Introduction to Digital Technology
Digital Technology is a book about the technology that defines our digital world. It is written by Dodwell Keyt who has spent the last 25 years in the computer technology industry. He has been the instigator and brains behind many project developments that encompass peripheral interfaces, monitoring and control devices, solar technology, audiovisual distribution, software projects and has written many books including 'Solar: Power of the Future' and 'Building Model Solar Cars'.
Digital Technology is a book about digital technology and how it operates. The book deals with the basic theory of how the various types of multimedia is captured, recorded and replayed. It describes the methods used to compress the raw captures so that the storage requirements are minimised.
Digital technology has changed our world forever. It is probably the most revolutionary change in the history of mankind. Digital devices have entered into every facit of our lives from entertainment to carrying out daily chores such as cooking and cleaning. It has taken over many of the functions in our cars and security. What were tasks carried out by hand, animals or the flick of a switch; is now done by digital technology devices and circuitry without us being aware of its existence. Our world is full of touch-screens, touch-pads, keyboards and remote controls.
Not only has digital technology taken over the way we control, monitor and programme devices and equipment but it has also the whole sphere of our entertainment. Television stations have converted their transmitters from traditional analogue systems to digital ones.
What does this mean to the end user? What is a digital transmission? What is High Definition (HD) television? How is it transmitted? What is digital anyway? This publication endeavours to answer many of these questions.
Digital Technology begins by defining digital technology and how it came to be such an important aspect of our daily lives. It looks at the history of man’s advances in computations and the birth of computers. Digital technology is progressing at an ever-increasing speed; innovations and inventions are appearing as this book is being written.
The book explains the meaning of bits and pieces that make up the digital world and the definitions and concepts that are computers. It describes how digital circuitry works and how computer programs are such an integral part of its workings. It illustrates the magic of binary numbers and their role in creating logic vital to digital devices performing their tasks.
The book’s aim is to provide an understanding of digital video and audio concepts and how they are captured and stored. It examines the multitude of methods by which captured digital multimedia is compressed and its size reduced for storage.
Sections of Digital Technology have been reproduced on this website.