Glossary
Audio has its own language. This short glossary provides definitions of some of the audio-specific terms found in this book:
- AAC
Advanced Audio Coding, a synonym for the MP4 audio encoding standard [Hack #18] .
- ADC
An analog-to-digital converter that converts analog signals into digital bits.
- AIFF
A lossless audio storage format [Hack #18] .
- Aliasing
When signals are under-sampled the higher frequencies are aliased, which creates distortion in the lower frequencies. To avoid aliasing, sample the signal at the Nyquist frequency.
- Ambience
Background sound material [Hack #64] that augments the foreground audio.
- Amplifier
Amplifiers [Hack #14] increase the input audio signal strength.
- Analog
Before digital recording there was analog recording, where signals were stored on either tape or vinyl.
- Attenuate
A synonym for reduce that is often used to explain the effect of a filter.
- Audio Unit (AU)
The plug-in [Hack #51] standard from Apple Computer. It’s a part of Apple’s Core Audio subsystem in Mac OS X.
- Automation
The feature in studio mixing boards [Hack #56] that tracks the position of each control on a channel in real time during recording and playback. In the digital world this is called gain enveloping.
- Balanced
A cable is balanced when there are two signal cables and another cable for the shield. A cable is unbalanced when there are two cables and one is used for the shield as well as the signal. Always use balanced cables when you can to reduce noise [Hack #61] .
- Band-pass filter
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