ultimedia Elements and Digitization

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following statements about vector B. MPEG-2

graphics and bitmaps is/are correct? C. WMA
(1) The resolution of vector graphics is D. WMV C

measured in pixels.
(2) The colour depth of a bitmap image is 4. The following table shows the specifications of
determined by the number of bits in one three uncompressed BMP files.
pixel.
Specification File A File B File C
(3) Vector graphics can be rescaled without
degrading the image quality. Length (pixels) 400 300 1,200

A. (1) only Width (pixels) 300 800 900

B. (2) only Number of colours that

224 216 28
can be represented
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (2) and (3) only D Arrange the image files in ascending order of
their file sizes.
2. Which of the following statements about A. A < B < C
sampling is/are correct?
B. B < A < C
(1) Sampling is the process of converting
C. C < A < B
continuous analogue signals to discrete
data. D. B < C < A A

(2) In sampling, samples can be obtained

5. Which of the following computer equipment
from analogue signals at irregular time
can be used to convert analogue signals to
intervals.
digital signals?
(3) Sampling is a procedure in quantization.
(1) Sound card
A. (1) only
(2) Flat-bed scanner
B. (3) only
(3) Set-top box for digital TV
C. (1) and (3) only
A. (1) and (2) only
D. (1), (2) and (3) A
B. (1) and (3) only

3. Which of the following is not a compressed C. (2) and (3) only

video file format? D. (1), (2) and (3) A

A. MPEG-1

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6. Which of the following information can be 9. An LCD monitor has a resolution of 80 dpi, and
stored in form of a sequence of binary numbers? an 800 × 600 pixels image can be exactly
(1) VCD video displayed on the whole screen of the monitor.
What are the dimensions of the LCD monitor?
(2) Computer program
A. 8″″ × 6″
(3) Vector graphics
B. 10″″ × 7.5″
(4) HTML file
C. 8 cm × 6 cm
A. (1), (2) and (3) only
D. 10 cm × 7.5 cm B

B. (1), (3) and (4) only

C. (2), (3) and (4) only 10. Which of the following statements about image
resolutions is/are correct?
D. (1), (2), (3) and (4) D

(1) Two images with different dimensions

7. Which of the following statements about video and file sizes can have the same
streaming formats are correct? resolution.
(1) RM and MOV are popular video (2) Two images with the same resolutions
streaming formats. and dimensions must have the same file
size.
(2) The file size of a streaming video is
always smaller than that stored in other (3) Resolution is the measurement of the
video formats. total number of pixels in a bitmap
image.
(3) A streaming video can be played once a
portion of the video file is successfully A. (1) only
downloaded. B. (2) only
A. (1) and (2) only C. (1) and (3) only
B. (1) and (3) only D. (2) and (3) only A

C. (2) and (3) only

D. (1), (2) and (3) B

8. In the conversion between analogue data and

digital data, quantization is a process that
A. converts the attribute of each sample data
into a digital code.
B. obtains discrete sample data from analogue
signals for every fixed time interval.
C. compresses the uncompressed digital data.
D. is performed in the Digital Analogue
Converter (DAC) of a sound card.
A

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Short Questions

1. (a) State four advantages of digital data over analogue data. (4 marks)
• Higher efficiency of data storage (1)

• Lower rate of transmission error (1)

• Absolute replication of data is possible. (1)

• Direct access is possible. (1)

(b) State two disadvantages of storing analogue data in digital form. (2 marks)
• Time and resources are needed for digitization. (1)

• Part of data is lost in the conversion process. (1)

2. The following are three pre-installed English fonts in Microsoft Windows Vista.

Font name Font type Size

Mistral OpenType 188 KB

Modern (all res) Raster* 9 KB

Modern No. 20 OpenType 62 KB

* Raster is also known as bitmap.

(a) Which of the above fonts allow(s) users to change the font size of text without affecting the display
quality? (2 marks)
Mistral (1) and Modern No. 20 (1)

(b) The following shows two samples of the word ‘Quick’ in actual font sizes, one in Mistral and the other
in Modern No. 20.

Sample 1 Sample 2

Based on the information given above, guess the fonts which have been used in Samples 1 and 2.

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 ormation Processing

Explain your guess briefly. (4 marks)

Sample 1 has used Modern No. 20 while Sample 2 has used Mistral. (1)

Both fonts represent characters in vector graphics. (1) However, the characters shown in Sample 2 have a more complicated structure built

from mathematical formulae. (1) As the file size of Mistral is much larger than that of Modern No. 20, Mistral should have been used in

Sample 2. (1)

3. A full-colour, uncompressed bitmap is displayed on a computer screen. The file size of this file is 200 KB.
(a) If the image is cropped to 50% of its original length and width, what will the file size of the cropped
image be? Show your calculation. (2 marks)
The file size of the cropped image = 200 KB × 50% × 50% (1)

= 50 KB (1)

(b) Suggest two methods of reducing the file size of the cropped image mentioned in part (a), without
reducing the dimensions of the image further. (2 marks)
• Store the image in a compressed file format such as JPEG. (1)

• Reduce the colour depth of the image. (1)

(c) State one drawback for each of the methods that you have suggested in part (b). (2 marks)
• Some details of the image will be lost. (1)

• Some details of the colours of the original image will be lost. (1)

4. The file size of an uncompressed bitmap image can be several times larger than that of the same original
image being stored in JPEG file format.

