Digital Audio
Sampling
Sampling the process of taking slices of the analog signal at a fixed rate and converting them into digital data. The rate that the samples are taken is called the sampling frequency. The amount of samples taken per second is the sampling rate. In order for a signal to be encoded successfully the sampling rate must be twice the highest frequency.
Word Clock
A word clock is used to synchronize the sampling frequency of all devices
used in a recording system. Its kind of like setting them all to the same
rhythm. To avoid data loss and distortion, all digital devices in a system
must be set to a single word-clock master so that their sampling frequencies
will be exactly the same.
Bit depth
Bit depth or, also called bit resolution or word length, is the number
of bits per sample that a digital device (such as an A/D converter, or
a multi track recorder) uses to convert or store data. The greater the
number of bits in a digital sample, the more accurate the digitized description
of the instantaneous value of the audio waveform.
Sampling Frequency
The rate that the samples are taken is called the sampling frequency.
The amount of samples taken per second is the sampling rate. Sampling
is the process of taking slices of the analog signal and converting them
into digital data.
Digital Connections
There are two common connections used in the digital world. These are
the AES/EBU and SPDIF. The AES/EBU (American Engineering Society and the
European Broadcasting Union) interface is a professional digital audio
connection which uses balanced XLR connectors. SPDIF (Sony Phillips digital
interface) uses either an unbalanced phono connection or optical connection.
It is the consumer version of AES/EBU.
Sponsored Links