Tutorial 10: Creating a Multimedia Web Page
Enhancing a Page with Sound, Video, and Java Applets
Additional Topics
Using MIDI Files
A sound file format not discussed in Tutorial 10 is the MIDI format. MIDI is an an acronym for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, a standard adopted for synthesizers and sound cards. The MIDI format reduces sound to a series of values that describe the pitch, length, and volume of each note. Other characteristics of the note, such as attack and delay time, can be included in the MIDI file.
Because MIDI is a supported standard, sounds created on one synthesizer can be played and manipulated on another synthesizer. Computers that have a sound card with a MIDI interface can access sounds created by these synthesizers and sound editing software can manipulate the MIDI files to create new sounds and sound effects. Other programs can translate MIDI files into a written score which can then be printed out on your computer's printer. An additional advantage of MIDI files is that they are much smaller in size than WAV files. One could write a MIDI composition that lasts several minutes, which is less than 20 kilobytes in size. This makes MIDI a particular favorite with Web authors who wish to add background sounds to their Web pages.
If you wish to sample some MIDI files, you can do so at the following Web sites
- Classical MIDI Archives
- Harmony Central
- MIDI Archive
- The MIDI Farm
- MIDI Tools and Resources
- The Daily WAV
- Yahoo!'s MIDI Page
VRML
VRML stands for Virtual Reality Modeling Language. VRML allows users to explore three dimensional spaces (also called worlds.) VRML introduces a new paradigm to Web users. Instead of clicking hyperlinks to jump from topic to topic, you move from room to another in a three dimensional space. To learn more about VRML, go to one of the sites listed below:
