Overview
Multimedia Technologies is an indispensable part of modern computing environments. This course will explain the technologies underlying digital images, videos and audio contents, including various compression techniques and standards, and the issues to deliver multimedia content over the Internet.
The course is designed for:
- Program students who want to broadening their knowledge by including multimedia studies.
- Visiting program students looking for a foundation from which to pursue advanced topics in multimedia studies.
- Professional developers who want a technical foundation for developing applications with distributed multimedia components.
- Networks professionals who needs to manage multimedia delivery service.
Outline
COMP 435 consists of the following nine units:
- Unit 1: Software Installation and Preparation
- Unit 2: Introduction to Multimedia Studies
- Unit 3: Data Representation
- Unit 4: Basic Compression Techniques
- Unit 5: Video and Audio Data Compression Techniques
- Unit 6: Multimedia Networks and QoS Support
- Unit 7: Multimedia Wireless Networks, Heterogeneous Networks, and advanced QoS Support
- Unit 8: Multimedia Applications
- Unit 9: Topics in Multimedia Technologies
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to
- identify the essential features of graphics/image data types, file formats, and colour models in images and video.
- explain the technical details of multimedia data representations.
- perform a comparative analysis of the major methods and algorithms for multimedia data compression.
- explain the technical details of popular multimedia compression standards.
- write code and develop a multimedia application using JAI and JMF.
- explain the principles and technical details of several wired and wireless networking protocols.
- configure and manage multimedia content delivery platforms.
- identify the essential issues of quality of service in multimedia networking.
- explain technical aspects of popular multimedia web applications, including VoD and VoIP.
Evaluation
To receive credit for COMP 435, you must achieve a course composite grade of at least D (50 percent), including an average grade of at least 50 percent on the assignments, and a grade of at least D (50 percent) on the final examination. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1 | 15% |
| Assignment 2 | 15% |
| Assignment 3 | 15% |
| Assignment 4 | 15% |
| Assignment 5 | 10% |
| Final Exam | 30% |
| Total | 100% |
The final examination for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Li, Z.-N., Drew, M. S., & Liu, J. (2021). Fundamentals of multimedia (3rd ed.). Springer.
Physical course materials
The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:
Li, Z.-N., & Drew, M. S. (2004). Fundamentals of multimedia. Pearson Education. *
*Note: The print version of Fundamentals of Multimedia (2004) is no longer available. As of May 20, 2022, an eText replacement is being used in this course: Fundamentals of Multimedia, 3rd ed. (2021).
Other Materials
Distributed in Electronic Format
- Computer Science 435 Study Guide
Available from the Course Website
- A collection of journal articles and conference papers delivered through the library service of Athabasca University
- A course evaluation form
- Links to a variety of resources on the World Wide Web.
Additional supporting materials of interest to students may occasionally be made available electronically.
Special Instructional Features
COMP 435 is offered through Moodle, a Learning Management System that can be accessed through the Web. COMP 435 can be completed at the student's workplace or home. COMP 435 is an elective in all undergraduate programs offered by the School of Computing and Information Systems.