Computers in Audio Production Flashcards
Computers typically used to do 3 things
- Store
- Process
- Move information
In order for a computer to do its job, information must be translated to ___________
Binary system
Binary system
1s and 0s; a system based on the concept of ‘this’ or ‘that’
Bits
The ‘letters’ of binary system is made up of 1s and 0s
Binary words
Bits combined create binary words
With 2 bits, how many words can you make?
4 words: 00, 01, 10, 11
Binary protocol
Assigning meanings to binary words to represent text, sound, graphics, anything
When you add a bit to a binary word’s length, it ______ the amount of words that are possible
Doubles
Longer strings of bits have
More specific definitions
In MIDI protocol, 7 bit binary words are used to represent many MIDI commands. How many possibilities are there?
128
How do you calculate bits in a binary word?
By using exponents. If it’s a 3 bit word, you would take 2 to the 3rd power = 8. If it’s a 7 bit word, you would take 2 to the 7th power = 128
Terms to denote quantities of bits
bit (b) byte (B) kilobyte (KB) megabyte (MB) gigabyte (GB) terabyte (TB)
bit (b)
A single 0 or 1
byte (B)
8 bits
kilobyte (KB)
1024 bytes
megabyte (MB)
1024 kilobytes
gigabyte (GB)
1024 megabytes
terabyte (TB)
1024 gigabytes
1 bit is all that is needed to represent ______
The position of any switch e.g. on/off
Every letter you type takes how many bytes of memory?
1 byte
Example of what would take several bytes
One MIDI note message
KB range examples
An average length email, MIDI sequences
1 second of CD quality is sound is about how much bytes?
86KB
A CD is approximately how much MB?
700MB
Floppy disks store how much MB?
1.44MB
DVDs store how many GBs minimum to maximum?
4.7 - 18GB
Recording industry’s single premise
How do we record info onto a storage medium for use at a later time?
Mediums used in audio recording
Wire recorders, wax cylinders, vinyl, 8-track, cassette, CDs, DVDs, computer hard drives
Active memory
Computer chips that directly interact with a computer’s main processor (CPU) i.e. access any piece of info they contain within nanoseconds
2 primary types of active memory
RAM & ROM
RAM
Random access memory: changeable - the computer decides what should be kept in RAM based on what info is accessed most often/currently being accessed; volatile/unstable - requires a constant source of electricity to retain information
Example of RAM
When you type notes into your computer, you are entering it into your computer’s RAM, and are at risk of losing it unless you save - if you turn off your computer (loss of electricity) without saving, poof it’s gone
ROM
Read only memory: stable & unchangeable - doesn’t require electricity to retain info and you or your computer cannot choose what data goes on ROM
ROM chips
Come preloaded with info you can use, but cannot change, e.g. game 3ds ROMs that you play/download
Keyboard instruments and ROM
Many keyboards store audio waveforms on ROM chips which can be used to synthesize sounds
Stored memory
This tech is used when RAM is too limited, or the power for the device needs to be shut off
Calculation to get from Bytes to MB
Divide number of Bytes by 1024, then divide that answer by 1024 again. (B > KB > MB)
Calculation to get from GB to KB
Multiply number of GB by 1024, then multiply that answer by 1024 again. (GB > MG > KB)
Calculation to get from MB to bits
Divide number of MB by 1024, then divide that answer by 1024 again, then divide that answer by 8. (MB > KB > B > bits)
Hard drive memory type
Magnetic memory
Floppy disk memory type
Magnetic memory
CD memory type
Optical memory
DVD memory type
Optical memory
Blu-ray memory type
Optical memory
Memory card (SD, microSD, etc.) memory type
Electrostatic/flash memory
USB memory type
Electrostatic/flash memory
Solid state drive memory type
Electrostatic/flash memory
Blu-rays start at how much storage space typically?
25GB
Active memory talks to what two things?
Stored memory and CPU
CPU
Central processing unit
What determines the actual speed of your computer?
Amount of CPU
Measurement of CPU speed
Clockspeed
How is Clockspeed measured?
In Hz (cycles per second)
Media type
Refers to physical media - hard drive, CD, USB flash drive
Media format
Format compatibility regarding different operating systems - Apple: MacOS, Microsoft: Windows
Media format dictates
How information is organised. All digital media must be formatted because it prepares the media to be read properly by a specific OS
OS
Operating system
File format/type
The format of the actual files: .jpg, .mp3, .pdf
While your computer might see these files (media format), if you don’t have the software to open/read these, then the file cannot be opened/is useless
File Specific
Varies on type of file: backward compatibility issues created by different versions of the same software; quality settings e.g. Apple can only play .wav files if they are at specific sample rates
APFS
Apple File System
Operates exclusively for Apple
HFS+
AKA. MacOS Extended
Formatted to Apple
Operates exclusively for Apple
NTFS
New Tech File System
Microsoft, Windows 64-bit
Read-only on Apple
FAT formats (meaning & origin)
File Allocation Table
Designed by Microsoft to operate on both Windows and Mac
FAT formats (examples)
EXFAT (extended, 64-bit): unlimited
FAT32 (32-bit architecture): limited, a single file cannot exceed 4GB
FAT32 aka _______
MS-DOS
Partitioning
Making a single drive look like two - allotting determined amount of space for certain operations/dividing space within a drive to support different media formats
i.e. having 50% of a drive by FAT32 and the other 50% be HFS+
Type 1 MIDI track amount
Multiple tracks
Type 0 MIDI track amount
Single track
What does CPU affect in DAWs?
- How many plugins it can hold
- How many tracks it can hold
- DSP %
