 |
Digital Signals Goodbye to Analog
Author: Kevin Cantera  | Posted: 27-02-2008 | Comments: 0 | Views: 19 | Rating: (50)  (?) 
As this first decade of the 21st Century draws to a close, so also does the age of analog. When it comes to communications, analog has served humanity long and well, but the old technology is being phased out by governments and manufacturers alike, and within ten years, the old analog systems will likely be a technological footnote to history. Put simply, analog equipment cannot compete with the capacity of digital and, as a result of simple economics, it is destined to dwindle away. Of course, analog systems made sense when first created, for analog signals are able to duplicate virtually any natural phenomena, such as sound or light, which are analog inherently because they are infinitely variable.
With analog systems of communications, the biggest problem has always been noise. While analog offers the infinite variability that replicates the natural state of sound or light, converting those phenomena into an electrical signal and then back again into a sound or an image creates “noise.” The term is used because it can literally produce noise in an audio system – the hiss or rumble that is heard in poor quality recordings. Noise also shows itself in the grain or “snow” that can trouble a TV signal. Noise affects an electronic signal at every stage of the communications process, and its effects add up.
Although a digital signal cannot directly represent an analog quantity, everybody know that a digital device like and Mp3 player offers excellent quality duplication of sound, which is, in fact, an analog phenomenon. The process by which a digital signal duplicates an analog quantity is called encoding, or just simply coding. Encoding allows the digital representation of analog quantities – an area of infinite variability – by using a binary system that creates an on-off switch for all those variables (theoretically). This use of digital signals gives a major improvement in noise reduction.
Noise affects the inherent value of a signal, whether it is digital or analog, but on an analog signal the noise has an impact on the value of that signal, because increased voltage over an analog signal creates distortion. When an analog signal is recorded, it is inevitable that noise is recorded along with it. If it is then re-recorded, the original noise is indistinguishable from the original signal, and becomes, effectively, part of the new signal. At each recording stage, extra noise will be introduced into the system and multiple copying of an analog signal ultimately results in an unacceptable loss of quality, called generation loss.
When a digital signal is recorded, it too will include noise picked up within the system. However, a digital signal is clearly identifiable, despite any noise the signal picks up. At the root of the digital advantage is the fact that the signals in a digital system do not have to be accurate. A voltage only needs to be readable as a one or a zero to be processed. Thus, digital communications signals offer possibilities which have no equivalent in analog systems.
Rate this Article:
Current: 0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s).
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/technology-articles/digital-signals-goodbye-to-analog-343675.html
About the Author:Author Kevin Cantera, a free lance writer in Utah, writes about the revolution in technology from using analog to digital signals that has improved upon quality, noise reduction and much more. Best example in digital communication isvideo phone. For more information on free cell phone video, mobile video sharing, phone video sharing, please visit www.vringo.com.
|
Submitting articles has become one of the most popular means of generating quality backlinks and targeted traffic to your website. Join us today - It's Free! |
|
Related Articles
Video Ring Tones are Here
By: Kevin Cantera | 19/01/2008 | Cell Phones
Welcome to the new era in cell phone ring tones, an age that allows users to go way beyond the simple downloaded song clip, way past the personalized jingle, and even further than the most customized ditty. Welcome to the video ring tone.
Cell Phones Poised to Replace Music-only Mp3s
By: Kevin Cantera | 19/01/2008 | Cell Phones
When the inventor, not all that long ago in 1876, first uttered those famous words through the prototype telephone to his co-inventor, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you,” there is no way he could have imagined how his simple invention would grow into such a world-wide phenomenon.
The Basics of Ring Tones
By: Kevin Cantera | 29/01/2008 | Music
A ring tone is the sound made by a phone when a call comes in. The idiom, now days, is typically used to refer to the custom sounds and music accessible on cell phones. Customized ring tones were first intended to help people distinguish their ringing phone from others around them, as many call signals sounded similar in the earlier days of cell phones.
Ads Go Mobile
By: Kevin Cantera | 29/01/2008 | Music
As an increasing number of people opt for Bluetooth-enabled cell phones , advertising agencies and billboard operators are teaming up to create a new form of advertising within the growing sphere of mobile marketing.
Spare Batteries and Travel
By: Kevin Cantera | 12/02/2008 | Cell Phones
For all you mobile device lovers out there who also travel a lot, you should know about some new rules which took effect on Jan. 1, 2008 that prohibit air passengers in the U.S. from carrying spare lithium batteries in their checked baggage.
Traveling and Telecommunication
By: Kevin Cantera | 12/02/2008 | Cell Phones
From the beginning of time, communicating while on the move has been a difficult task. Whether moving armies or products, the ability to communicate during travel is a pressing need. Travel has always meant a loss of personal contact during a journey, at stopovers, and even during a period of readjustment after reaching the final destination.
The Many Ways to Keep in Touch
By: Kevin Cantera | 22/02/2008 | Computers
Before the days of communicating with technological ease, we were all used to some more primitive methods. But there are still even more new ways to get in touch and keep in touch, as well as the older, dependable ones that are still around.
