Windows 7 : Using Internet Explorer 8 - Using Multimedia Browsing and Downloading (part 1)

When the Web first debuted as a method for sharing scientific data among physicists, the hypertext format of the data was specifically chosen to enable sharing information in many different formats. For early Internet users, the ability to download pictures and other graphics in conjunction with web pages was both exciting and profound.

Today, web pages containing pictures are the norm. Web developers continue to push the multimedia horizon, with many sites now featuring audio and video. You can even listen to radio stations and watch other broadcasts live over the Web.

In addition to multimedia-rich websites, you’ll find that the Web is a good place to download software. You can find many places to download freeware, shareware, and software updates, and sites to purchase and download full versions of programs.

1. Images

Believe it or not, graphics-rich websites were once controversial. Some people believed that graphics would put too much strain on the bandwidth capacity of the Internet, but those gloom-and-doom predictions have not become a reality. Backbone improvements have helped the Internet keep pace with the ever-growing appetite for multimedia on the Web, and images are now both common and expected.

Internet Explorer supports three basic graphics formats used in web pages:

• JPEG— Short for Joint Photographic Experts Group, this format enables pictures to be significantly compressed (reducing download time and bandwidth, but also image quality), so this is often used for photos on web pages.

• GIF— Short for Graphics Interchange Format, this format is often used for buttons and other simple icons used on web pages.

• PNG— Short for Portable Networking Graphics, this format was developed to help images load faster and keep them looking the same on different platforms.

The exact format used for each image is not apparent when you view the page. Normally, the specific format used is not important unless you plan to copy the graphics and use them for some other purpose. For web use, the formats are essentially interchangeable.

By default, IE8 displays graphics used in web pages. Although the idea of disabling this feature to enable speedier downloads might seem appealing, many web pages now rely so heavily on graphics that they do not include text links. This means you cannot navigate the site without the images. Don’t disable this feature unless you deem it absolutely necessary.

2. Audio and Video

A growing number of websites offer audio or video content in addition to standard text and graphics. When used in conjunction with web content, the terms audio and video can mean a few different things:

• Basic audio files, such as MIDI music files, that play in the background while you view a web page.

• Video files on websites that download and play automatically or play when you click a Play button.

• Video media that plays using Windows Media Player (WMP).

• Animated GIFs that give the appearance of a video signal but have a significantly reduced bandwidth requirement. They display a series of static GIF frames that simulate video and are often used in logos and those annoying home mortgage ads with someone dancing.

• Flash movies that also appear to be video but are actually vector-based instructions requiring very little bandwidth. “Vector-based” simply means that they have small mathematical descriptions (much the same way fonts do in Windows) that can be manipulated to animate the objects.

• Streaming audio or video that you choose to open and listen to or watch.

You might have noticed that when you visit certain websites, a song starts to play while you read the page. Audio isn’t nearly as common as graphics in web pages because some people find it annoying. If you come across a web page that contains a song you would rather not hear, the most obvious solution is to turn down your speaker volume or mute the Windows volume control. If you’re listening to music on your computer (such as from a CD or MP3 file) and you don’t want to end your entire audio experience by turning off the speakers, see the note.

Likewise, some websites contain video files and animations set to download and play automatically. MPEG and AVI video files are usually very large; if you have restricted bandwidth capacity, you might want to consider disabling them.

Web-based video seems to be improving almost daily, but most broadcasts are still lower in quality than that produced by a plain old television set. Whereas a broadcast TV signal typically delivers about 30 frames per second (fps), typical web-based streaming videos provide just 5–15fps. In contrast to streaming, many sites give you the option of downloading a video clip before playing it. Usually the clip in this format is much larger and of a higher quality than the streaming video. After the entire clip has been downloaded, it can be played and might appear as a high-quality image, depending on how it was produced. Playback typically is in Windows Media Player, QuickTime Player, or RealPlayer. The ranges of file sizes, frame sizes, and compression techniques—all of which affect the quality of the picture—abound. Unlike the TV standard we are all accustomed to, the Web is the wild, wild West of video nonstandards.

MPEG, AVI, and WMV Videos

By default, MPEG, AVI, and WMV (Windows Media Video) files are played using Windows Media Player (WMP). Windows Media formats are sort of the new kid on the block and are Microsoft’s attempt to be a big player in the Internet multimedia market. Just as movies encoded in Apple’s QuickTime format or RealNetworks’ RealPlayer format require those companies’ proprietary player, Microsoft’s proprietary format plays only in the Microsoft player.

You might notice that WMP opens as soon as you click the link. Earlier versions of WMP (prior to version 8) remained blank until the entire file was downloaded. Now, with some types of files such as WMV files, movies can start playing more quickly even though they are not technically streaming. (See the next section to read about streaming.) Instead, they are doing a progressive download. This is less reliable than streaming, but at least you don’t have to wait until the movie is completely downloaded before you start seeing it. The download might stop a few times, though, if your connection speed is slow. QuickTime movies have had this feature for some time; now WMP does, too.

If you click the Media button in the toolbar, a miniature version of WMP opens in the left pane of your IE window, along with links for supposedly interesting media. When you click a web page link for an audio or video file, you are asked whether you want it to play in this tiny Media Player or open in a regular WMP window. The choice is up to you. The advantage of opening in the small window is that it lets you neatly play some tunes, movie trailers, or whatever in the left pane while you continue your web surfing.

