Quantization (signal processing): Difference between revisions

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In [[digital signal processing]], '''quantization''' is the process of approximating a continuous range of values (or a very large set of possible discrete values) by a relatively-small set of discrete symbols or integer values.

More specifically, a [[signal (information theory)|signal]] can be multi-dimensional and quantization need not be applied to all dimensions.

A discrete[[Discrete signal]]s (a common mathematical model) need not necessarily be quantized (a pedantic point, but true nonetheless andwhich can be a point of confusion). ''See [[ideal sampler]].''

A common use of quantization is in the conversion of a [[discrete signal]] (a [[sample (signal)|sampled]] [[continuous signal]]) into a [[digital signal]] by quantizing.

Both of these steps (sampling and quantizing) are performed in [[analog-to-digital converter]]s with the quantization level specified in [[bit]]s.

A specific example would be [[compact disc]] (CD) audio which is sampled at 44,100 [[Hertz|Hz]] and quantized with [[16 bitsbit]]s (2 [[byte]]s) which can be one of 65,536 (<math>2^{16}</math>) possible values per sample.

== Mathematical description ==