Digital media is any method of storing, transmitting, receiving and manipulating data in digital form. Sound, images, text and video are all available in digital format for use on a computer system, ipad or other similar device. Digital media allows for the exchange of information in a wide range of forms. The information can be for purposes such as entertainment, illustration or communication.
Digital media is the product of digital data processed electronically, stored as a file, and transmitted within computer systems and across networks. This could be done via bluetooth, as an email attachment, over wifi or using a phones cellular network.
Digital data is represented by a system known as binary code. This is the a series of digits expressed in 1s and 0s. Text, images, sound and video can all be handled as a series of these digits by assigns a bit string to each symbol or instruction.
Digital media can be copied perfectly. To understand the importance of this, consider the older technology of a standard VHS tape. It holds analogue or variable data. Every time you copy or transfer the analogue data on the tape there is a degradation (reduction) of quality. Digital data on a DVD (digital versatile disk) or other Digital sources can be copied perfectly, with no degradation of quality, as many times as required.
Digital media needs digitising devices to convert data from analogue to digital data for use in computer systems. Such devices collect data from scanners, barcode readers, digital cameras, pointing devices such as the mouse, trackball, joystick, light pen, touch screen, touch pad, digitising or graphics tablet, keyboards and microphones. The data is then available for manipulation, transmission and display across the computer system and any networks.
Questions to answer
1. Name one major advantage of Digital Media
2. List 4 devices that could be used to collect data for digital media.
3. How is digital data represented by binary code?
4. Give four examples of digital media types.