Digital signal processing (DSP) is the use of digital processing, such as by computers or more specialized digital signal processors, to perform a wide variety of signal processing operations. The digital signals processed in this manner are a sequence of numbers that represent samples of a continuous variable in a domain such as time, space, or frequency. In digital electronics, a digital signal is represented as a pulse train, which is typically generated by the switching of a transistor.
A digital signal processor (DSP) is a specialized microprocessor chip, with its architecture optimized for the operational needs of digital signal processing. DSPs are fabricated on MOS integrated circuit chips. They are widely used in audio signal processing, telecommunications, digital image processing, radar, sonar and speech recognition systems, and in common consumer electronic devices such as mobile phones, disk drives and high-definition television (HDTV) products.
Wavetable synthesis is a sound synthesis technique used to create periodic waveforms. Often used in the production of musical tones or notes.
Audacity is a free and open-source digital audio editor and recording application software, available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and other Unix-like operating systems. The project was started in the fall of 1999 by Dominic Mazzoni and Roger Dannenberg at Carnegie Mellon University, and released on May 28, 2000, as version 0.8.
Virtual Studio Technology (VST) is an audio plug-in software interface that integrates software synthesizers and effects units into digital audio workstations. VST and similar technologies use digital signal processing to simulate traditional recording studio hardware in software. Thousands of plugins exist, both commercial and freeware, and many audio applications support VST under license from its creator, Steinberg.
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture and, more generally, sound recording, editing, and mastering processes.
GStreamer is a pipeline-based multimedia framework that links together a wide variety of media processing systems to complete complex workflows. For instance, GStreamer can be used to build a system that reads files in one format, processes them, and exports them in another. The formats and processes can be changed in a plug and play fashion.
Reaktor is a graphical modular software music studio developed by Native Instruments (NI). It allows musicians and sound specialists to design and build their own instruments, samplers, effects and sound design tools. It is supplied with many ready-to-use instruments and effects, from emulations of classic synthesizers to futuristic sound design tools. In addition, more than 3000 free instruments can be downloaded from the growing User Library. One of Reaktor's unique selling points is that all of its instruments can be freely examined, customized or taken apart; Reaktor is a tool that effectively encourages reverse engineering. Reaktor Player is a free limited version of the software that allows musicians to play NI-released Reaktor instruments, but not edit or reverse-engineer them.
Cross-platform Audio Creation Tool (XACT) is an audio programming library and engine released by Microsoft as part of the DirectX SDK. It is a high-level audio library for authoring/playing audio that is written to use Xaudio on the Xbox, DirectSound on Windows XP, and the new audio stack on Windows Vista and Windows 7. Xaudio is an Xbox-only API designed for optimal digital signal processing. XACT also includes X3DAudio, a spatialization helper library available on both platforms, Windows and the Xbox. XACT was originally developed for Xbox development, and was later modified to work for Microsoft Windows development as well.
iZotope, Inc. is an audio technology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. iZotope develops professional audio software for audio recording, mixing, broadcast, sound design, and mastering which can be used in wide range of digital audio workstation (DAW) programs. In addition, iZotope creates and licenses audio DSP technology including noise reduction, sample rate conversion, dithering, time stretching, and audio enhancement to hardware and software companies in the consumer and pro audio industries.
Real-Time AudioSuite (RTAS) is a format of audio plug-in developed by Digidesign, currently Avid Technology for their Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools M-Powered systems, although they can be run on Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools TDM systems. RTAS plug-ins use the processing power of the host computer rather than DSP cards used in the Pro Tools HD systems. As the name suggests, the plug-in architecture is designed to be run in real-time, mimicking hardware inserts on traditional mixing console. This is in contrast to rendering files out of time with effects applied directly to the audio, which in Pro Tools is facilitated by AudioSuite Plug-ins. Avid's AAX format, which runs on both native CPU and Pro Tools HDX DSP, is the replacement for RTAS.
XDAIS or eXpressDsp Algorithm Interoperability Standard is a standard for algorithm development by Texas Instruments for the TMS320 DSP family. The standard was first introduced in 1999 and was created to facilitate integration of DSP algorithms into systems without re-engineering cost. The XDAIS standard address the issues of algorithm resource allocation and consumption on a DSP. Algorithms that comply with the standard are tested and awarded an "eXpressDSP-compliant" mark upon successful completion of the test.
SILK is an audio compression format and audio codec developed by Skype Limited, now a Microsoft subsidiary. It was developed for use in Skype, as a replacement for the SVOPC codec. Since licensing out, it has also been used by others. It has been extended to the Internet standard Opus codec.
Eventide, Inc. is an American audio, broadcast and communications company whose audio division manufactures digital audio processors, digital signal processor (DSP) software, and guitar effects. Eventide was one of the first companies to manufacture digital audio processors, and its products are mainstays in sound recording and reproduction, post production, and broadcast studios.
An audio plug-in, in computer software, is a plug-in that can add or enhance audio-related functionality in a computer program. Such functionality may include digital signal processing or sound synthesis. Audio plug-ins usually provide their own user interface, which often contains GUI widgets that can be used to control and visualise the plug-in's audio parameters.
David W. Gunness is an American audio engineer, electrical engineer and inventor. He is known for his work on loudspeaker design, especially high-output professional horn loudspeakers for public address, studio, theater, nightclub, concert and touring uses.
AES67 is a technical standard for audio over IP and audio over Ethernet (AoE) interoperability. The standard was developed by the Audio Engineering Society and first published in September 2013. It is a layer 3 protocol suite based on existing standards and is designed to allow interoperability between various IP-based audio networking systems such as RAVENNA, Livewire, Q-LAN and Dante.
TrueAudio is the name given to AMD's ASIC intended to serve as dedicated co-processor for the calculations of computationally expensive advanced audio signal processing, like e.g. convolution reverberation effects and 3D audio effects. TrueAudio is integrated into some of the AMD GPUs and APUs available since 2013.
ValhallaDSP is a company and brand name for multiple digital reverberator and delay plugins for Macintosh and Windows computers made by Sean Costello.
Ray Arthur Rayburn was an American audio engineer, author and standards analyst who co-developed nine audio standards with the Audio Engineering Society (AES), including CobraNet for digital audio. Rayburn was a top expert in sound system installations in churches, but he was also well known for radio and television studio engineering, upgrading Saturday Night Live to stereophonic sound in 1984. During 1992–94, Rayburn redesigned the sound system in the United States Senate chamber, implementing the world's first fully digital audio system based on digital signal processing. Rayburn contributed chapters for Glen Ballou's audio engineering textbook, and for John M. Eargle's The Microphone Book (2001).
