Find Multimedia Files

Obviously, if you’re going to do the exercises in this chapter, you’re going to need some audio and video files to work with. How do you go about finding them? It might not be as hard as you think. Consider some of these possible sources:

• Your Own PC If your computer is of recent vintage, you might be astonished to learn how many multimedia files are already stored away on your hard drive. On Windows 98, just click Start | Find | Files or Folders. For Windows 2000 or XP, click Start | Search | For Files or Folders. On the line that reads Named:, type an asterisk followed by an audio or a video file extension (for example, *.mov). Click Find Now and watch as your computer searches for the files.

• CD and DVD-ROMs These can be a great source of potential files. Just pop one in your drive and use the same process as outlined earlier (remembering to specify the CD/DVD-ROM drive as the one to search); you could find plenty of files to experiment with.

• Online Web sites such as www.freeaudioclips.com and www.multimedialibrary.com are sources worth checking out. Also, although it won’t always work, try right-clicking any links to videos on Web sites. Your browser usually will give you an option to download and save the video file.

• Osborne’s Web Site Some of the audio files used in the examples for this chapter are available on Osborne’s site, www.osborne.com.

• Create Your Own There are quite a few shareware and even freeware programs available that will enable you to create your own audio and video files. Try visiting some sites such as www.download.com, www.tucows.com, or www.zdnet.com/downloads, and search for audio and video editors or multimedia authoring tools. You’ll find a large range of selections to choose from. Table 11-1 lists a few you might start with. Most of these programs offer at least a free trial version.

Table 11-1: Audio and Video Editors

Program Name	What It Does	Publisher URL	Approximate Price
Cooledit 2000	Audio editor	www.syntrillium.com	$69
GoldWave	Audio editor	www.goldwave.com	$40
Total Recorder	Audio editor	www.highcriteria.com	$12
Ulead Video Studio 7	Video editor	www.ulead.com	$100
QuickTime Pro	Makes QuickTime movies	www.apple.com/quicktime/upgrade	$30
Windows Media Encoder 9 Series	Produces audio and video for Windows Media	www.microsoft.com	Freeware
Helix Producer 9	Creates streaming audio and video	www.real.com	Freeware

Tip

If you want to create your own audio or video files, you will need both the hardware and software to get the job done. For audio, your computer must be equipped with a sound card (standard equipment nowadays), and you’ll need audio editing software. For video, you must install a video capture card on your computer. This will enable you to plug a VCR, video camera, digital camera, and so on, into your system.

When you have some multimedia files to work with, you’re ready to see how they function on a Web page.

Caution

When dealing with audio and video, copyright issues quickly become relevant. It might seem harmless for you to include your favorite song as background music for your site, but if you do not have permission to use it, you are violating the law. The same holds true for video, still photos, art, software, or just about anything that has been created by someone else. ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) is a good place to start if you want to use copyrighted music on your site. Check out their Web site: www.ascap.com/weblicense.