Essential hardware/ sorftware required for Multimedia development and delivery part 1

The essential hardware and software that is required when developing and delivering a multimedia project can differ depending on the end product of the project.

When developing a Multimedia project you have to take into consideration what kind of outcome you want to achieve, you may only need certain types of media in the project, for example you might only need text and sound in your project, in this case the only kind of hardware and software that you might need could be:-

-Microphone - For recording sound
-Keyboard - For text input
-Speaker system - For sound playback
-Pen drive - For Transferring files between computers

But if you are attempting a more ambitious project that takes in more forms of media then the types of hardware and software that you will require will greatly differ.
 The examples that I intend to cover in this blog are:-

Scanners
LCD Projectors
Digital video and SLR cameras
CD/DVD burners
Editing software


SCANNERS

A scanner is a device that captures printed images or text for computer editing and display.
There are 5 main types of scanner

A Flatbed scanner is a type of scanner where you place an image or text document by hand face down into a glass scanning surface, While the image/document remains stationary, an automated mechanical scanning device passes underneath it, the drawbacks of the flatbed scanner is that it is a very large and bulky piece of hardware.

A Handheld scanner is a small handheld device where the user has to manually sweep the scanner over a stationary image/ document, this has many downfalls because its accuracy depends on the steadyness of the users hands .

A Sheetfed scanner works very much in the same way as a flatbed scanner but this time the scanner remains stationary and it is the Image/Document that is fed into the scanner the same way a printer does, It is also alot smaller than the Flatbed scanner. The downfall of this type of scanner is that there is a reduction in scan quality in comparison with the flatbed scanner, so sheetfed scanners are generally only used for Text documents.

A Photo scanner works the same way as the sheetfed  scanners by feeding the Image through the scanner. Most are relatively low resolution, so are limited to scanning photo prints or similar sized scans, therefore their practical applications are limited.

A Drum scanner is  the most efficient and the most expensive scanners. These are used primarily in the publishing industry to digitize the images that appear in books and magazines and are printed on high-quality printing presses.


LCD PROJECTORS

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) projectors are used for displaying video, images or computer data on a screen or other flat surface. LCD projectors basically work by passing a strong light source through a transparent LCD chip and projecting that image through a lens onto a large screen.


DIGITAL VIDEO AND SLR CAMERAS
An SLR video camera uses a moving mirror system to manipulate the light that enteres through the camera lense and focuses it onto a film or image sensor at the back of the camera. Where as a Digital video camera Instead of using film to capture the image, digital cameras use an electronic image sensor. The sensor converts the image to electrical signals and stores it into digital memory.

The Veho Muvi Micro DV  is the smallest high resolution DV camcorder in the world, and it has a
2 Mega Pixel recording quality, it has a 640x480 resolution, and this camera has no zooming capabilities. This kind of camera costs around £50.

The Toshiba Camileo S10 is a good quality lower price range camera, it has a 5 Mega Pixel recording quality, it has a 3200 x 2400 maximum resolution, it also has a 4x digital zoom.
This kind of camera costs around £100

The Toshiba Camileo H20 has an 5 Mega Pixel recording quality, it has a 3200 x 2400 maximum resolution, it also has a 4x digital zoom and a 5x optical zoom.
This kind of camera costs around £150.

The Canon LEGRIA FS37 has an 8 Mega Pixel recording quality, it has a 3200 x 2400 maximum resolution, it also boasts a large 2000x digital zoom and a 37x optical zoom.
This Kind of camera costs around £200.

The Bell and Howell DV1200HD has a 12 Mega Pixel recording quality, it can record video in full HD quality, it also has a 500x digital zoom and a 20x optical zoom.
This kind of camera costs around £250.