Multimedia Glossary: V

Value (of color)

Value or brightness is achieved by adding white or black to the basic color hue. For detail, see brightness.

Vector Graphics

Images decribed by vector graphics do not contain data for each pixel (as is the case for bitmap graphics), but data about certain standard image forms (such as lines, curves, gradients, animation, and filter effects). A straight line, for example, would be described by its start and end points, and the fact that it is a line. It should be evident that this line object contains much less data than a bitmap line (which needs to describe each pixel). Vector graphics are easily scaleable without losing any quality.

SVG is a relatively new XML-based vector graphic format developed for the Web.

Video

There are three different video formats for video files that are transported through The Internet: AVI, MOV and MPEG.
Video is technically speaking a series of frames that pass by so quickly that our eyes are fooled into viewing content as smoothly moving images. For smooth observed movement we need about 25 frames to pass by our eyes every second. That means 25 bitmap images every second. The web is far too slow for that to be of any practical use. One way of reducing the number of frames is to take out some frames. Another way to reduce file size is to display the video in a small screen window.

Virtual Reality Modeling Language

See VRML

VRML

Virtual Reality Modeling Language

VRML is a modeling language for creating 3-D virtual worlds. VRML is much more complex than HTML and requires programming knowledge, although some application tools make it easier to create virtual worlds. VRML files are quite large and you have to wait for them to load before you can travel through the world. Older browsers require plug-ins to render the worlds.

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