’s work In any assessment, every student shall honestly disclose any help received and sources used. In an oral assessment, every student shall be able to present and answer questions about the entire assignment and solution.