Signal processor
Encyclopedia
A signal processor is an electronic circuit that removes information from an analog signal
as quantifiable units for further analysis. Most modern signal processors are either dedicated microprocessor
integrated circuit
s or general-purpose programmable microprocessors. A DSP (digital signal processor
) is an electronic device which serves the purpose of signal processing
. It can be used for digital
to analog conversions and vice versa.
, a signal processor is a device that modifies an audio signal, either analog or digital. It can be a piece of electronic hardware
or computer software
. A basic example of a signal processor is a high-pass filter, which removes low frequencies from a signal.
Traditionally signal processors were electronic circuits that affected analog signals. In digital audio, signal processors can be software that alter digitized audio information. The term Digital Signal Processing
(DSP) usually refers to the processors that are involved in calculating the effect a digital signal processor will have on an audio data stream. For example, HD Accel cards by Digidesign
contain processors that calculate the changes to a digital audio signal.
Analog signal
An analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e., analogous to another time varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in terms of small fluctuations in the signal which are...
as quantifiable units for further analysis. Most modern signal processors are either dedicated microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
integrated circuit
Integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
s or general-purpose programmable microprocessors. A DSP (digital signal processor
Digital signal processor
A digital signal processor is a specialized microprocessor with an architecture optimized for the fast operational needs of digital signal processing.-Typical characteristics:...
) is an electronic device which serves the purpose of signal processing
Signal processing
Signal processing is an area of systems engineering, electrical engineering and applied mathematics that deals with operations on or analysis of signals, in either discrete or continuous time...
. It can be used for digital
Digital signal
A digital signal is a physical signal that is a representation of a sequence of discrete values , for example of an arbitrary bit stream, or of a digitized analog signal...
to analog conversions and vice versa.
Digital audio
In the realm of digital audioDigital audio
Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
, a signal processor is a device that modifies an audio signal, either analog or digital. It can be a piece of electronic hardware
Electronic hardware
Electronic hardware refers to interconnected electronic components which perform analog and/or logic operations on received and locally stored information to produce as output and/or store resulting new information and/or to provide control for output actuator mechanisms.Electronic hardware can...
or computer software
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
. A basic example of a signal processor is a high-pass filter, which removes low frequencies from a signal.
Traditionally signal processors were electronic circuits that affected analog signals. In digital audio, signal processors can be software that alter digitized audio information. The term Digital Signal Processing
Digital signal processing
Digital signal processing is concerned with the representation of discrete time signals by a sequence of numbers or symbols and the processing of these signals. Digital signal processing and analog signal processing are subfields of signal processing...
(DSP) usually refers to the processors that are involved in calculating the effect a digital signal processor will have on an audio data stream. For example, HD Accel cards by Digidesign
Digidesign
Avid Audio is an American digital audio technology company. It was founded in 1984 by Peter Gotcher and Evan Brooks. The company began as a project to raise money for the founders' band, selling EPROM chips for drum machines. It is a subsidiary of Avid Technology, and during 2010 the Digidesign...
contain processors that calculate the changes to a digital audio signal.
Types of Signal Processors
- EqualizationEqualizationEqualization, is the process of adjusting the balance between frequency components within an electronic signal. The most well known use of equalization is in sound recording and reproduction but there are many other applications in electronics and telecommunications. The circuit or equipment used...
- FiltersAudio filterAn audio filter is a frequency dependent amplifier circuit, working in the audio frequency range, 0 Hz to beyond 20 kHz. Many types of filters exist for applications including graphic equalizers, synthesizers, sound effects, CD players and virtual reality systems.Being a frequency dependent...
- ReverberationReverberationReverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
- DelayDelay (audio effect)Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.-Early delay...
- Dynamic processing (compression, expansion, limitingLimitingLimiting: Any process by which a specified characteristic of the output of a device is prevented from exceeding a predetermined value....
, noise gatingNoise gateA Noise Gate or gate is an electronic device or software that is used to control the volume of an audio signal. In its most simple form, a noise gate allows a signal to pass through only when it is above a set threshold: the gate is 'open'. If the signal falls below the threshold no signal is...
) - Noise reductionNoise reductionNoise reduction is the process of removing noise from a signal.All recording devices, both analogue or digital, have traits which make them susceptible to noise...