Streaming Broadcasts

As mentioned earlier, another type of sound or video that you might play over the Internet is streaming audio or streaming video. Streaming audio/video is a format in which a signal “plays” over your Internet connection, starting a few seconds after you click, instead of playing from a file that was first downloaded to your hard drive.

When you first click a streaming signal, a portion of the signal is buffered in RAM on your computer. This buffer helps provide a steady feed if connection quality wavers. If the signal is received faster than it can be played, the additional data is buffered. However, if your connection deteriorates significantly, the video might not play smoothly. Streaming broadcasts are not written to the disk, so retrieving the signal later from your own PC will be impossible.

Although the minimum requirement of many streaming audio signals is typically 56Kbps, a quicker connection is desirable. A lower speed delivers a lower-quality broadcast, skipping and jumping of video, or stopping altogether.

Streaming audio signals are often used to play various types of audio signals over the Web. For example, most online music retailers offer you the capability to listen to sample audio tracks from many of the CDs they sell. In addition, you can listen to many radio stations and programs—such as those on National Public Radio (www.npr.org)—over your Internet connection instead of a radio.

A number of information providers use streaming video to send newscasts and other broadcasts across the Web. You can watch news stories online through many news sites, such as www.cnn.com. You’ll notice that you can continue to surf the Web while a current audio or video is playing.

MSN (www.msn.com) provides links to a number of online video resources, streaming and otherwise.

To access streaming audio or video signals, you need to have an appropriate plug-in program for IE8, such as RealPlayer from RealNetworks (www.real.com), QuickTime from Apple (www.apple.com/quicktime), or WMP 12, included with Windows 7. After you have downloaded and installed the appropriate streaming player (following the installation instructions provided by the player’s publisher), you can access the streaming signals over the Web.

Although WMP can handle many formats, most broadcasts require a specific player. Check the website that hosts the streaming media you want to play for specific requirements. Some websites offer a choice of player formats, and often the website will have a convenient link for downloading the necessary freeware. RealPlayer is a common application used for streaming audio, and many streaming video providers use QuickTime. Although the look might be different because of custom “skins” used on flashier sites, the basic functions are similar. If you look closely, you can tell whether it’s WMP, RealPlayer, QuickTime, or another player.

Sometimes you need to wait for the file to download; other times it streams right away. QuickTime gives you the choice to download the entire file first so you can avoid glitches when you watch it. Notice that the play slider can go at a different rate than the progress bar, which indicates how much of the file has been downloaded. When it’s downloaded, you can easily replay the clip without interruption. Note that WMP can be encoded right into a web page, so the video might begin playing when you hit a particular URL.

MP3 Audio

MP3 is an audio file format whose name refers to files using MPEG Audio Layer 3, an encoding scheme for audio tracks. MP3 files are small (about 1/12 the size of CD audio tracks), but they maintain a high sound quality. A minute of CD-quality MP3 music requires only 1MB of storage space.

Controversy has surrounded MP3 since its introduction. The small size of MP3 files makes it easier for people to slide behind copyright laws, pirate music, and illegally distribute them over the Internet. Authorities are currently working on ways to prevent these actions. However, this has only led to Napster spin-offs that are harder to control and much more difficult to track down or prosecute. It will be interesting to see how the Justice Department handles the impending and unavoidable new age of intellectual property protection.

The bottom line is this: Distributing or downloading MP3 files from any artist without permission is technically a violation of the law. Although some artists (particularly new ones) willingly provide audio tracks for free download as a means of building a fan base, many MP3 sites contain audio files that have been pirated. If you have questions about the legality of MP3 files you find on the Internet, you need to be the judge. Probably the most ethical approach is not to download them, but I don’t want to sound like a prude. As I said, it’s a brave new world out there in copyright protection. I believe that free music on the Web probably drives the purchase of new CDs and concert ticket sales. I’m a musician myself, and although I would want my music (and my books) protected, I also wouldn’t mind more people becoming acquainted with my works—it could pay off in the long run. In any case, you might want to be careful sharing your MP3s of other people’s music on the Web because it could be deemed illegal.

The MP3 format has become extremely popular, with tiny portable players (such as the iPod from Apple) available that can store endless hours of music. It is possible to load all your music into your computer and create your very own jukebox. Software for recording and organizing your music is available at www.real.com/player, www.itunes.com, www.winamp.com, and new.music.yahoo.com, to name a few. Many different applications can download MP3 files, including WMP, RealPlayer, and QuickTime. A number of consumer electronics companies are also now producing devices that allow you to play MP3 files away from your computer. Samsung makes a single device (called a Digimax) that functions as three: a digital camera, a PC camera to use for video conferencing, and an MP3 player. A wide variety of MP3 players is available, with varying storage capacities—some units as small as a pen. You can transfer MP3 files to the player’s storage via a USB or a parallel or serial port connection.

For a good resource and free downloads, and to learn a bit more about the MP3 format, go to www.mp3.com. After you have downloaded an MP3 file, you can play it using WMP, RealPlayer, QuickTime, or any other MP3-compatible player.

When you click a web page link for an MP3 file, your default MP3 application will probably open, which might not be the application you want to use. In addition, the MP3 file will be inconveniently saved in IE’s cache. You can exercise more control over the process by following these steps:

Note