Dithering
When going from one type of bit resolution to a lower, e.g. from
24 bit to 16 bit, you actually loose 8 bits of information.
The process of cutting of bits is called truncation and it introduces
digital distortion of low level signals, due to the lack of complete
signal information. To compensate for this, dithering must be
applied. Dithering is a small amount of filtered noise, shaped and
optimized for the human ear, and when added to the truncated
signal the effect is a less distorted low level signal.
Dithering is only relevant on digital Outputs and it is always the
receiving device that determines the number of bits you must
dither to.
A DAT or CDR recorder should always be Dithered to 16 bit.
TC Products do not perform truncation on digital Outputs.
Truncation is left to be done by the receiving device.
House Clock
A separate piece of equipment used only to generate a common
standard clock keeping all the attached digital equipment in sync.
Master Clock
If you don’t use a separate House Clock you can use most digital
units for the same purpose. In this case the unit you sync to is
called the Master Clock.
Make up gain
To optimize the output gain and energy in your material auto
Make-Up gain is used to gain the compressed band automatically.
Sample Rate
The quality of sound depends on how precise you can measure
the analog signal. This is done by taking “pictures” of the wave
at a given rate: The Sample Rate.
The maximum frequency that can be successfully reproduced is
the Sample Rate divided by two since you need two points to
define a sinus curve. E.g. the max frequency that can be
successfully reproduced with a Sample Rate of 48kHz is 24kHz.
APPENDIX
Glossary
27
AES/EBU
Professional digital in/out standard, using balanced XLR cables.
The AES/EBU format outputs 24 bit.
S/PDIF
Consumer digital in/out standard, using coaxial phono-type
cables. This format can generally output 20 bit.
TC products outputs all 24 bits on S/PDIF.
Tos-link
Also called optical S/PDIF. 24 bits can be transferred with this
format.
Brickwall type limiter
A type of limiter that allows absolutely no signal above Threshold.
Bits & Bytes
1 bit is the smallest unit for information in the digital world. Its
value can be can be 0 or 1 or you could say on/off. 1 byte=8 bit.
Compressor Overshoot
When slow attack times are used overshoots might occur. This
causes an unwanted click/distortion. To prevent compressor
overshoots you can use a brickwall type limiter.
Cross-over point
Splitpoint indicating where the different bands begins/stops
working
dBFS
dB full scale. 0dBFS is the absolute max in the digital world.
Any signal above 0dBFS will cause serious unwanted distortion.
dBu
Measuring unit in the analog world.
0dBu=0,775V in 600ohm
De-essing
An algorithm that removes unwanted “esses” or sibilance from
vocal material.
