Although
there are many types of multimedia files on the Internet, we will
only concentrate on two: sound clips
and video clips.
Sound
Clips
Sound clips are computer
files that are able to produce sound, such as special sound effects
or music, when run on a Web browser. There are many sound file
formats in use on the Web, including AU (.au extension),
AIFF/AIFC (.aiff or .aif extension), WAVE (.wav
extension), and MPEG (.mpg extension), MIDI (.mid
extension), and more. Sound files are generally small in size
and are typically used to enhance a Web page or as background
music.
Video clips are computer
files that are able to display a continuous stream of images
when viewed on a Web browser. Video on the Internet usually appears
in one of three formats: AVI (.avi extension), MPEG
(.mpg or .mpeg extension), or QuickTime (.qt or .mov extension).
Although video files can be exciting and can provide a lot of
information, they can be very large and difficult to work with.
In order for any multimedia
clip to work, your Web browser must support them, and it must
have access to software called plug-ins. Plug-ins
are applications that allow the browser to work with the media
file. Many browsers come with the necessary plug-ins to handle
multimedia files. However, sometimes, it might be necessary for
a user to download additional software before being able to view
multimedia Web pages. To learn more about plug-ins, please visit
http://home.netscape.com/plugins/.
