Media formats will continue to evolve. There will be new graphic, video, photo, and audio formats emerge as new technologies create new demands and new opportunities. In all likelihood, as these things change, the core questions will still remain:

1)      What are you going to use it for?

2)      Where will you use it? (Web, CD, DVD, Streaming video, print only, etc.)

3)      How are you going to get your media?

4)      How will you organize it?

5)      How will you store it?

 

The following websites can act as ongoing references for you as you broaden your experiential base.

1. Graphic File Formats

http://www.cod.edu/people/faculty/grantm/grfxext.htm

The page lists the most common file formats you are likely to encounter. It gives you their full name and a brief explanation of what they are.

 

2. Wikipedia: Graphic File Formats

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_file_format

Here’s a very extensive list of graphic file formats that is bound to help you find what you’re looking for.

 

3. Quick Guide to Choosing the Right Video Output Format

This is an excellent site – very brief, to the point – to help you understand video file formats and what you need to know to be happy with your final product.

 

4. Planning Digital Video for CD’s, DVD’s, and Web Distribution

http://www.phptr.com/articles/article.asp?p=29896&seqNum=2

This resource is a little bit longer than some but it walks you through practical considerations you need to think about as you plan your projects. 

<>5. Understanding Video Formats for Digital Projects

6. Audio File Formats

http://www.sonicspot.com/guide/fileformatlist.html

If you’ve got an audio file and you don’t know what it is, you’ll find it listed here.

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7.  Understanding Digital Music Files

http://h30015.www3.hp.com/hp_dec/music/digital_music.asp

8. More on Understanding Audio Formats

http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-2631.html

 

9. Audio for Low-Bandwidth Environments

http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/documents/briefings/briefing-65/html/

Despite the technical sounding title, this site will provide you with a quick overview of the key issues in terms of creating and saving audio files in a format that makes sense for your intended use.

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10. Photo Formats Explained

http://www.compukiss.com/sandyclassroom/tutorials/article934.htm

You’re only going to learn about different types of photo files here. The explanations are very simple and straightforward.

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11. Digital Photography: Photo File Formats

http://www.cywarp.com/faq_digital_photo_formats.htm

This is the next step up in terms of detail in the explanations. When you’re ready for a lot more information, especially when it comes to which formats are best for which purposes, check this out.

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12. Everything you want to know about JPEG

http://www.scantips.com/basics9j.html

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13. Digital Camera Stuff

http://glory.gc.maricopa.edu/~tfoley/photo/index.html

Most of us struggle with understanding file formats, printing, etc. when it comes to our first digital camera. This webpage attempts to walk you through some of the main issues.

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14. The Kodak Site – Online Courses on Digital Imaging – FREE!

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/digital/dlc/book3/index.shtml

If you work through the online courses Kodak has put together, you’ll be in good shape to understand just about anything you will encounter when it comes to digital photo issues.

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15. What’s the difference between the size for printing and the size for displaying?

http://www.photo.net/learn/resize/

Bob Atkins has done an excellent job of explaining what we have to consider when we are going to display an image or print an image. Don’t miss this explanation.

 

16. File Formats and Compression

http://www.tasi.ac.uk/advice/creating/fformat.html

When you’re ready for all the information you can hold in image file formats, head for this site.

1. Click on Start > Programs > Accessories > Entertainment > Sound Recorder
2. Make sure your microphone is plugged into the proper port in your computer.
3. Click on the RED record button and begin to speak. If you are being recorded, the green line will change and become thicker and jagged as you talk.
4. Click on the BLACK square to stop.
5. Click on the button to take you back to the first of the recording.
6. Hit the play button.
7. Save your file. Put it in a folder called Sound Recordings or Audio Recordings or Sound Files. Make sure you know the folder contains sound files.
 


Playing with Sound Recorder
Once you have a file open in Sound Recorder, you can experiment. Click on the Effects tab and adjust the effects for your sound file. Listen to the impact the effect has each time. As with photos, if you like the effect, save it, but with a new name so you always have your original file.

Effects:                            
- Increase volume by 25%
- Decrease volume
- Increase speed by 100%
- Decrease speed
- Add Echo
- Reverse

Windows Sound Recorder saves the file as a .WAV file (“wave” file).