page_title: Digital audio
section_title: Technologies
hierarchical_section_title: Digital audio / Technologies
caption_attribution_description: Sony digital audio recorder PCM-7030 Danmarks Radios arkiv af DRs Kulturarvsprojekt / The archive of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation Photos must be credited "DRs Kulturarvsprojekt"
context_page_description: Digital audio is a representation of sound recorded in, or converted into, digital form. In digital audio, the sound wave of the audio signal is encoded as numerical samples in a continuous sequence. For example, in CD audio, samples are taken 44100 times per second each with 16 bit sample depth. Digital audio is also the name for the entire technology of sound recording and reproduction using audio signals that have been encoded in digital form. Following significant advances in digital audio technology during the 1970s, it gradually replaced analog audio technology in many areas of audio engineering and telecommunications in the 1990s and 2000s.
  In a digital audio system, an analog electrical signal representing the sound is converted with an analog-to-digital converter into a digital signal, typically using pulse-code modulation. This digital signal can then be recorded, edited, modified, and copied using computers, audio playback machines, and other digital tools.
context_section_description: Digital audio is used in broadcasting of audio. Standard technologies include Digital audio broadcasting (DAB), Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), HD Radio and In-band on-channel (IBOC).
  Digital audio in recording applications is stored on audio-specific technologies including Compact disc (CD), Digital Audio Tape (DAT), Digital Compact Cassette (DCC) and MiniDisc. Digital audio may be stored in a standard audio file formats and stored on a Hard disk recorder, Blu-ray or DVD-Audio. Files may be played back on smartphones, computers or MP3 player.
caption: Sony digital audio tape recorder PCM-7030
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "4320", "Image ImageLength": "2880", "Image BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8]", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS-1D Mark IV", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS5 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2011:11:03 11:58:02", "Image WhitePoint": "[313/1000, 329/1000]", "Image PrimaryChromaticities": "[16/25, 33/100, 21/100, 71/100, 3/20, 3/50]", "Image YCbCrCoefficients": "[299/1000, 587/1000, 57/500]", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "428", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 2, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "1236", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1350", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "2464", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/200", "EXIF FNumber": "71/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "160", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2011:11:02 12:43:30", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2011:11:02 12:43:30", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "61/8", "EXIF ApertureValue": "45/8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "21/8", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "50", "EXIF SubSecTime": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "00", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4188", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2603", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R03", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1204", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "144000/43", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "720000/209", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Gamma": "11/5"}