explanation needed

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Spartan
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2005/11/05 08:45:53 (permalink)

explanation needed

hey guys can you tell me why i have to pick a bit format in the driver's profile tab of the audio options dialog box ? tech support gave me an idea what to do when i was first setting up but they never explained it to me, i don't feel comfortable chosing options without understanding it's purpose. thank you for your help.

Spartan:

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    billkath
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    RE: explanation needed 2005/11/05 08:57:48 (permalink)
    You need to pick a bit depth and sample rate BEFORE you start recording, so the computer knows what to record. For instance-it needs to know how many bits (how many numbers) to record each sample at, and how many samples it should record each second.
    Without that basic info the computer would say "record what, man?"
    It's what the default is.
    So- if you set it as 24 bit the computer knows to record the first 24 bits of any info coming into it. If you set it to 16 bit it will record the first 16 bits it sees (important to know if you are inputting 24 bit audio and have the default set to 16 bit, it will only record the first 16 bits of each sample.)
    If it's set at 44.1 k it will record the input 44,100 times a second. 96K it will record 96,000 times a second.

    Billy E
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    xackley
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    RE: explanation needed 2005/11/05 09:47:23 (permalink)
    bit rate is how much sound level volume detail is used.
    16 bit is CD standard, but 24 bit is best for recording and mixings. Fewer truncation errors

    Suppose you had a set of steps, 4 steps gets you from 1 level to the next.
    Equate those 4 steps to 16 bit.
    next go to 17 bits
    Now there are 8 steps in the same area to go from one level to the next
    go to 18 bits
    Now there are 16 steps
    19 bits 32 steps
    20 bits 64 steps
    ......
    Soon you have a very smooth ramp, until you get a stronger microscope and start examinining those teentiny steps.

    That's the X axis, if it were graph paper, and 16bit=1meter on the paper, 24bit increments would be smaller than a millimeter

    The Y axis is sample rate,
    Sample rate is how many times per second the computer listens and records, 41,100 entries/second is cd standard.
    Pretty straight forward, if you record 88.2, the computer listens and record twice as often.
    As 41.1 is already a huge amount of data, increasing to higher sample rates has very little effect on sound quality.


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