Nyquist-Shannon; The Backbone of Digital Sound

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Let’s talk a bit more about digital sound. Thanks to a mathematical theorem, we know that a bandlimited signal can perfectly be represented by a series of discrete samples that occur at twice the rate of the frequency of the bandlimit. OK, that’s hard to explain in a little descroption blurb, so the video is probably your best bet.

This here is the video of Monty’s. YOU SHOULD TOTALLY WATCH IT!! There is so much good stuff in here and it’s a great resource for dispelling some of the myths of Digital Sound.

This is his original article that inspired the video (I think--it’s a great article anyway):

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[TechnologyConnections]

There's a shot in this video that's upside down because... I forgot to un-upside down it. Sigh.

[MostlyPennyCat]

This is how I like to think of low pass filters "de-jaggying" (antialiasing).
A low pass filter, at it's absolute simplest, is a capacitor (with a current limiting resistor to keep the smoke in)
Capacitors resist change in voltage.
Like a weight on a spring resists change in length of a vertical spring.
So that infinite rate change stair step is slowed down by the capacitor.
That's it.
The digital signal tells the voltage to "CHANGE RIGHT NOW NOW NOW GO GO GO"
Then the capacitor replies, "OK, will do, gimme a second, I'm getting there, plod plod plod"
Simples.

[Jetsetlemming]

The hardest part of how sound works for me was how multiple sound sources combine to a single data stream, a single wave form. Everything an ear hears is the input of a single wave traveling through the liquid of your cochlea, and your brain does extremely complicated processing on it to separate those elements, identify them, and locate them in 3d space. This is why your headphones don't need separate audio outputs for every instrument in the song you're listening to.

[thecommenter]

I was a young lad when CD's became big but I can still remember the first time I heard a CD back in the late 80's... sounded like the musicians were in the room with me. To my ears it was superior to any cassette tape or vinyl record because there was no background noise... just a clarity of sound I had not experienced until then.

[lemondropcentral]

I have a 4 year physics degree and have worked as an electronic testing engineer for the avionics industry for 2 years.... this video finally helped me understand what the Fourier transform does. Sure, I used it all the time on my physics and math homework in college, but I could never wrap my head around what it actually does. After this video, it finally makes sense!

[OptimumPx]

"Don't worry about it."
-Technology Connections 2018

[K-o-R]

"wiggly wobblies"

I told you to cut out the technobabble!

[AnnaVannieuwenhuyse]

The Nyquist-Shannon theory is one of my favourite. It just can't be questioned. It just is solid mathematics.

[CapyTapy]

Xiph Monty? The same Monty from the opus and vorbis codecs? Damn this dude deserves an award!

[ReikazeRambles]

I've been a fan of technology connections for the longest time and have been watching the channel for fun, but I never expected it to explain a topic in one of my classes better than my professor! What a pleasant suprise, thanks for the video :)

[LMacNeill]

*Very* cool explanation of the Nyquist-Shannon theorem. Made it easy to wrap my head around it. Thanks!

[shmehfleh]

The Covox Speech Thing and Disney Sound Source are two practical examples of really simple ladder resistor DACs. They both plugged into the parallel port of an old PC and used its 8 data lines to drive 8 resistor networks tied into a mono analog audio out. This chumpy setup basically created an 8-bit DAC with a sample rate that was limited only by the speed of the parallel port. Unfortunately, as they were completely dumb hunks of passive electronics, they couldn't tell the difference between data meant to be converted into sound and data meant for the printer. If their output was left on when printing, they made a horrible squealing noise.

[jfbaquero]

And yet another great video. I had read Monty's article eons ago, for a long time I had lost track of it. As an audiophile I used to share it with other audiophiles to help them understand how digital audio works and also help explain why buying audio downloads sampled at 192kHz is just a waste of money (maybe not for Batman). The reality is that almost no one understands the math and engineering underneath (including some engineers). The problem usually is a lousy ADC/DAC not the digital medium. Your lecture in this video is the closest I 've seen to make such complex issue understandable for those who lack the science background. Amazing work! Respect and Thanks!

[scruffythejanitor]

I request one in-depth video on DACs, please. Or whatever, since you've yet to have a bad video on this channel.

[richarddeese]

Thanks! Claude Shannon is absolutely an unsung hero. He should be as famous as Von Neumann (to me)! He was clearly a genius, and - more than any other person - is the father of information theory. He laid the groundwork for the digital age, and he did it back in the 1940s. tavi.

[jacekjagosz]

Wow, this is an eye opening video! Like how DAC is a resistor ladder, it is so simple!

[NickMoore]

Band-limiting was the conceptual bit I have been missing for ages! Thank you for putting it all together.

[jgseg]

Audiophiles are the flat earthers of music. I hope some watch this formidable explanation and accept the hard facts of physics and maths, leaving behind some mambo jambo mojo mythology about digital being worse than analog.

[abn]

A beautiful explanation. I can't imagine how you struggled to achieve such an elegant and balanced presentation without mathematics. Thanks! Ive been thinking about this topic for years and today you've helped me reach that very important intuitive feel.

[GenXGrownUp]

"The key here is... don't worry about it." Had me literally laughing out loud. Thanks again for these awesome videos. You inspire me to work harder on my own channel's production and entertainment value. 😀