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<!-- #thumb --> <p>In <a title="Bits upon bits" href="http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/bits-bits-2/11630/">yesterday’s post</a> I asked “how many bits does it take to screw in a light bulb?” *I had no clever answer but fellow Nerd Bob Whitlock did: “It’s subject to interpolation”. *I guess the fact I find that actually hilarious means I am (as my wife Terri tells me constantly) without hope. *Sorry, just couldn’t resist.</p>
<p>We now understand that in a full PCM based system (of which there aren’t that many left anymore … I’ll explain that later) bits are directly responsible for size: more bits = more dynamic range and better signal to noise ratio. *The number of bits do not affect the “resolution” as if they were pixels in a camera. *Bits aren’t pixels because, while they are similar in concept, pixels are actual physical sensors that can be made ever smaller and more crammed into the same space. *More sensors in a smaller space means more resolution. *More bits in our word does not mean finer gradations between samples.</p>
<p>But wait! *There is such a system in place that kind of does what most of us think is going on. *And here’s the surprising thing, most of us are using it and listening to it now – but we’re wearing rose colored glasses when we do.</p>
<p>What the heck does that mean? *Sorry to be a tease, but that’ll be the subject of tomorrow’s post.</p>
<p>Before I leave you this morning (I have to put the finishing touches on our longest owner’s manual yet – the NPC – which is exceeding 25 pages) I would like to make a comment. *With all the hub bub about bit depth, resolution, sample rates and so on, we keep skirting around the elephant in the room. *On the one side are the technocrats*that try to use science to prove to we don’t hear what we hear. *They are well meaning folk, but like a skilled politician trying to convince you that something that’s obviously happening isn’t (like global warming), most of us kind of shrink from the fray and shake our heads. *I can’t bring myself to do that. *Sorry.</p>
<p>We’ll be touching on this subject over time, so stay tuned.</p>
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[Source: http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/rose-colored-glasses/11638/]
<p>We now understand that in a full PCM based system (of which there aren’t that many left anymore … I’ll explain that later) bits are directly responsible for size: more bits = more dynamic range and better signal to noise ratio. *The number of bits do not affect the “resolution” as if they were pixels in a camera. *Bits aren’t pixels because, while they are similar in concept, pixels are actual physical sensors that can be made ever smaller and more crammed into the same space. *More sensors in a smaller space means more resolution. *More bits in our word does not mean finer gradations between samples.</p>
<p>But wait! *There is such a system in place that kind of does what most of us think is going on. *And here’s the surprising thing, most of us are using it and listening to it now – but we’re wearing rose colored glasses when we do.</p>
<p>What the heck does that mean? *Sorry to be a tease, but that’ll be the subject of tomorrow’s post.</p>
<p>Before I leave you this morning (I have to put the finishing touches on our longest owner’s manual yet – the NPC – which is exceeding 25 pages) I would like to make a comment. *With all the hub bub about bit depth, resolution, sample rates and so on, we keep skirting around the elephant in the room. *On the one side are the technocrats*that try to use science to prove to we don’t hear what we hear. *They are well meaning folk, but like a skilled politician trying to convince you that something that’s obviously happening isn’t (like global warming), most of us kind of shrink from the fray and shake our heads. *I can’t bring myself to do that. *Sorry.</p>
<p>We’ll be touching on this subject over time, so stay tuned.</p>
<center><a href="http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/rose-colored-glasses/11638/emailpopup/" onclick="email_popup(this.href); return false;" title="Forward to a friend and help us engage more readers" rel="nofollow"><img class="WP-EmailIcon" src="http://www.pstracks.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-email/images/email.gif" alt="email Rose colored glasses" title="Rose colored glasses" /></a>*<a href="http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/rose-colored-glasses/11638/emailpopup/" onclick="email_popup(this.href); return false;" title="Forward to a friend and help us engage more readers" rel="nofollow">Forward to a friend and help us engage more readers</a></center><br /><!-- // MAILCHIMP SUBSCRIBE CODE --><center><a href="http://eepurl.com/eSzBY">Get new and fresh stories like this each morning by joining the folks reading Paul's Posts. Click here </a></center>
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[Source: http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/rose-colored-glasses/11638/]