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Digital-to-analog converter (DAC)
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Audio codec
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Digital signal processor (DSP)
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Analog-to-digital converter (ADC)
EXPLANATION
Analog-to-Digital (ATD) Converter
Prior to digital technology, electronic transmission was limited to
analog technology, which conveys data as electronic signals of varying
frequency or amplitude that are added to carrier waves of a given
frequency. Broadcast and phone transmission has conventionally used
analog technology.
Digital technology is primarily used with new physical communications
media, such as satellite and fiber optic transmissions. One example of
an Analog-to-Digital converter is a modem, which is used to convert the
digital information in your computer to analog signals for your phone
line; converting analog phone signals to digital information for your
computer.
When you record your voice or use a VoIP solution on your computer,
you are using an analog-to-digital technology to convert those vocal
inputs (analog) into a digital form. An analog signal can be represented
as a series of sine waves. The term originated because the modulation
of the carrier wave is analogous to the fluctuations of the human voice
or other sound that is being transmitted. The term analog, also
describes any fluctuating, evolving, or continually changing process.
Any signals in the “real world” such as light, sound, etc. can be
considered analog.
Digital signals propagate more efficiently than analog signals,
largely because digital impulses, which are well-defined and orderly,
are easier for electronic circuits to distinguish from noise, which is
chaotic. This is the chief advantage of digital modes in communications.
Computers “talk” and “think” in terms of binary digital data, creating
the need for ATD converters. In other words, analog signals must be
turned back into digital form (demodulated) at the receiving end so that
the computer may process this data in it’s digital format.
