Product Description

This is the number 1 best-selling book on digital audio engineering. This definitive text provides comprehensive coverage of today's leading digital audio technologies as well as a thorough survey of fundamentals and theory. Written by well-known audio engineering expert and best-selling author Ken Pohlmann, four previous editions have been valued for their clear explanations and have been widely used as college texts and professional references. The fifth edition of "Principles of Digital Audio" has been extensively updated and revised to reflect ongoing widespread changes in the audio industry. Beginning with an in-depth discussion of digital audio recording and reproduction, the text then details perceptual low bit-rate coding, CD and DVD disc formats, digital audio broadcasting, internet and network audio, and DSP.From the basic theory to the latest technological advancements, "Principles of Digital Audio" completely covers this multifaceted field, including topics such as: MP3, AAC, and Dolby Digital audio coding; DVD playback and recording formats; PC-based desktop audio systems; 5.1 -channel surround-sound coding; HD Radio and satellite radio; Music downloading and streaming; and, Digital signal processing.This book covers: Sound and Numbers; Fundamental Theory; Digital Audio Recording; Digital Audio Reproduction; Error Correction; Digital Audio Tape; Optical Disc Storage; Compact Disc and SACD; Recordable CD; Interconnection; Perceptual Coding: Theory and Applications; MPEG-1 and MPEG-2; MP3 Codec; MPEG-4 and AAC; Psychoacoustic Models; Surround Sound Coding; Lossless Coding; DVD-Video and DVD-Audio; Recordable DVD; HD-DVD and Blu-ray; Minidisc; Desktop Audio; Network Audio; Downloadable and Streaming Internet Audio; File Formats; Digital Rights Management; Watermarking and Encryption; MPEG-7; Digital Radio and TV Broadcasting; HD Radio; Satellite Radio; Digital Audio Workstations; Digital Signal Processing: Theory and Applications; and, Sigma Delta Conversion and Noise Shaping.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #156168 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 842 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
A well-respected textbook in previous versions, this fourth edition of Principles of Digital Audio is a substantial revision of all the chapters, and includes several new sections. From the ground up, this book provides the material you need to master the field of digital audio, with its sophisticated techniques and innovations that have revolutionised both telecommunications and entertainment since it first started to appear.

It starts simply, and builds upon easy concepts in digestible steps towards complexity, dealing along the way with the physics of sound, binary notation and signal processing, and proceeding on to recording, signal error correction, sampling and audio reproduction. It is a repository of basic information about sound and gives a firm grounding in the related mathematics. As an introduction to Digital Audio Tape (DAT) technology, Compact Disk (CD) and DVD, it is second to none, and the source of good historical material as well as brief, lucid technical information.

The earlier editions were famed for excellent diagrams, and this edition won't let you down. Almost any chapter can serve as the launching point for a fascinating journey into new technology presented in such a way that the reader is not daunted by reams of difficult mathematics. The index is very complete and surprisingly helpful, with main discussion topics picked out in bold page numbers. For those wishing to study further there are copious bibliographies to each chapter featuring recent available works. --Wilf Hey

From the Publisher

Customer Reviews

The best book on the subject!
Thoroughly updated 4th edition. As well as definitive and thorough descriptions of the basics of digital audio, DAT, and CD, (and lots, lots, more besides) it now includes new sections on MD, Firewire, USB, and DVD. Useful chapters on perceptual coding and audio for the PC. For good measure, it now includes a good introduction to the issues involved in streaming audio across the Internet. Absolutely essential one-stop solution for musicians, students, and lecturers.

An excellent survey of the digital audio landscape.
An excellent intermediate survey of the digital audio landscape. This text covers conversion, signal processing, channel coding and storage as well as current implementations of the technology. Good illustrations are included for visual reinforcement. Pohlmann's breezy writing style guides the reader from basic physics through dense theoretical discussion to practical examples. A freshman college background in physics and mathematics is useful though not essential.