Distributed Multimedia Databases: Techniques and Applications

Citation

Fourie, I. (2002), "Distributed Multimedia Databases: Techniques and Applications", The Electronic Library, Vol. 20 No. 6, pp. 515-516. https://doi.org/10.1108/el.2002.20.6.515.2

Distributed Multimedia Databases … is a highly technical publication on research developments concerning distributed multimedia. It is certainly not meant for the fainthearted or novice to the field! The value of such a publication is, however, obvious from the growing interest in multimedia and image databases. Apart from numerous research articles appearing, Peter Enser also points out the importance of image retrieval systems in a recent article – “Separating the Eiffel Tower from the Statue of Liberty”. The article appeared in Library and Information Update (July 2002, Vol. 1 No. 4, pp. 34‐6), which is the monthly publication of the newly formed Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), and which is meant to bring new developments and interest to the attention of LIS professionals from all levels and types of library and information service.

Although Distributed Multimedia Databases … might be of interest to some practitioners, it is mostly aimed at the serious researcher. According to the publisher the book hopes to point readers to the development of new products and research projects. If this is the intention, I am, however, somewhat concerned about the fact that for some chapters there are very few sources listed from 2000 and 2001 – and this in such a dynamic field. In spite of this limitation, there are a number of very useful suggestions to take note of. One of the most important challenges is content‐based information retrieval in multimedia databases. For images we need to be able to describe the user’s need, the key features of the image as well as what it is about.

Distributed Multimedia Databases … is divided into seven parts. Part 1 offers the introduction to the context of multimedia databases. Personally I found the chapter rather disappointing; it did not succeed in giving a clear overview of the context and importance of the chapters to follow. Part 2 deals with content‐based retrieval and image database techniques. It includes chapters on the semantic gap in image retrieval, content‐based visual information retrieval, content‐based trademark recognition and the concept of emergence index. Part 3 of Distributed Multimedia Databases … covers issues of video databases and video‐on‐demand. There are chapters on distributed temporal video DMBS using vertical class partitioning techniques, as well as the use of scalability and QoS control with regard to video‐on‐demand. Video abstraction techniques in a digital library and broadcasting approaches for VOD services are also dealt with.

Part 4 includes three chapters on watermark technology. This seems to be a relatively new area in multimedia computing. The topics include watermarking on compressed/uncompressed video, hiding images using a dynamic bit‐replacement and human visual system, and embedding robust gray‐level watermarks in an image by using discrete cosine transformation. Part 5 covers media synchronization, multicasting and the quality of services techniques with chapters on multicasting, multi‐stream synchronization and a simple prediction method for progressive image transmission. In part 6 real applications in case studies of image and video databases are discussed, as well as VR techniques and a media synchronization solution. Part 7 offers suggestions for future multimedia databases and research directions.

The book is in hard cover and well bound. The index is unfortunately rather basic. There are, for example, no “see” and “see also” references.

Distributed Multimedia Databases … is recommended for serious researchers of multimedia databases. It can also be considered for recommended reading for relevant courses on postgraduate level.