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What are the Different Types of Digital Media Services?

J. Airman
J. Airman

Digital media includes audio, visual, and text media that is transmitted, and usually created, digitally. Since digital media is commonly used in business, entertainment, and communication, the types of digital media services are many. The scope of these services includes all tasks related to digital media, from conception to production. Types of digital media services include services to assist with content design, production, and distribution.

The entertainment industry employs many digital media services. A movie in production may require sound and video engineers to record digital content for use in the movie. Off set, an artist may employ digital technology to make corrections or add animation to existing footage, and an audio engineer will connect the recorded audio to the video using a computer. In addition to movies, digital media plays a large part in the making of making music albums, television shows, and music videos. Online, a digital content site provides users online access to streaming digital media.

Most digital content sites provide users with online access to streaming digital media.
Most digital content sites provide users with online access to streaming digital media.

Digital media services can also help in converting analog media, which is non-digital media like that seen on video tapes, records, or audio cassettes, into digital media, often by recording the audio through a digital recording program on a computer. Services of this kind include scanning and restoring old pictures or works of art, recording a record album to a computer audio file, or moving a school lecture recording from tape to digital audio. Libraries that scan and archive movies, books, and magazines are also performing digital media services.

Common digital media services include document design and website design.
Common digital media services include document design and website design.

In business, digital media services are frequently used to communicate with customers and employees. Common digital media services used in business include computer document design and web design. A business may also record and upload a video produced using digital media services for use on the web or on television, or it may produce a digitally recorded message for a radio advertisement spot or automated dialing machine.

Digital media services may be used to convert analog media from audio cassettes into digital media.
Digital media services may be used to convert analog media from audio cassettes into digital media.

Once digital media content has been produced, it needs to be distributed so the public can see it. A number of organizations offer musicians the opportunity to distribute their music through digital media stores. Websites offer means of storing, categorizing, and accessing digital images. Digital text content sites also offer no-cost opportunities for writers to distribute written web content with the chance of earning advertising revenue from the content they post.

Discussion Comments

serenesurface

@ddljohn-- I see what you mean. Digital networking can seem impersonal at times. But I also agree that digital media offers a lot. I mean I can watch a lecture that I would never have the opportunity to benefit from, or read a lot of very informative things for free without having to visit a single library.

This is all thanks to digital media which basically makes available to us content in a different format. But the format is easier to access and often times free of cost. It's great.

ddljohn

It seems like everything is digital these days. We read the news digitally, listen to music digitally, watch films digitally and even share photos with friends and family digitally. Digital media does offer a lot of services that we wouldn't have otherwise, but sometimes I miss the old way of doing things. It's hard for the older generations to adjust to digital everything.

ZipLine

Films are all about digital work these days. Of course there are animated films which are full on digital every step of the way. But even in regular films, a lot of digital services are utilized and there are production companies with expertise in this area that hire out their services.

I'm interested in films and I learned very early on that post-production makes a huge difference for a film. This is basically the stage in film-making when all the necessary digital changes are made before the film is ready to be screened. This is when things that are not supposed to be there are removed and things that are supposed to be there, added. I'm talking about things like cables actors use for stunts and explosions. The cables are digitally deleted in post-production and explosions, fire, smoke, etc. are added.

Some films do release before and after images or videos of these changes and it's actually very interesting to look at.

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    • Most digital content sites provide users with online access to streaming digital media.
      By: mikkolem
      Most digital content sites provide users with online access to streaming digital media.
    • Common digital media services include document design and website design.
      By: georgejmclittle
      Common digital media services include document design and website design.
    • Digital media services may be used to convert analog media from audio cassettes into digital media.
      By: Oleksiy Mark
      Digital media services may be used to convert analog media from audio cassettes into digital media.