HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS FOR AUDIO

Computer Components

PROCESSOR

• Pentium 133 or a Power PC Mac – the minimum for acceptable performance for playing MP3s.

• The higher the processor, the better the performance and quality of sound can be achieved.

MEMORY

• The more RAM (Random Access Memory), the better.

• But when the RAM is full, the computer uses the hard disk to handle the overflow.

HARD DISKS

• The larger and faster the hard disk, the better.

• It is needed for ripping, encoding and editing sound files.

CD DRIVES

CD-ROM

CD-R

CD-RW

Drive performance

CD – ROM (CD DRIVES)

• Stands for Compact Disc-Read Only Memory

• They can only read information not write.

CD-R (CD DRIVES)

Stands for Compact Disc-Recordable

It can record information but one can not erase or edit the information

CD-RW (CD DRIVES)

Stands for Compact Disc-ReWritable

It can write and later erase or rewrite the information.

DRIVE PERFORMANCE (CD DRIVES)

CD-ROM drives are usually labelled to as 12X, 16X or some other X value.

The X value refers to the data transfer rate relative to 150KB/sec 1x.

DVD DRIVES

Also known as Digital Video Disc.

It has several types, the single-layer DVD media with memory up to 4.7 GB on a storage disc while the dual-layer or double-layer DVD media can pack up to 8.5 on a single disc

DVD DRIVES (DRIVE PERFOMANCES)

Currently, the fastest write speed is 20X for recording on a single-layer DVD-R and DVD+R media.

Double-layer DVD+R and dual-layer DVD-R media write speeds are currently at 8X.

CONNECTORS

IDE

SCSI

Parallel

USB

IDE (CONNECTORS)

Stand for Integrated Drive Electronics

This means that the controller circuitry is on the drive rather than on a separate card

ATAPI (AT Attachment Packet Interface) is the protocol that is used to communicate with non-hard drive IDE devices like CD-ROMs

SCSI (CONNECTORS)

Stands for Small Computer Systems Interface

Gives faster connection throughout and reduces the load on the computer’s processor.

Plextor models will rip reliably maximum speed

Standard SCSI supports up to seven devices on the same channel.

PARALLEL (CONNECTORS)

Some external drives can sometimes be based on SCSI but are usually limited to just one device.

They use parallel interface so that there can be two or more connections but only one at a time.

USB (CONNECTORS)

Stands for Universal Serial Bus

General purpose interface designed to overcome the limitations of serial and parallel interfaces.

SOUND CARDS

Most overlooked devices in computer audio.

It handles analog to digital (A/D) and digital to analog (D/A) conversion, mixing, music synthesizing, sound effects, and amplification.

STORAGE DEVICES

Floppy Disks

CDs

DVDs

MP3 players

Thumb Drives

FLOPPY DISKSSTORAGE DEVICES

It is a data storage medium that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (“floppy”) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell.

It can handle data up to 1.44MB

CDSSTORAGE DEVICES

Officially known as the Compact Disc Digital Audio or CD-DA

It remains the standard physical medium for the sale of commercial audio recordings to the present day.

DVDSSTORAGE DEVICES

DVD-Audio (Commonly abbreviated as DVD-A) is a digital format for delivering very high-fidelity audio content on a DVD

An advantage of using a DVD-Audio disc is that users may optionally employ a copy protection mechanism called Content Protection for Pre-recorded Media (CPPM) This prevents users from extracting audio to computers and portable media players.

MP3 PLAYERSSTORAGE DEVICES

Digital audio player, more commonly referred to as an MP3 player, is an electronic device that stores, organizes and plays audio files from 32GB up to 250GB.

THUMB DRIVESSTORAGE DEVICES

Known as portable data storage

Characterized as small, handy and about the size of a human thumb

SPEAKERS AND HEADPHONES

These are essential for listening to sound recordings

MICROPHONES

The importance of selecting the right kind of microphone is often overlooked by ICT technicians.

TWO TYPES OF MICROPHONES

Dynamic Microphone (also known as a Karaoke microphone) Works with most sound cards.

Condenser Microphone (also known as a powered microphone) Only works with sound cards that can provide power to the

microphone.

TWO TYPES OF MICROPHONES

Dynamic Microphone

Dynamic Microphones Moving coil with magnet (like a speaker) Requires no power Generally more rugged than condenser

microphones (except for ribbon mics) Generally not as sensitive as condenser

microphones Generally not as flat as condenser

microphones

Condenser Microphone

Condenser (Electret) Microphone Moving diaphragm only (no coil to move) Flatter than dynamic microphones More sensitive than dynamic microphones Requires power source Traditional microphones require high-voltage

power supplies (9 volts) Modern electric microphones require only

battery (or phantom) Not as rugged as dynamic microphones