An Introduction to Digital Media

This text presents an account of the development and future possibilities of digital media. Tony Feldman addresses fundamental questions about digital media and its potential use in our everyday lives. What “is” digital media? What is special about it? How do digital media systems work, technologically and commercially? And where is the digital media revolution taking us? Tony Feldman considers the new digital media in two distinct but increasingly converging areas: the world of packaged “off-line” media such as CD-ROM and the world of transmitted media, including digital broadcasting and interactive on-line services. He begins with an overview of the digital media landscape, and goes on to describe the impact of CD-based media and the development of a consumer market for multimedia products. He then traces the equally dramatic growth of online services and the internet in particular, assessing myths and realities about the information superhighway and its commercial possibilities.

Author Biography

Tony Feldman, one of Europe’s leading digital media consultants, is a founding director of the highly respected media and convergence analysts Informed Sources International. A prolific writer, his recent books include Multimedia (1994) and Electronic Media Markets (1992, with Julian Dickens). He also edits the authoritative European newsletter Interactive Media International.