Summary form only given. The article covers architectures and compilers for multimedia systems. Multimedia applications impose real-time constraints on continuous media; they also include a surprisingly wide variety of algorithms. Many multimedia systems also operate under power/energy constraints. As such, multimedia computing systems are an important area of interest for ISPASS. This tutorial targets individuals with experience in hardware and software but who have limited expertise in multimedia. We start with an introduction to multimedia algorithms such as video and audio compression since the characteristics of these algorithms help to shape measurement strategies and architectural decisions. We then cover modern multimedia architectures and compilation techniques relevant to those architectures. We conclude with a case study drawn from our own research - the design of a multiprocessor system-on-chip for real-time gesture recognition.