Quantization (signal processing): Difference between revisions

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In [[digital signal processing]], '''quantization''' is the process of approximating a continuous signal by a set of discrete symbols or integer values; that is, converting an [[analog]] signal to a [[digital]] one. In general, a quantization operator can be represented as

:<math>Q(''x'') = \operatorname{round}(f(''x''))</math>

where ''x'' is a real number, ''Q''(''x'') an integer, and ''f''(''x'') is an arbitrary real-valued function that controls the "quantization law" of the particular coder.

For example, in digital [[telephone|telephony]], two popular quantization schemes are the '[[A-law algorithm|A-law]]' and '[[Mu-law algorithm|&micro;-law]]', each mapping an analog signal to an integer value represented by an 8-bit [[binary]] number, but each with a different function ''f''.