1. Use of Sound in Interactive Media
What You Need To Know
By Erika Louise Tolputt
Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation or pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or
gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be
heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.
In many cases the wave is being propagated. In these cases, the
term 'waveform' refers to the shape of a graph of the varying
quantity against time or distance. An instrument called an
oscilloscope can be used to pictorially represent a wave as a
repeating image on a screen. By extension, the term 'waveform'
also describes the shape of the graph of any varying quantity
against time.
Pitch is a property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequencyrelated scale.Pitches are
compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies, which require sound
whose frequency is clear and stable enough to be heard as not noise. Pitch is a
major auditory attribute of musical tones, along with duration, loudness, and timbre.The decibel (dB)
is a logarithmic unit that indicates the ratio of a physical quantity. A ratio in decibels is ten times the
logarithm to base 10 of the ratio of two power quantities.A decibel is one tenth of a bell, a seldom
used unit.A sound generator is a vibrating object which produces a sound.
Signal to noise ratio is a measure used in science and engineering that compares the level of a
desired signal to the level of background noise. It is defined as the ratio of signal power to the noise
power. A ratio higher than 1:1 indicates more signal than noise. A distortion is the alteration of the
original shape of an object, image, sound, waveform or other form of information or representation.
Distortion is usually unwanted, and often many methods are employed to minimize it in practice. In
some fields, however, distortion may be desirable; such is the case with electric guitar distortion.
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is single channel. Typically
there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or, in the case of headphones and multiple
loudspeakers, channels are fed from a common signal path. In the case of multiple microphones the
paths are mixed into a single signal path at some stage.

2. The term stereophonic sound or, more commonly, stereo, refers to any method of sound reproduction
in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective. This is
usually achieved by using two or more independent audio channels through a configuration of two or
more loudspeakers in such a way as to create the impression of sound heard from various directions,
as in natural hearing.An audio file format is a file format for storing digital audio data on
a computer system. This data can be stored uncompressed, or compressed to reduce the file size. It
can be a raw bit stream, but it is usually a container format or an audio data format with defined
storage layer.
Digital Analogue
Advantages 1. No signal losses due to DA and 1. Compatible with standard VGA
AD conversion. boards on a broad installed PC
basis.
2. Geometry, clock and phase
settings unnecessary and 2. Not necessary to purchase a
therefore easier to use. new graphics board.
3. Lower costs as less electronic
circuitry required.
Disadvantages 1. Currently three standards (PD, 1. Clock and phase of the TFT’s
DFP and DVI). must be synchronised with the
analogue signal to avoid pixel
2. Low availability of models with
jitter, which is a complex issue.
digital interfaces.
2. Cables sensitive to external
3. Requires graphic board with digital
influences.
output.
3. High cost of signal conversion
inside the display.
4. Upgrade to digital interface not
possible.

3. Television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can
be monochrome (black-and-white) or colored, with or without accompanying sound. "Television" may
also refer specifically to a television set, television programming, or television transmission.
DVD
DVD is an optical disc storage format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and
Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same
dimensions.
Pre-recorded DVDs are mass-produced using molding machines that physically stamp data onto the
DVD. Such discs are known as DVD-ROM, because data can only be read and not written nor
erased. Blank recordable DVD discs (DVD-R and DVD+R) can be recorded once using a DVD
recorder and then function as a DVD-ROM. Rewritable DVDs (DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM)
can be recorded and erased multiple times.
CD
The Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally
developed to store and playback sound recordings only, but the format was later adapted for storage
of data (CD-ROM), write-once audio and data storage (CD-R), rewritable media (CD-RW), Video
Compact Discs (VCD), Super Video Compact Discs (SVCD), Photo CD, Picture CD, CD-i, and
Enhanced CD. Audio CDs and audio CD players have been commercially available since October
1982.
Mobile Phones
A mobile phone (also known as a cellular phone, cell phone and a hand phone) is a device that can
make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It
does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile phone operator, allowing access to
the public telephone network. By contrast, a cordless telephone is used only within the short range of
a single, private base station.
Through the use of sound within different interactive media products there are certain aspects that the
use of sound within these media products that can change certain aspects of a person or provide a

4. particular service to a person. This means that one of the aspects is the person’s mood; an interactive
media product using sound can enhance their mood or tone just through the use of sound within their
media device. The interactive media device with sound can also provide a service in which it can alert
the user of danger and impending action which can help warn the user of an issue, the device does
this through using warning sounds such as alarms or loud noises. Another use of sound in interactive
media products is for guiding users through entertainment and streaming music, it helps to alert the
user of what sites are safe and what is advised through the device. Altogether I feel that I understand
the use of sound in interactive media products along with their advantages and disadvantages.