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Thursday, 16 June 2011

Analog Versus Digital – Which one do you prefer?

We all use technology everyday in some form or the other. It will not be wrong to say that technology has become a necessity of our life. It helps us to perform various daily tasks in an easy and simple manner. Analog and digital are two major forms of technology. Analog technology consists of the process of taking a video or audio signal and translating it into the electronic pulses, whereas on the other hand, a digital technology breaks the signal into a binary form, where the video or audio data is represented by a series of “0”s and “1”s. Many people argue about which one of these two technologies is better. Analog versus digital can refer to the method of input, kind of display, internal working of an instrument or data transfer etc.

In digital technology, your voice gets broken into binary codes, i.e. a series of 1’s and 0’s and it gets transferred to the other end from where another device, be it TV or modem or phone, takes all these numbers so as to make the original signal.

The best thing about the digital signals is that it knows what should reach at the end of the signal transmission. This helps in correct the errors which arise during the transfer of data. So, digital signals offer you clarity. The nature of the digital technology is such that it allows a lot of 1’s and 0’s together in the same space, which an analog signal form uses. This implies that more and more features can be fit into the digital signal. The clarity is no doubt superb in case of digital signals. However, analog signals are said to give you rich quality.

Over the years the price of the digital technology has also considerably reduced and costs of VCR, CD’s, mobile phone etc are hitting a rock bottom. The digital lines also found their use in corporate phone systems. These lines carry much lower voltage than the analog signals; still they pose threat to the analog equipment.

It can be said that the most effective use of analog versus digital technology is the booming cellular market. With new phones being launched almost every day, the limits of analog are now being realized. The sound quality of analog is still clearer. However, the digital cellular allows more people to use their cell phone in a single coverage area.

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