The term multimedia refers to a type of communication that combines different content forms such as text, audio, images and animations or video into a single interactive presentation, as opposed to traditional mass media that required little to no interaction from the audience, such as printed material or audio recordings. Video podcasts, audio slideshows, and animated videos are all forms of multimedia content.
Whether on demand or in real time, multimedia may be captured for later viewing on computers, laptops, cellphones, and other electronic devices, including televisions (streaming). It used to be that the phrase "rich media" was synonymous with interactive multimedia in the early years of the medium. As the World Wide Web grew in popularity, hypermedia extensions helped to bring multimedia to the forefront.