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Digital Audio

Subject : engineering
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Smallest interval measurable by a scientific instrument; Defined by bit rate (sample rate x bit depth)






2. Mixing data and control characters in a single operation






3. Fractional part of a floating- point number; Also called the mantissa; Defines precision






4. Eight channel digital surround sound system by Dolby






5. The frequency range that is allowed through a filter






6. Channels are processed one at a time and the results are stored on multiple CPU buffers that alternately send data as DAW requests the data for playback; First few seconds are relayed to the buffer prior to processing and playback and it continuously






7. AES






8. Measures the highest levels of a signal being recorded or mixed; Monitors for clipping - which occurs at 0dBFS); Does not always reflect perceived volume of signal






9. Amplitude meter that takes the square root of all instantaneous amplitudes and averages them to find a mean and squares that value; Useful with particularly complex waveforms






10. The ability of a digital system to perform complex DSP without running into problems with overflow or loss of resolution






11. Governs the frequency response of a digital system; The highest- frequency component that can be captured with a sampling rate; always 1/2 of sampling rate; Also called the limiting frequency






12. Improper (false) sampling of high frequencies that cause much lower frequencies to be produced when the audio is reconstructed; Foldover happens at higher frequencies as harmonics reach levels that exceed the Nyquist limit.






13. Unit of measurement that is equal to one millionth of a meter






14. Method of sampling data at a higher resolution (higher sample rate) as a means of reducing harmonic content during D/A conversion; (x2) oversampling gets rid of all odd harmonic content






15. 'Reconstructing' part of digital audio






16. Rate at which energy is drawn from a source that produces a flow of electricity in a circuit; Expressed in volts






17. Number or variable that represents the number of times the base of a power is used as a factor; Defines magnitude






18. 12.33 GB; DS/ML






19. Accuracy with which an electronic system reproduces the sound or image of its input signal






20. Very selective method of lowering buffer levels by halting different levels of audio processing






21. Very quiet digital amplifier that produces a series of output pulses with the audio signal coded the same as the width of the output pulses; Pulses are used to represent wave forms and are either on or off; Intense signals have long pulses with short






22. Same as 'aliasing'






23. French mathematician that noted that any complex sound can be broken down into a series of component pure tones






24. Waveform of a pure tone showing simple harmonic motion






25. Discrete incremental distinctions made between the value of one sample and the next; Breaks down bit depth into a series of evenly spaced intervals






26. The elapsed time it takes for a packet of data to arrive at its destination; Lagging or pause of an audio signal as digital processing occurs; Can be managed utilizing several forms of 'audio monitoring'






27. More aggressive lossy data reduction techniques that require further manipulation of the stereo field; Examples are 'Intensity' & 'M-S'






28. Digital (binary) measurements of how long each pulse is either on or off; Width of increasing voltage or decreasing voltage is assigned a 1 or 0 respectively






29. (Time Based) Frequency: Aliasing; Anti-Aliasing Filter; Sample Rate; Nyquist Limit






30. Sum of all harmonics; Sum of sine and cosine waves which have frequencies f - 2f - 3f - 4f...






31. Specific set of instructions for carrying out a data reduction technique that determines how to 'save' binary data information efficiently






32. As sample rate is increased more room is created for a smoother slope of the attenuation band because Nyquist limit extends well beyond range of hearing with each increase






33. Splits the input signal and mixes it with an analog copy so that no latency is present






34. 1.) Bit Rate x Sample Rate (you'll get b/sec) 2.) Multiply by 60 if converting seconds to minutes 3.) Divide by 8 to convert bits to Bytes and get B/min 4.) Divide by 1 -024 to get KB/min and keep doing it until you get desired bit rate specification






35. Number of bits per second processed when sampling sound; (Sampling Rate x Bit Depth) = Resolution






36. Computer program or device capable of encoding and/or decoding a digital data stream with the end result being a reduced file size






37. ABR; Codecs that encode data by determining how dense or sparse areas of the audio are while also keeping bit rate within specified limits to avoid rebuffering






38. Visual graph that shows how loud a sound is at different frequencies






39. A method of representing real numbers using a mantissa and an exponent






40. The act of a frequency swinging back and forth with a steady - uninterrupted rhythm






41. The continuous loss of signal strengths as a signal travels through a medium






42. 16-Bit; 44.1 kHz; PCM; Stereo






43. Anytime bit depth is reduced the gap gets bigger so more dithering is required






44. Reference voltage determined by summing the voltage values of a predetermined number of previous samples; Numbers of 1 in row = waveform peak; Numbers of 0 in row = waveform trough; Basis of Sony's Direct Stream Digital (DSD)






45. Data is transmitted over fiber optic lines; Uses a TOSLINK connecter instead of an RCA type; Can transmit multi- channel audio; Not susceptible to ground hum and loops; Able to support far higher rates of data transfer over greater distances than coa






46. Method used in digital recording and reproduction in which a signal is sampled at various points and the resulting value is translated into binary numbers






47. (AES/EBU); 110O - 2- channel balanced digital audio cable with an XLR connection; NOT a mic cable!!






48. CBR; Codecs encodes data at a constant rate regardless of density of the audio file






49. Subtract place values from the decimal number and place ones or zeros in the correct places






50. Softest sound that can be heard by the average human ear (0 dB)