Expressing Your Personality Via Ringtone
By: Kevin Cantera | 08/03/2008 | Cell Phones
How are you feeling today? Are you channeling Rhianna’s Shut Up and Drive, or perhaps Timbaland…Apologize? And of course there’s always the oldie but goodie I Just Called to Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder. What do these songs have in common? They could be your ringtone! With the newest phones available (and even some of the old ones, to be honest) you can set your ringtone to anything you can imagine. So how do you choose?
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Q&A Powered by: 
Latest Technology Articles
Running Your Car On Water - Any Real Disadvantages?
By: Alan Largo | 19/07/2008
With the recent increasing gas prices, more and more people have been looking into alternative ways in which to lower their fuel costs. They have also been looking for more ways to help the environment as studies have shown increasing amounts of greenhouse gases being released through the use of fossil fuels...
How To Run Your Car On Water - Conversion Time?
By: Alan Largo | 19/07/2008
There are two types of conversions that you can do to your existing vehicle that will make it more cost effective, allowing it to use HHO gas to replace some fuel you currently use that comes from gasoline. In fact, these conversions allow you to run car on water by introducing HHO gas...
Leading an Economic Counter-Insurgency
By: Ted Hebert | 18/07/2008
General David Petraeus led the successful surge in Iraq, and turned a lost cause into a winner. We need business leaders who can do the same for our economy.
Technology Makes Project Collaboration Easier
By: Christine Harrell | 18/07/2008
Even small companies find themselves operating on a global scale. It is becoming less common for everyone on a team to be in the same building. One team member might be working in another company office across the country.
Understanding Just What Refurbished Means
By: Joe Mueller | 18/07/2008
Refurbished electronics are commonly found in a variety of places, but what does the word 'refurbished' mean with regard to consumer electronics? Here is the answer.
9 Free Fixes for Faster Computer Performance
By: Jon Crain | 18/07/2008
Poor computer performance by your Windows-based machine can sneak up on you gradually.
Self Defense Self Protection Weapons
By: Joy Fender | 18/07/2008
The self-protection weapons in the market have seen a level of growth as people have had more of a desire for protection for both themselves and those that they care about. Some additional forms have been in development that would disable the person without running the risk that these other forms can present.
Apple iPod Nano : Review & Features
By: Jacob George | 17/07/2008
iPod Nano comes with a capacity of 4GB(1,000 songs) and 8GB(2,000 songs). With an anodized aluminum top and polished stainless steel back. Six eye-catching colors. A larger, brighter display with the most pixels per inch of any Apple display, ever.
More from Kevin Cantera
What Does Your Cell Phone Say About You?
By: Kevin Cantera | 14/03/2008 | Cell Phones
You carry it around every day, you use it constantly. It sees you more than your children do, or your dog. What is it? Your cell phone. Most people experience a mild sense of panic when they realize they’ve left the house without their phone. If your significant other doesn’t answer when you call- you assume someone has died, or that they’re in the middle of an important job interview.
Expressing Your Personality Via Ringtone
By: Kevin Cantera | 08/03/2008 | Cell Phones
How are you feeling today? Are you channeling Rhianna’s Shut Up and Drive, or perhaps Timbaland…Apologize? And of course there’s always the oldie but goodie I Just Called to Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder. What do these songs have in common? They could be your ringtone! With the newest phones available (and even some of the old ones, to be honest) you can set your ringtone to anything you can imagine. So how do you choose?
The Many Ways to Keep in Touch
By: Kevin Cantera | 22/02/2008 | Computers
Before the days of communicating with technological ease, we were all used to some more primitive methods. But there are still even more new ways to get in touch and keep in touch, as well as the older, dependable ones that are still around.
Traveling and Telecommunication
By: Kevin Cantera | 12/02/2008 | Cell Phones
From the beginning of time, communicating while on the move has been a difficult task. Whether moving armies or products, the ability to communicate during travel is a pressing need. Travel has always meant a loss of personal contact during a journey, at stopovers, and even during a period of readjustment after reaching the final destination.
Spare Batteries and Travel
By: Kevin Cantera | 12/02/2008 | Cell Phones
For all you mobile device lovers out there who also travel a lot, you should know about some new rules which took effect on Jan. 1, 2008 that prohibit air passengers in the U.S. from carrying spare lithium batteries in their checked baggage.
Ads Go Mobile
By: Kevin Cantera | 29/01/2008 | Music
As an increasing number of people opt for Bluetooth-enabled cell phones , advertising agencies and billboard operators are teaming up to create a new form of advertising within the growing sphere of mobile marketing.
The Basics of Ring Tones
By: Kevin Cantera | 29/01/2008 | Music
A ring tone is the sound made by a phone when a call comes in. The idiom, now days, is typically used to refer to the custom sounds and music accessible on cell phones. Customized ring tones were first intended to help people distinguish their ringing phone from others around them, as many call signals sounded similar in the earlier days of cell phones.
Cell Phones Poised to Replace Music-only Mp3s
By: Kevin Cantera | 19/01/2008 | Cell Phones
When the inventor, not all that long ago in 1876, first uttered those famous words through the prototype telephone to his co-inventor, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you,” there is no way he could have imagined how his simple invention would grow into such a world-wide phenomenon.
|
|
Technology 
