Test your basic knowledge |

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






2. Mixing data and control characters in a single operation






3. Industry Standards: -6 dB Peak = -20 RMS Meter






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






5. VBR; Most common & best data reduction technique; Codecs that encode data by determining how dense or sparse areas of the audio are; Can result in buffering issues






6. Signal voltage is relayed to a register from sample- and - hold circuit; Holds reference frequencies in binary form that decrease in value; Finds approximated value & assigns binary number accordingly






7. Perceptual coding technique that uses louder sounds of a similar frequency to decide what information is to be saved during data reduction






8. More accuracy in low amplitudes and less in higher amplitudes






9. The number of compressions or rarefactions in one second; The higher the frequency the more compressions & rarefactions per second; Measured in Hertz






10. Represents the amplitude component of the digital sampling process; Technique of incrementing a continuous analog event into a discrete set of binary digits (bits)






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






12. Six channel (five speakers and one subwoofer for bass) digital surround sound system by Dolby






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






14. Based on Full Scale (dB/FS); -6dB represents a loss of one bit so account for this when calculating






15. Serial Copy Management System; main difference between AES3 & S/PIDF






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






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






18. HD Audio format; Lossless Compression; 24- bit/96 kHz; 5.1 Surround or 24- bit / 192 kHz stereo sound






19. AES






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






21. The more bits allocated during quantization - the more accurate the measurement






22. The set of rules that computers use to move files from one computer to another on an internet






23. Uses entropy coding as the basis; Computer data compression algorithm that packages files such as .ZIP & .RAR






24. The amount of energy at each wavelength






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






26. Deviation from a normal - steady pulse or tick of a clock that contributes to misrepresentation of a signal; Result of small timing irregularities that become magnified during the transmission of digital signals as the signals are passed from one dev






27. Overtones that contribute to the timbre of a sound and make up a complex waveform's physical characteristics






28. Reduces A/D sample rate from the oversampled rate to nominal rate by turning series of one- bit samples into a series of multi- bit PCM samples; (ex. => 2.8MHz sample rate converted to 44.1kHz and simultaneously converts 1-Bit samples to multi- bit);






29. Allows for an internal sample rate at multiples of the input and output rates; Alleviates the need for steep 'brickwall' filters; Often combined with internal '1- bit' processing; Increases smoothing effect






30. 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






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






32. 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






33. Single- pin RCA cable or fiber- optic TOSLINK connector used for digital transfer; 75O coaxial - 2- channel unbalanced; 'Consumer' format of AES3






34. Branch of psychology concerned with the subjective perception of sound






35. 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'






36. Removes high frequency images and noise and smoothes the stair case output coming from of the sample and hold circuit; Also called a SMOOTHING FILTER






37. Decibels Full Scale






38. DAW's and software must buffer when converting or bouncing and this latency can add up if not monitored






39. 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






40. Apple Lossless; Windows Media Lossless; DTS HD Master Audio; Dolby True HD; FLAC






41. Increases or decreases the digital signal so that the loudest sample is brought up to 0dBfs; Uses all bits from dynamic range and makes it even from track to track






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






43. Method of representing an acoustic quantity with a series of binary numbers; Can have only specific individually distinct values






44. Sony and Philips optical disc format; Utilizes sigma delta DSD to offer higher resolution; 1- bit; 2.8224 MHz; 6-Channel






45. Used as the main disc from which other discs are made; Composed of ground glass with a very fine photoresistor layer; An imaging laser burns pit and land patterns in preparation for duplication






46. Inner ear component that attaches to the stapes and helps to decrease the amplitude of vibrations; Causes the masking phenomenon






47. Playback; I/O Connections; CPU (Streaming); Conversion from DAW or Software






48. 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






49. Process of building a complex tone by starting with the fundamental frequency and adding pure tone harmonics






50. Signal that uses variable voltage to create continuous waves resulting in an inexact transmission