This multimedia book is targeted to a general professional audience comprising both industrial practitioners and academia who are interested in understanding all apsects of multimedia, such as digital, audio, and video. It addresses technical aspects of the entire life cycle of multimedia beginning from content creation, representation, analysis, indexing and searching, browsing, and distribution. In addition, it presents practical related content- protection and digital rights management systems and features numerous examples of multimedia systems and applications. Readers will obtain a comprehensive understanding of the aspects and technologies necessary for incorporating digital audio/video in practical applications. They will also gain a sound overview of the techniques used for retrieval, query formulation, and ranking and evaluation. These will all be learned in an end-to-end life cycle of multimedia. A comprehensive survey of multimedia concepts, methods, and technologies. Book takes an integrated approach to multimedia information systems, focusing on the full development life cycle. Professionals and practitioners will find the work an essential guide to the various technologies.