Toshiba Satellite 200 Series User Manual page 146

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The Wide World of Multimedia
Playing Back Sound, Video and Animation Files
video on a computer is not as smooth as what you are used to see-
ing on television.
To reduce the storage required, all video files must be compressed
before they can be distributed and decompressed when you view
them. Two compression and decompression techniques are in gen-
eral use.
AVI Files
The most common technique for storing and playing back video
on personal computers is Microsoft's Audio Video Interleaved
(AVI) format. This software technique displays video using up to
15 frames per second in a small window.
AVI files have the extension .AVI.
A frame is a still picture that, when combined with thousands
of others, makes a motion picture.
Full-motion video means motion pictures played back at 30
frames per second.
Interleaving video is the process of displaying every other
row of pixels each time the computer refreshes the screen.
This increases the rate at which the system updates the
screen.
A pixel is the smallest dot on your screen that can be con-
trolled by software.
Resolution is the number of pixels on the screen.
MPEG Files
Fifteen frames per second is not adequate for the games and multi-
media titles the industry wants to produce. The Motion Picture
Expert Group (MPEG) has developed compression and decom-
pression standards that are capable of delivering true full-motion
video on your computer. MPEG files have the extension .MPG.