(a) Explain briefly how a bitmap image is transformed to JPEG file format. (2 marks)
Neighbouring pixels with similar colours are replaced by an averaged colour (1), and pixels with colours which are hard to be recognized by

human eyes are discarded. (1)

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(b) Professional digital cameras provide both a compressed and an uncompressed file format (JPEG and
RAW respectively). Suggest one advantage and one disadvantage of capturing photo images in RAW
format. (2 marks)
Advantage: An RAW image is stored in exactly the same way as when the picture is captured by the digital camera. (1)

Disadvantage: The image size is very large. The time taken to store, transfer and process an uncompressed image is much larger than a

compressed one. (1)

(c) Suggest one situation that an uncompressed image is preferred to a compressed image. (2 marks)
When an image has to be frequently modified and saved, it would be better to store it in an uncompressed file format (1) because the image

quality of a compressed image will be downgraded a bit every time it is saved. (1)

5. (a) Name four factors that can affect the quality of a digital video clip. (2 marks)
Frame size (0.5), frame rate (0.5), compression method (0.5) and colour depth (0.5)

(b) If a video clip of the DVD quality is going to be compressed and viewed in a smart phone, which two
factors mentioned in part (a) are concerned in the compression process? (2 marks)
Frame size (1) and compression method (1)

(c) Complete the following table by filling in ‘High’ or ‘Low’ in respective boxes of frame rates and colour
depths of different types of videos, so as to obtain satisfactory video outcomes with the smallest
possible file sizes. (3 marks)

Video type Frame rate Colour depth

Soccer game High (0.5) Low (0.5)

News report Low (0.5) Low (0.5)

Music video of a pop song High (0.5) High (0.5)

Long Questions

1. A teacher has recorded a 30-minute TV programme with a VCR. He wants to distribute the video to four
other teachers so that they can also display the video in their own classes. He has two options for making

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duplicates of the video:

Option 1: Play the video tape in one VCR and produce four duplicates one by one in another VCR.
Option 2: Capture the video content into a DVD with a multimedia computer, and duplicate three more.

(a) Which option will take less time to make four duplicates? Explain your answer briefly. (2 marks)
Option 2. (1) Although it will take the same time or slightly more for converting the analogue video to the first DVD, it will take much less time

for duplicating the other three in a computer. (1)

(b) In option 2, what hardware in the computer is used to convert the video from a video tape to a digital
video file? (1 mark)
Video capture card (1)

(c) It is found that the video captured in a DVD cannot be as sharp as that recorded in the original video
tape. Explain briefly. (2 marks)
There is always signal loss (1) in the conversion from analogue signals to digital data (1).

(d) Since the video programme will be played to Secondary 1 students every year. Which type of
duplicates, video tapes or DVDs, are more suitable for this situation? Explain your answer briefly.
(2 marks)
DVDs. (1) It is because DVDs are more suitable for long-term storage. (1)

(e) Assume that the teacher has produced some duplicates of the video in DVDs. He wants to put the video
clip onto the school’s file server so that all teachers can play the video any time in the classroom with a
network computer.

(i) Suggest two reasons why the teacher should not place the content in the DVD directly onto the
file server. (2 marks)
• DVD content is encrypted and cannot be played by usual media players in a computer. (1)

• The file size of DVD content is very large. It is inconvenient to download a large file through a computer network before playing. (1)

(ii) Suggest three video file formats which support video streaming on a computer network.
(3 marks)
WMV (1), RM (1) and MOV (1)

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2. Study the following screen capture which shows the specifications of a newly recorded audio file.

Given that the duration of the recorded audio file is 20 s.

(a) How many different levels of amplitude can be recorded in the above setting? (2 marks)
The number of different levels of amplitude = 216 (1)

= 65,536 (1)

(b) How many samples have been taken in the recording of the above audio file? (2 marks)
The number of samples taken = 44,100 Hz × 20 s (1)

= 882,000 (1)

(c) How many byte(s) is/are needed to record one sample of the above audio file? (2 marks)
The number of bytes needed for one sample = 16 b × 2 = 2 B × 2 (1)

= 4 B (1)

(d) What will the file size (measured in KB) be if the audio file is stored in an uncompressed format?
Correct your answer to the nearest integer. (2 marks)
The file size of the audio file stored in an uncompressed format

= 882,000 × 4 B (1)

= 3,528,000 B

= 3,445 KB (correct to the nearest integer) (1)

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(e) Flora makes a short recording of her own voice using the above setting. However, she finds that the
recorded audio file is too large.

(i) Flora thinks she can reduce the file size of her recording by either:
Method 1: changing the audio file to mono channel, or
Method 2: reducing the resolution from 16-bit to 8-bit.
Which method do you prefer? Explain your answer briefly. (3 marks)
Method 1 is preferred. (1) It is because the difference in the audio quality of a vocal recording between mono and stereo audio is

minimal. (1) Moreover, if the resolution is reduced from 16-bit to 8-bit, the audio quality will be highly reduced. (1)

(ii) Flora wants to re-sample the audio file with the following specifications.
Sample rate = 11,025 Hz Channel = Stereo Resolution = 16-bit
What will the effect on the audio quality of the re-sampled file be? (1 mark)
High pitches of the sound track will be removed. (1)

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