[[Image:DSP block diagram.svg|thumb|410px|A typical digital processing system]]
dsp is cool.
Digital signal processing [[algorithm]]s typically require a large number of mathematical operations to be performed quickly and repeatedly on a series of data samples. Signals (perhaps from audio or video sensors) are constantly converted from analog to digital, manipulated digitally, and then converted back to analog form. Many DSP applications have constraints on [[latency (engineering)|latency]]; that is, for the system to work, the DSP operation must be completed within some fixed time, and deferred (or batch) processing is not viable.
Most general-purpose microprocessors and operating systems can execute DSP algorithms successfully, but are not suitable for use in portable devices such as mobile phones and PDAs because of power efficiency constraints.<ref name="schaum-2004" /> A specialized DSP, however, will tend to provide a lower-cost solution, with better performance, lower latency, and no requirements for specialised cooling or large batteries.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}
Such performance improvements have led to the introduction of digital signal processing in commercial [[communications satellite]]s where hundreds or even thousands of analog filters, switches, frequency converters and so on are required to receive and process the [[uplink]]ed signals and ready them for [[downlink]]ing, and can be replaced with specialised DSPs with significant benefits to the satellites' weight, power consumption, complexity/cost of construction, reliability and flexibility of operation. For example, the SES-12 and SES-14 satellites from operator [[SES S.A.|SES]] launched in 2018, were both built by [[Airbus Defence and Space]] with 25% of capacity using DSP.<ref>''[[Beyond Frontiers]]'' Broadgate Publications (September 2016) pp22</ref>
The architecture of a DSP is optimized specifically for digital signal processing. Most also support some of the features as an applications processor or microcontroller, since signal processing is rarely the only task of a system. Some useful features for optimizing DSP algorithms are outlined below.
