The More Technical Side of Digital Audio

I found both the lecture and the reading reinforcing concepts introduced in the lecture to be most useful. One concept that was explained extensively in both was the meaning and difference of bit depth and sample rate. I can remember many a time going into Audacity and being presented with both of these terms and not knowing exactly what they meant. I knew that on a basic level they influenced the overall quality of the recording, but I did not know how. Understanding that bit depth and sample rate are both representations of information in the file has really helped to clarify this. Also, knowing that with greater bit depth and sample rate comes larger file sizes was also very helpful. Depending on what the file needs to be used for, higher or lower bit depth and sample rate will greatly influence the overall experience. For example, if it is a file that is meant to be played for a project or presentation, the quality will likely need to be at least CD quality. However, if attempting to transfer multiple files via email, a lower bit depth and sample rate may be in order so that the delivery of the files can take place, as many email services do not allow files larger than 10 MB or 25 MB from being transferred. Another aspect of the lecture and reading that I found to be helpful was the explanation of different types of audio files. For example, I never realized that Wav files are raw audio files that have yet to be compressed. Also, while I knew that AAC files were Apple only audio files, I did not realize that they can be incompatible in certain applications on PCs, and vice versa with WMA files. Additionally, I was unaware that MP3 files are universal across all platforms. Considering that I am significantly more comfortable with PCs, it is useful to know that I should stick to MP3 as the format of choice to avoid any issues across platforms.