I found a great little article that describes the differences between analog and digital recordings that provides some graphs to illustrate what it is describing (great for a visual learner such as myself).
http://www.tricojvs.k12.oh.us/eng/resources/webdesign/andig/andig.html
I didn't realize that on the phone signals are converted from analog, at the end you're using, to digital - outside of your house, and back to analog at the other end of the line. I was under the impression that my phoneline was digital!
It is also extremely fascinating to learn of how often digital sources have to sample sound to replicate original sounds. For example, cds are sampling tens of thousands of times per second to produce signals that match the sounds they record.
The article mentions how "multiple highly accurate digital signals can be sent over long distances through less-than-perfect lines with no loss of information or quality". Which alludes to the fact that digital audio remains "pristine" as long as its storage drive is functioning properly. By contrast analog is more susceptible to the wear and tear of its users (e.g. scratches on vinyl, etc.) Despite this, I am sure I am not the only person who has downloaded music that has blips and skips in it. Sometimes poor recordings are immoritalized by careless contributors!!
Personally, I feel much safer having all of my music in my hard drive, backed up on a
memory stick. I ensure the highest bit-rate before downloading, regardless of the storage space that this will absorb, because I know I am assured of a measure of quality that (to my ears) replicates original recordings to their utmost. Digital is also less expensive than analog in the long run.Wikipedia offers a great article that examines the differences between digital and analog. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_sound_vs._digital_sound
http://www.tricojvs.k12.oh.us/eng/resources/webdesign/andig/andig.html
I didn't realize that on the phone signals are converted from analog, at the end you're using, to digital - outside of your house, and back to analog at the other end of the line. I was under the impression that my phoneline was digital!
It is also extremely fascinating to learn of how often digital sources have to sample sound to replicate original sounds. For example, cds are sampling tens of thousands of times per second to produce signals that match the sounds they record.
The article mentions how "multiple highly accurate digital signals can be sent over long distances through less-than-perfect lines with no loss of information or quality". Which alludes to the fact that digital audio remains "pristine" as long as its storage drive is functioning properly. By contrast analog is more susceptible to the wear and tear of its users (e.g. scratches on vinyl, etc.) Despite this, I am sure I am not the only person who has downloaded music that has blips and skips in it. Sometimes poor recordings are immoritalized by careless contributors!!
Personally, I feel much safer having all of my music in my hard drive, backed up on a
memory stick. I ensure the highest bit-rate before downloading, regardless of the storage space that this will absorb, because I know I am assured of a measure of quality that (to my ears) replicates original recordings to their utmost. Digital is also less expensive than analog in the long run.Wikipedia offers a great article that examines the differences between digital and analog. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_sound_vs._digital_sound
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