Audio: Capture (Sampling)

(sound->mic->lowpassfilter->analog-to-digital(ADC)->memory)

Sampling Theorem (Nyquist)

A signal must be sampled at at least twice the frequency of the highest frequency to be represented.

quantization

Definition: For a given value x, chose the closest value to x from some fixed set of possible values. (Fig 4.9, Buford, p.77)

linear quantization
map input range to a integer:
non-linear quantization
eg) µlaw (mulaw)
quantization noise
due to quantization errors. sounds worse at low volumes. reduce by using more bits per sample (noise reduced by 6 dB per bit of resolution. 8 bits = 48 dB, 16 bits = 96dB, 20 bits = 120 dB)

Bill Thibault <william.thibault ayat csueastbay dawt edu>
Last modified: Sun Oct 15 20:59:08 1995