Multimedia technology has the potential to transform end user computing from interactive text and graphics models into something more compatible with the digital and electronic world of the new century. This book aims to help technology professionals gain an understanding and perspective on areas related to multimedia computing and communication, while addressing the major issues and challenges in the design and management of multimedia information systems.

Multimedia Information Systems explores the technical, human, organizational and socio-economic issues which underpin the implementation and use of multimedia information systems. This unique book comprehensively defines multimedia information systems and its emerging architecture. Today's important issues of networked multimedia information systems and multimedia trafficking on the information superhighway are thoroughly investigated. Multimedia information systems applications and organizational implications are also discussed along with multimedia authoring systems. Multimedia Information Systems is essential reading for all students and professionals faced with the challenges of multimedia information systems management and development. Multimedia Information Systems develops an awareness of the problems associated with multimedia information systems management, and the ability to understand and address these emerging challenges on an organizational and technical level. The book explores the limitations of multimedia on the information superhighway, and offers solutions for present and future development on the Internet. This book also scrutinizes the current applications of multimedia information systems, and examines how they can be developed. Multimedia Information Systems serves as an excellent text for courses on the subject, and as an invaluable reference for multimedia information systems professionals.

Multimedia Information Systems brings together in one place important contributions and up-to-date research results in this fast moving area. Multimedia Information Systems serves as an excellent reference, providing insight into some of the most challenging research issues in the field.

This second edition provides easy access to important concepts, issues and technology trends in the field of multimedia technologies, systems, techniques, and applications. Over 1,100 heavily-illustrated pages — including 80 new entries — present concise overviews of all aspects of software, systems, web tools and hardware that enable video, audio and developing media to be shared and delivered electronically.

Everything you ever wanted to know about multimedia retrieval and management. This comprehensive book offers a full picture of the cutting-edge technologies necessary for a profound introduction to the field. Leading experts also cover a broad range of practical applications.

Foreword by Karen Spärck Jones Intelligent multimedia information retrieval lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence, information retrieval, human-computer interaction, and multimedia computing. Its systems enable users to create, process, summarize, present, interact with, and organize information within and across different media such as text, speech, graphics, imagery, and video. These systems go beyond traditional hypermedia and hypertext environments to analyze and generate media, and support intelligent interaction with or via multiple media. The chapters of this volume, which grew out of the 1995 International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence Workshop on Intelligent Multimedia Information Retrieval, span a broad range of topics. The book is organized into seven sections: Content-Based Retrieval of Imagery, Content-Based Retrieval of Graphics and Audio, Content-Based Retrieval of Video, Speech and Language Processing for Video Retrieval, Architectures and Tools, Intelligent Hypermedia Retrieval, and Empirical Evaluations. Contributors Robert Adams, Phillipe Aigrain, Jonathan Ashley, Thom Blum, Shih-Fu Chang, Mei C. Chuah, W. Bruce Croft, Byron Dom, Ann Doubleday, Florence Dubois, Josef Fink, Myron Flickner, Jonathan Foote, Brian Frew, Monika Gorkani, Morgan Green, James Griffioen, Jon Alte Gulla, Jim Hafner, Qian Hang, Matt Hare, Alexander G. Hauptman, Stacie Hibino, Helmut Horacek, David House, Takafumi Inoue, Philippe Joly, Gareth Jones, Karen Spärck Jones, Douglas Keislaer, Stephen Kerpedjiev, Alfred Kobsa, Denis Lee, Véronique Longueville, Chien Yong Low, R. Manmatha, Inderjeet Mani, Mark T. Maybury, Bernard Mérialdo, Adrian Müller, Wayne Niblac, Andreas Nill, Alex Pentland, Dragutin Petkovic, Steven F. Roth, Neil C. Rowe, Elke A. Rundensteiner, Harpreet Sawhney, John R. Smith, Stephen W. Smoliar, David Steele, Adelheit Stein, Oliviero Stock, Carlo Strapparava, Alistair Sutcliffe, Atshushi Takeshita, Kazuo Tanaka, Ulrich Thiel, Michele Ryan, Julita Vassileva, James Wheaton, Michael J. Witbrock, Erling Wold, JianHua Wu, Peter Yanker, Rajendra Yavatkar, Steven J. Young, Massimo Zancanaro, HongJiang Zhang

Multimedia computing has emerged in the last few years as a major area of research. Multimedia computer systems have opened a wide range of applications by combining a variety of information sources, such as voice, graphics, animation, images, audio and full-motion video. Looking at the big picture, multimedia can be viewed as the merging of three industries: computer, communications, and broadcasting industries. Research and development efforts can be divided into two areas. As the first area of research, much effort has been centered on the stand-alone multimedia workstation and associated software systems and tools, such as music composition, computer-aided education and training, and interactive video. However, the combination of multimedia computing with distributed systems offers even greater potential. New applications based on distributed multimedia systems include multimedia information systems, collaborative and video conferencing systems, on-demand multimedia services, and distance learning. Multimedia Systems and Techniques is one of two volumes published by Kluwer, both of which provide a broad introduction into this fast moving area. The book covers fundamental concepts and techniques used in multimedia systems. The topics include multimedia objects and related models, multimedia compression techniques and standards, multimedia interfaces, multimedia storage techniques, multimedia communication and networking, multimedia synchronization techniques, multimedia information systems, scheduling in multimedia systems, and video indexing and retrieval techniques. Multimedia Systems and Techniques, together with its companion volume, Multimedia Tools and Applications, is intended for anyone involved in multimedia system design and applications and can be used as a textbook for advanced courses on multimedia.