Optics InfoBase
Published by The Optical Society of America

Multimedia

OSA accepts multimedia files as a part of the manuscript to be peer-reviewed and published much the way two-dimensional figures are portrayed in traditional print journals. To ensure accurate viewing ability of these multimedia submissions by reviewers, editors and the reading community, QuickTime Non-Streaming (.mov), AVI (.avi), and MPEG (.mpg) movies are accepted. There are a variety of software applications to aid in creating this file format. OSA accepts the following QuickTime compressor types: Video, Graphics, Animation, Motion JPEG, Cinepak, and Uncompressed/None. OSA does not accept the Indeo 5 compressor.

The following multimedia guidelines will help with the submission process:

  • 4 MB is the recommended maximum multimedia file size. Smaller is better.
  • Use one of the accepted compression codecs to minimize file sizes.
  • 720 x 480 pixels (width by height) is the recommended screen size.
  • Insert a representative frame from each movie in the manuscript as a figure.
  • Include the file size of the multimedia file in the figure caption.
  • Movies must be playable using the free version of QuickTime on the Mac and PC.
  • Animations must be formatted into a standard video file.

Authors are advised that, in general, multimedia files should be kept to a size of 4 MB or smaller. If it is essential to the scientific quality of the paper to have files that are larger than this, two different versions of such multimedia files (usually video files) must be made. One version, less than 4 MB in size, will serve as a low-resolution or truncated version for readers who have slower network connections and cannot download the larger file. The other version can be up to 15 MB in size. The file size of all multimedia files should be listed in the caption of the appropriate figure. If a multimedia figure has both a smaller and larger version associated with it, the smaller version will be the standard option in the paper and the larger version will be available from the link in the figure caption. Multimedia files larger than 15 MB can be linked from the References and Links section, but they will not be a reviewed part of the paper, they will not be kept at OSA, and they will not be part of the archival paper.

Audio

Authors have the option to submit individual audio files or to include audio in their QuickTime movies. Authors are strongly encouraged to take advantage of benefits this technology can add to their research. Acceptable file formats include Audio Waveform (.wav), Audio Interchange Format (.aif), Pulse Code Modulation (.pcm), and MP3 (.mp3) at 128 Kbs or greater.

Authors can also combine audio files with their QuickTime movies. Importable audio formats include Audio-Video Interleaved (.avi), QuickTime (.mov), MP3 (.mp3), WAV (.wav), and AIFF (.aif). By simply adding an audio track to the video file, authors can narrate the figure caption or include a soundtrack to their QuickTime movie.

To get the highest quality of audio, it is best to import the audio digitally for all connections and to use the compact-disk quality for rate (44.1 kHz) and for size (16 Bit).

The follow audio parameters will help with the submission process:

  • 48,000 samples per second
  • 16 Bit
  • Uncompressed/PCM
  • Stereo or Mono

As a Static Format

Authors have the option to submit static files to be peer-reviewed and published as multimedia. Static formats such as raw code, extensive tabular data, and supplemental static illustrations can be upload as multimedia files. Static files should be submitted only if they provide a more efficient or effective presentation of the information. OSA accepts PDF files for raw code and tabular data. Static illustrations should be submitted as PDF files.

As an External Reference

Through the use of hypertext links from the References and Links section of your manuscript, file formats such as Java, JavaScript and Macromedia Shockwave may become a supporting part of your paper. These files, however, should not be submitted with your manuscript and are not part of the peer-review process. Instructions for the format of these external references is available in the Style Guide.