Analog technology reproduces wave patterns, while digital technology captures and translates them into binary code. Analog signals have been around for hundreds of years, while digital signals entered mainstream in the mid-20th century. Analog signals contain more information but are prone to background noise, while digital signals have a cleaner sound but may miss out on some signals. Digital signals can contain any type of data, while analog signals only contain sound waves and images.
In many ways, the difference between digital and analog is the difference between describing a scene and taking a photograph. Analog technology revolves around making copies of wave patterns and reproducing them as output. Digital technology is based on capturing wave signals and translating them into a digital format. During playback, a digital signal uses the recorded data to replicate the original waveform.
To understand the real difference between analog and digital, it’s important to learn a little more about the technology. The very first electrical digital signal was used in telegraph lines, but the technology didn’t enter the mainstream until the mid-20th century. Analog signals, on the other hand, have been around for hundreds of years, but early forms were very rudimentary or impossible to reproduce. Analog went mainstream in the late 20th century with the invention of the phonograph and cinema.
Analog signals are copies of other signals. These copies are made by measuring the vibrations of the waves with a recorder. Those waves are recorded in a separate analog wave like thickets, like on a record, or electrical impulses, like those on a cassette. When these waves are reproduced, the analogous wave is transferred back into visual or auditory waves.
Digital signals take the very vibrations of the wave and convert them into binary code. The code contains data describing the shape of the original wave. This binary code can be saved like any other computer data. When the code is played, the binary code is used as a template to create a new wave.
In a perfect environment, with no noise interference and unlimited memory, the signal types will both be almost identical to each other and to the original signal. Environments like this don’t actually exist, so signal degradations between both types are common. A key difference between digital and analog is the way signals absorb interference and background noise.
In a typical setting, the difference between digital and analog recordings is easier to hear. While analog signals are generally closer to the original sound, artifacts and background noise are often imprinted as well. This causes hissing and popping when listening to playback. Digital signals have a cleaner sound, but often miss out on some of the particularly high and low signals common in human-made recordings. The recording device will often simply ignore these cues as a way to save space on the recording.
The last major difference between digital and analog signal is the data content. An analog signal is a dense collection of sound waves and images. These waves contain a lot of information, but nothing outside of the original waves. The digital signal can contain any type of data that can be compressed into computer information. This additional information can literally be anything from signal-related information to completely unrelated data.
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