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Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
1
Fundamentals of Audio Fundamentals of Audio ProductionProduction
Chapter Seven:Chapter Seven:
Digital Audio Workstations and Digital Audio Workstations and ComputersComputers
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Digital Audio Workstations
• Two types of DAW systems– Sound recording and playback systems built
around a computer– Proprietary “desktop” designs that are self
contained systems• Descendants of the cassette multi-trackers made
popular in the 1980s• Record directly to hard disk
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“Portastudio” Cassette mult-itracker
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Computer-based DAWs
• May be built around a conventional home computer or “personal computer” (PC)
• Most PCs are based on a standard architecture
• The computer is constructed of various subunits
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Computer-based DAWs
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Computer-based DAWs
• Subunits of the computer are attached to the printed circuit board called the “motherboard”
• The CPU is the computer’s “brain” and executes the calculations required to perform the various functions
• Other subunits are attached to the motherboard as “daughterboards”
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Central Processor
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Daughtercards
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Computer memory
• Short term storage call “random access memory (RAM) retains data only while the computer is operating
• Long term data storage is accomplished using internal hard drives, or external storage devices such as solid state drives (compact flash, secure digital, etc.)
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RAM
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Hard drives
• Hard drives use the same magnetic recording principles used in tape
• Hard drives are constructed by fixing oxide to a polished glass or aluminum platter
• Hard drives contain multiple platters attached to a common spindle
• The tiny recording and playback heads move across the disk surface without touching it
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Hard drives
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Hard drives
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Optical storage
• Compact disks (CD) and digital versatile disks (DVD) offer permanent external storage
• Optical storage has the advantage of being less volatile than magnetic storage
• Optical storage can be very high capacity
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Connecting peripherals
• Peripheral or outboard devices may be connected to the computer
• Various protocols exist to connect peripherals– Parallel and Serial Buses– Universal Serial Bus (USB)– IEEE-1394 (FireWire)– Small Computer System Interface (SCSI)– Sony/Philips Digital Interface (S/PDIF)
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Connecting peripherals
• Parallel and serial are older systems (legacy) that do not offer high enough throughput for most audio devices
• USB 2.0 provides fast data transfer - suitable for audio data
• IEEE 1394 offers high data transfer capacity and is “hot swapable”
• SCSI and S/PDIF are less common and used only for audio devices
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Peripherals and interfaces
• Some peripherals are designed to allow audio inputs and outputs to be easily connected to the computer using standard audio connectors
• Other interface devices allow the user to have the same “tactile” experience as using a mixing console
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USB audio interface
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User interface
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User interface
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User interface
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Software
• BIOS – basic input-output system– Permanent instructions on a chip– Called “firmware”– Instructions for organizing data flow
• Drivers – small software scripts that allow the computer to communicate with various hardware
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Software
• Operating systems (OS) provide a consistent software platform for application software
• Most OS are single-user multitasking
• OS present a simple (text or graphic) system for the user to operate the software and hardware
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Software
• Audio recording and editing applications are covered in detail in Chapter 8