Digital+Audio

= Digital Audio  =

Digital Audio refers to the reproduction and transmission of sound stored in a digital format. This includes CDs as well as any sound files stored on a computer. The telephone system is based on an analog representation of sound. In sound recording and reproduction systems, digital audio refers to a digital representation of the audio waveform for processing, storage or transmission. When analog sound waves are stored in digital form, each digital audio file can be decomposed into a series of samples. (Definition from Webopedia.com)

Key Terms

 * ======**Audio**====== || The range of sound frequencies which can be heard by humans ||
 * **Channel** || A pathway through an audio device. For example, sound mixers have multiple input channels. ||
 * **Compression** || A method of reducing the size of a digital file. ||
 * **DAT** || **D**igital **A**udio **T**ape. ||
 * **Equalization** || The process of adjusting various audio frequencies to correct or enhance the sound. ||
 * **Fade** || A transition to or from silence. ||
 * **Gain** || The amplification level of an audio signal ||
 * **MIDI** || **M**usical **I**nstrument **D**igital **I**nterface. A standard of communication between musical instruments, controllers and computers. ||
 * **Mixer** || A device which accepts two or more audio inputs and provides one or more audio outputs. ||
 * **PCM** || **P**ulse **C**ode **M**odulation, a digital audio format. ||
 * **Peak** || The highest level of strength of an audio signal. Often refers to an unacceptably high level, where the signal begins distorting. ||
 * **Sample** || In digital audio recording, thousands of individual "samples" are recorded every second. Added together these make up the digital audio signal. ||
 * **Stereo** || Audio which is made up of two channels — left and right. ||

Types of Media
Some examples of audio formats are: WAV - Waveform Audio File Format MP3 - MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer 3 AIFF - Audio Interchange File Format WMA - Windows Media Audio

Examples (and sources)
** Famous song by Beethoven, Mixed with an Audio Editing Software ** media type="file" key="Fur Elise - Beethoven.mp3" width="240" height="20" Original  (Source) [] media type="file" key="Fur Elise Techno Remix.mp3" width="240" height="20" Mixed   (Source) []

media type="file" key="Poker Face - Lady GaGa.mp3" width="240" height="20" Original  (Source) [] media type="file" key="Poker Face Techno Remix.mp3" width="240" height="20" Mixed   (Source) []
 * Song by Lady GaGa, Mixed with an Audio Editing Software**

media type="file" key="Recording Before.mp3" width="240" height="20" Before media type="file" key="Recording After.mp3" width="240" height="20" After   (Source) []
 * Recording of a Band, Before and After being Processed by the Audio Editing Software**

Table of Audio Editing Software
(Source) []
 * ** Name ** ||  ** Creator **  ||  **Linux **  ||  **Mac OS X **  ||  **Unix **  ||  **Windows **  ||  **Free Software **  ||
 * Ardour || Paul Davis  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||  No  ||  Yes  ||
 * Audacity ||  Dominic Mazzoni  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||
 * Audiobook Cutter Free Edition ||   ||  No  ||  No  ||  No  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||
 * Audition || Adobe Systems  ||  No  ||  No  ||  No  ||  Yes  ||  No  ||
 * Ecasound ||  Kai Vehmanen  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||  No  ||  Yes  ||
 * Garage Band ||  Apple Inc  ||  No  ||  Yes  ||  No  ||  No  ||  No  ||
 * Jokosher ||  Jokosher community  ||  Yes  ||  No  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||
 * LMMS ||  Tobias Doerffel  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||
 * Soundbooth || Adobe Systems  ||  No  ||  Yes  ||  No  ||  Yes  ||  No  ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Soundscape 32 || <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Solid State Logic  ||  No  ||  No  ||  No  ||  Yes  ||  No  ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">SoX ||   ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Sweep ||  Conrad Parker  ||  Yes  ||  No  ||  Yes  ||  No  ||  Yes  ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">WaveSurfer ||  CST at KTH  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||  Yes  ||

Interesting facts (Source)[]
 * The MP3 standard for audio compression first gained a foothold in college dorm rooms in the late 1990s. In 1999, 18-year-old computer geeks weren't too concerned with sound quality, but now they've grown up and so has digital music.
 * There's a huge difference between a CD ripped by a home computer and one ripped through a professional system.
 * Even with the ideal CD-ROM drive, hardware and software, computers are not originally designed for audio extraction.
 * Clean Metadata Must Be Embedded to Digital Files