DIGITAL AUDIO THEORY — LO3 – REPORT.
1: The Computer – Specification / components, peripheral bus systems and performance relating to the transfer of digital audio data
CPU Type: (Provide info & justification)
RAM Type and amount: (Provide info & justification)
Internal Hard Drive: (Provide info & justification)
Graphics Card: (Provide info & justification)
Local Bus Speed / Type: (Provide info & justification)
External Interface Busses: (Provide info & justification)
Digital Audio Bit-Rate: (Based on brief and External Bus type e.g. Firewire, Thunderbolt, USB 3.0)
2: The DAW – Specification / components, the hardware interfacing and interconnection protocols
The Computer: (Provide Manufacturer / Model & Justification)
The DAW Software: (Provide Manufacturer / Model & Justification & what it does)
The Audio Interface: (Provide Manufacturer / Model & Justification & what it does e.g. A to D & D to A conversion)
The MIDI Interface: (Provide Manufacturer / Model & Justification & what it does. Also if part of audio interface or not, or if direct USB connection to keyboard)
The Control Surface: (Provide Manufacturer / Model & Justification & what it does)
External Hard Drive: (Provide Manufacturer / Model & Justification & what it does)
3: System Diagram – With explanation of integration for music and audio production Example:
MIDI Signal Path Integration: (Provide an explanation of how MIDI is integrated into the DAW e.g. trigger of Instrument Plug-Ins and/or External MIDI equipment)
Audio Signal Path Integration: (Provide an explanation of how Audio is integrated into the DAW e.g. mention use of plug-ins for altering the sound)
4: Storage Requirements – Based on requirements of the brief and in relation to other industry standard sampling frequencies and bit depth resolutions
The requirements based on the client brief are: (perform the calculation below and give an example of how many sessions could be stored on the external hard drive)
5: The Effects of Different Sampling Rates / Bit Depths – in relation to audio quality
Reference should be made to:
- What the sampling rate does and the effect of too low a rate.
- Nyquist Theorem.
- Sample rate and discuss Anti-aliasing and Reconstruction filters.
- 16-bit or 24-bit and SNR.
- Internal resolutions (within the DAW) and dither.
6: Processing Requirements – For digital audio signals in relation to industry standard sampling frequencies, bit depth resolutions and data transfer rates.
(Give a description of what impact the above mentioned criteria would have on the overall system processing. E.g. impact on processors, hard drive, software design, plug-in design, OS)
