Compact Disc

Multimedia is a computer application that employs more than one medium to convey information. Examples of multimedia include:

• text with graphics
• text with photos
• text with sound
• text with animation
• text with video
• graphics with sound
• photos with sound
• animation with sound
• video with sound

As indicated in Table 3, some multimedia combinations require very large amounts of disc storage space.

To date, most multimedia applications have been text-based with multimedia features added. Many multimedia applications, however, make heavy use of memory-intensive features such as video and sound. Although the CD-ROM is not a requirement for multimedia on the personal computer, its impressive storage capacity makes it a logical choice for delivering multimedia documentation.